Chapter 3
1. Learn the purposes and types of budgets
2. Learn how to classify expenditures
3. Learn the budget cycle
4. Learn the benefits of budgets
5. Learn the encumbrance system
6. Learn the benefits of performance
budgets
Accounting Cycle
• Record the budget
• Encumber orders for goods and services
• When good/services received
• Reverse encumbrance
• Recognize Expenditure
• Record Revenue when measurable and
available
• Record transfers in and out
• Record other financing sources and uses
Accounting Cycle, continued
• Close encumbrances at end of year
• Adjusting entries
• 60 day rule
• Create reserve for supplies and other prepaids
• Reverse budgetary entry
• Close actual accounts
• Debit revenue, OFS, transfers in
• Credit expenditures, OFU, transfers out
Purposes of Budgets
• Planning of programs, acquisitions,
resource allocations
• Control and administration
• Creating reports and evaluation
Types of Budgets
• Appropriation Budgets - details for current
operations (this will be our main focus)
• Capital Budgets- for acquisition and
construction of long term assets
• Flexible Budgets - relates to costs for certain
levels of outputs, used to control costs in
proprietary funds
Object vs. Program
Object classification is what you are used to….
Salaries, supplies, etc.
This doesn’t allow for analysis of programs
But does foster control of overall expenditures
Uses bottom up budgeting…why is this good?
Produces lots of detail
Program budgeting allows analysis of programs
using program specific inputs and outputs, or SEA
Budget Cycle
• Preparation
• Legislative adoption and Executive
approval
• Execution
• Reporting and Auditing
Recording the Budget
Record the revenue side of the budget:
Estimated Revenues
1,000,000
Budgetary Fund Balance
1,000,000
Transfers in
25,000
Estimated Other Fin.Sources 500,000
Budgetary Fund Balance
525,000
Recording the budget serves as an internal control
Recording Appropriations
Budgetary Fund Balance 1,400,000
Appropriations
1,300,000
Other Fin. Uses
50,000
Transfers Out
50,000
If the inflows > outflows, then there is a
budget surplus. If the inflows < outflows,
there is a budget deficit.
Closing Budget entries
At the end of the fiscal year, the budgetary
entries are reversed.
Budgetary Fund Balance 1,525,000
Estimated Revenue
1,000,000
OFS
500,000
Transfers in
25,000
Appropriations
1,300,000
Estimated OFU
50,000
Transfers Out
50,000
Budgetary Fund Balance 1,400,000
Execution
• Appropriations are apportioned by time
periods in allocations (to agencies) then by
allotment to units within the agency.
• Entities, agencies integrate their budgets
into their accounts.
• Most agencies make sure they spend their
budgets even if they stock up on supplies to
insure that in the next year their budgets
won’t be cut.
Analysis Budget to Actual
If an entity records a budget, part of their
end of year statements includes a budget-toactual comparisons. Use caution in assessing
this because:
• Budgets might have been revised
• Differences in Basis
• Differences in timing
• Differences in reporting level (Perspective)
• Differences in reporting entity
Encumbrance system
Steps in the order/receipt process:
• Purchase Request
• Purchase Order
• Receiving Report
• Vendor’s Invoice Paid
Purchase Order
Encumbrances
950
Reserve for Encumbrances
950
This creates a reserve in the fund balance
section of the balance sheet, so
Fund Equity = Assigned + Fund Balance
Receipt of Order
Two Parts:
Reverse the reserve for encumbrances:
Reserve for Encumbrances
950
Encumbrances
950
Record the receipt of the shipment:
Expenditures
970
Vouchers Payable
970
Notice that the encumbrance is reversed for
its original amount, not the amount of the bill
Payment of Voucher
Voucher Payable
Cash
Expenditures
970
The entity took a discount!
965
5
Open Encumbrances
What was shown on the previous slides assumes that
orders are received within the same year and all at once.
What happens if an encumbrances is still open at the
end of the fiscal year?
What happens if a partial order is received?
Open encumbrances
Think about the accounts you used to establish an
encumbrance:
Encumbrance
Reserve for encumbrance
The government wants to show the reserve in the fund
balance section of the balance sheet, but is encumbrance
an asset? Should it be closed with expenditures?
Encumbrances is like a notation, but is not a
permanent account. Therefore, if an
encumbrance is open at the end of the year, it
needs to be closed.
Closing an encumbrance
Assume you have established an encumbrance:
Encumbrance
5,000
Reserve for Encumbrance
5,000
And some of the order is received:
Reserve for encumbrance
Encumbrance
Expenditure
Vouchers Payable
2,500
2,500
2,500
2,500
There is still $2,500 in an encumbrance open at the end of
the fiscal year. It needs to be closed.
Encumbrances, FY 2
First, reestablish the encumbrance in FY 2:
Encumbrance
2,500
Unreserved Fund balance
2,500
Then complete the process as already illustrated:
When the order is received:
Reserve for encumbrance
Encumbrance
Expenditure
Vouchers payable
2,500
2,500
2,500
2,500
Closing an encumbrance
Close the remaining amount at the end of the fiscal year:
Unreserved fund balance
2,500
Encumbrance
2,500
But what happens when the rest of the order comes in?
Review
Why governments record budgets
 How to record the budget
 How to record encumbrances