Fiscal Oversight and
Accountability
JULY 12, 2012
BUSINESS AFFAIRS ADVISORY FORUM
Fiscal Oversight and Accountability
Monitoring Budget to Actual
Authoritative Financial Data and
Importance of Reconciliation
Monitoring Budget to Actual
Several Central Controls Exist for Budget to Actual
Monitoring

Budget Control via the Development and Amendment
processes

Regular review of actual Tuition and Fee Revenue vs. Budget

Quarterly reporting of budget to actual variances to BOR Office

Budget checking at the expenditure level
Monitoring Budget to Actual
 UGA units engage in activities which are not as
closely monitored at central levels


Departmental Sales and Service
Auxiliary Enterprises
 Do you have budget to actual monitoring procedures
at the school/college/unit/departmental level?


Are revenue/expense budgets reviewed against actual
performance?
Do you need to make adjustments to the budget based on
actual performance?
Monitoring Budget to Actual – Departmental
Sales Example
12/31/12 Actual
Budget
Revenue
$100,000
Revenue
$45,000
Expense
$100,000
Expense
$75,000
Budget Balance
$0
Deficit
$(30,000)
Monitoring Budget to Actual
 Consequences of not monitoring:
 Inability for other departmental sales activities to use carry
forward
 Unfunded deficits
 Program/activity viability and continuity
 Program integrity
 Audit findings
Authoritative Financial Data and Importance of
Reconciliation
 Financial Accounting System and Budget System
(IMS) are “official financial data sources”



Used to prepare UGA audited financial statements
Used to prepare tax returns
Used to prepare all external financial reports
 Importance of reconciliation of departmental
records/systems to Financial Accounting System



Identification of errors and omissions for timely correction
Proper Accrual Accounting
Audit trail and confirmation of data – are departmental
records equal to IMS or reconciling items identified?
Authoritative Financial Data and Importance of
Reconciliation
 Consequences
 Incorrect data and information in official financial reports
and/or tax returns
 Audit findings
 Lack of review/reconciliation:
Increases likelihood of misappropriation and misuse of resources
 Increases likelihood that errors are not identified


An independent and timely reconciliation is best practice
Validation of reconciling items
 Validation of appropriateness of transactions
