Meeting Minutes
Department of Financial Services
Charts of Account Project
Meeting Name:
Meeting Group:
Date:
Location:
Requestor:
DFS Chart of Accounts Project
Chart of Accounts Advisory Work Group
September 19, 2012
Conference Call/Webinar – 524K Fletcher Building
Christina Smith
Agenda:
I.
Introductions
II.
Overview of Project
III.
Expectations for the Group
A. Liaison with your constituency.
1. We will assume that you are authorized to speak for your constituency.
2. We will rely on your expertise in representing your constituency.
3. We will assume that you are keeping them updated of our activities.
4. I will be happy to attend meetings with you and your constituency.
B. Active participation.
1. I know you all have other jobs and responsibilities.
2. We will try to accommodate your schedules within our schedule.
3. We need your input and expertise in order to come up with a workable
product.
4. We cannot afford to wait on you.
a. If you fail to participate or contribute, we have no choice but to proceed
without you.
C. Technical accounting advice.
D. Assistance with local workshops.
1. Finding/establishing venues.
2. Defending our products.
3. Advertising to your constituency.
E. Assistance in developing implementation cost estimates.
IV.
Tentative Schedule
A. September 2012 – Initial meeting
B. November 15, 2012 – Next draft – COA
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C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
M.
N.
O.
P.
Q.
January 24, 2013 – 90% Draft
February 15, 2013 – Public Workshop #1
March 15, 2013 – Public Workshop #2
April 15, 2013 – Public Workshop #3
May 15, 2013 – Public Workshop #4 (if needed)
June 3, 2013 –Finalize COA recommendation
June 10, 2013 – Draft COA submitted to CFO for review/approval.
June 20, 2013 – Draft COA completed and ready for exposure.
July 1, 2013 – Publish Draft COA
August 15, 2013 – Develop survey instrument for estimating implementation
costs.
September 1, 2013 – Distribute cost survey instrument.
November 1, 2013 – Public comment deadline.
November 15, 2013 – Finalize COA recommendation.
December 15, 2013 – Finalize implementation cost estimate.
January 15, 2014 – Submit COA recommendation and cost estimate to
Legislature.
V.
Chart of Accounts Discussion and Assignment
A. Guidance
1. Building a Chart of Accounts – not financial statements.
2. Understandable to Legislative Staff and the public.
B. Collapse Real Accounts.
C. Look over Revenue accounts for duplicates.
D. Provide Object code structure.
VI.
Schedule next meeting.
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 MEETING
AGENDA
◦ Introductions
◦ Detailed Review of Section 215.89, Florida Statutes
◦ Charts of Account Development Plans
◦ Questions & Answers
◦ Contact Information

Chapter 2011-44
Committee Substitute for
Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1292
An act relating to the Chief Financial Officer; creating s. 215.89, F.S.; providing
legislative intent; providing definitions; requiring the Chief Financial Officer to
conduct workshops with state agencies, local governments, educational
entities, and entities of higher education to gather information pertaining to
uniform reporting requirements; requiring the Chief Financial Officer to accept
comments from state agencies, local governments, educational entities, entities
of higher education, and interested parties regarding proposed charts of
account by a certain date; requiring the Chief Financial Officer to submit to the
Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives a report recommending a uniform charts of account which
meet certain requirements by a certain date; requiring the report to include the
estimated cost of adopting and implementing a uniform enterprise-wide charts
of account; providing a declaration of important state interest; providing an
effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida

SECTION 1. Section 215.89, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
215.89 Charts of account.—
(1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature that a
mechanism be provided for obtaining detailed, uniform reporting of
government financial information to enable citizens to view
compatible information on the use of public funds by governmental
entities. The Legislature intends that uniform reporting requirements
be developed specifically to promote accountability and transparency
in the use of public funds. In order to accommodate the different
financial management systems currently in use, separate charts of
account may be used as long as the financial information is captured
and reported consistently and is compatible with any reporting
entity.
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Charts of account” means a compilation of uniform data codes that are to be used for
reporting governmental assets, liabilities, equities, revenues, and expenditures to the Chief
Financial Officer. Uniform data codes shall capture specific details of the assets, liabilities, equities,
revenues, and expenditures that are of interest to the public.
(b) “State agency” means an official, officer, commission, board, authority, council, committee, or
department of the executive branch; a state attorney, public defender, criminal conflict and civil
regional counsel, or capital collateral regional counsel; the Florida Clerks of Court Operations
Corporation; the Justice Administrative Commission; the Florida Housing Finance Corporation; the
Florida Public Service Commission; the State Board of Administration; the Supreme Court or a
district court of appeal, circuit court, or county court; or the Judicial Qualifications Commission.
(c) “Local government” means a municipality, county, water management district, special district,
or any other entity created by a local government.
(d) “Educational entity” means a school district or an entity created by a school district.
(e) “Entity of higher education” means a state university, a state or Florida College System
institution, or an entity created by a state university or state or Florida College System institution.
(f) “State and local government financial information” means the assets, liabilities, equities,
revenues, and expenditure information that is recorded in financial management systems of state
agencies, local governments, educational entities, and entities of higher education.
(3) REPORTING STRUCTURE.—
(a) Beginning October 1, 2011, the Chief Financial Officer shall conduct workshops
with state agencies, local governments, educational entities, and entities of higher
education to gather information pertaining to uniform statewide reporting
requirements to be used to develop charts of account by the Chief Financial Officer. A
draft proposed charts of account shall be provided by July 1, 2013, to the state
agencies, local governments, educational entities, and entities of higher education.
(b) The Chief Financial Officer shall accept comments from state agencies, local
governments, educational entities, entities of higher education, and other interested
parties regarding the proposed charts of account until November 1, 2013.
(c) By January 15, 2014, the Chief Financial Officer, after consultation with affected
state agencies, local governments, educational entities, entities of higher education,
and the Auditor General, shall submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
the Speaker of the House of Representatives a report recommending a uniform charts
of account which requires specific enterprise-wide information related to revenues and
expenditures of state agencies, local governments, educational entities, and entities of
higher education. The report must include the estimated cost of adopting and
implementing a uniform enterprise-wide charts of account.

SECTION 2. The Legislature finds that this act fulfills
an important state interest.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011
Approved by the Governor May 26, 2011.
Filed in Office Secretary of State May 26, 2011.

Charts of Account Development Plans
◦ Information gathering
◦ Create and submit a Charts of Account to the Legislature
along with a cost estimate.
◦ Legislature must enact another law to require reporting.
 Question
& Answers
Contact Information:
Elwood McElhaney, CPA
Application Design and Support Process Manager
Division of Accounting and Auditing
304F Fletcher Building
200 East Gaines Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0353
850-413-5503
Elwood.McElhaney@myfloridacfo.com