1
“BEST PRACTICES FOR SOUND FISCAL MANAGEMENT”
2009 Florida Charter School Conference
Presented by:
Joe Bruno, CPA-President, Building Hope
Richard Moreno, Executive Director CSSC
Charter School Services Corporation (CSSC), A Building Hope Affiliate
Building Hope
Growth, Quality, Results for Public Charter Schools
2
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Accounting and Finance
3
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Accounting and Finance
4
Select and implement accounting system
Preparation of annual budgets
Daily management of accounts receivables/payables, and receipts/disbursements
Preparation of periodic financial statements and submission of required reports
Managing annual audit
Presentations to Board of Directors.
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Select and implement accounting system
5
 Determine needs based on growth plans
Outsource or In House
Quickbooks
Identify Person Responsible for Implementation
Identify ALL Costs of Accounting System
 Data Safety
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Preparation of Annual Budgets
6
FRANK AND ERNEST
BOB THAVES
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Preparation of Annual Budgets
7
 Types of Budgets
 Regulatory
 Planning
 Short vs. Long Range Budgets
 Identify Your Revenue and Cost Drivers
 Variable vs. Fixed Budget Items
 Formats
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management” Charter School
Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Daily management of accounts receivables/payables,
and receipts/disbursements
8
 Procedure Manuals
 Cash Flow Projections
 Posting Entries
 Red Book Accounting
 Funds - fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of
accounts recording cash and other financial resources
 Function Codes - Function classifications indicate the overall
purpose or objective of an expenditure.
 Object Codes - The object classification indicates the type of
goods or services obtained as a result of a specific expenditure.
 Web Site for Red Book “http://www.fldoe.org/fefp/redtoc.asp”
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Daily management of accounts receivables/payables,
and receipts/disbursements
9
A fund is a fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts
recording cash and other financial resources, together with all related liabilities and
residual equities or balances, and changes therein, which are segregated for the
purpose of carrying on specific activities or attaining certain objectives in
accordance with special regulations, restrictions, or limitations:
• Permanent Funds
• General Fund
• Debt Service Funds
• Capital Projects Funds
• Special Revenue Funds
• Internal Service Funds
• Fiduciary Funds
• Enterprise Funds
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Daily management of accounts receivables/payables,
and receipts/disbursements
10
Function refers to the objective or purpose of an expenditure. Functions are the
activities performed to accomplish the objectives of the organization. The activities
of schools are classified into four major functional categories as follows:
• Instruction. The activities dealing directly with the teaching of pupils or the
interaction between teacher and pupils.
• Instructional Support Services. This includes administrative, technical,
and logistical support to facilitate and enhance instruction.
• General Support Services. Those activities associated with establishing
policy, operating schools and the school system, and providing the necessary
facilities and services for the staff and pupils.
• Community Services. Community Services consist of those activities that
are not directly related to providing education for pupils in a school system.
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Daily management of accounts receivables/payables,
and receipts/disbursements
11
Object means the goods purchased or the service obtained.
There are eight major object categories provided in the Red Book manual:
Salaries
Employee Benefits
Purchased Services
Energy Services
Materials and Supplies
Capital Outlay
Other Expenses
Transfers
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
12
Preparation of periodic financial statements and
submission of required reports
13
 Florida Statute Now Requires Monthly Financial Reports
 Monthly Bank Reconciliations
Board Reports
 Annual Financial Reports
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Managing annual audit
14
 Good system of internal controls
• Segregation of duties
• Checks and Balances
• Properly Coding of Revenues and Expenditures
 Account Analysis
Prepare and close Financial Reports
 Maintaining Fixed Asset Schedules
 Early preparation of the Management’s Discussion and Analysis
(MD&A)
 Maintaining all contracts in easily accessible manner
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Presentations to Board of Directors.
15
 Present financials in a format that is easily understandable
 Present all statements submitted to School District officials
 Review actual vs. budget
 Discuss any material budget variances
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
Building Hope
Mission: To close the achievement gap by providing student access to high quality
charter school facilities through the provision of the following services:
16
Technical Assistance
Financing (Loans and CE’s)
CS Business Services
Incubator Initiative
•$42 million in total lending since 2003
•Over $17 million in guarantees
•Supporting $310 million in facility costs
•Supporting over 18,500+ seats
•50+ transactions
•Provide accounting and I.T.
services to over 25 charter school
campuses
•Prepared eRate applications for
over 50 schools
•HR Management
•Property Management
•Partnership with DC Gov’t
•Established 5 incubators for 6
charter schools
•Leased and renovated over
110,000 sq ft creating seats for
approximately 1,000 students.
* As a % of staff time
•Assisted over 100 charter
schools with business
planning, real estate, and
finance
•Speakers at national
conferences and U.S.
Department of Education
programs
•Led ground-breaking
conversion of 7 Catholic
schools to charter schools
•Provide grants for feasibility
studies
•Support/manage charter
school applications for surplus
DC school facilities
•Project management to build
or renovate facilities
Building Hope Funding to Date
17
Year
$ Amount
U.S. Department of Education
2002
$5 Million
Sallie Mae Corporation
2003
$28 Million
U.S. Department of Education
2004
$2 Million
Office of State Superintendent of Education
(District of Columbia)
2006
$8.9 Million
The Walton Family Foundation
2007
$10 Million
TOTAL FUNDING
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
$53.8 Million
Geographic Focus
18
Historical
Projected
19%
Washington D.C.
Florida
21%
60%
Other
“Best Practices for Sound Fiscal Management”
Charter School Services Corporation A Building Hope Affiliate
19
“BEST PRACTICES FOR SOUND FISCAL MANAGEMENT”
Joe Bruno, CPA-President, Building Hope
202-457-1993 – email “joebruno456@aol.com”
Richard Moreno, Executive Director, CSSC
954-767-1070 – email “Rmoreno@charterschoolcorp.com”
Charter School Services Corporation (CSSC) A Building Hope Affiliate