To ensure a successful partnership, we take the time to evaluate your school’s specific needs and work them into our best practices. We will manage and oversee the following projects and services:

Set-Up Services

• Work with the school to review the budget and build monitoring procedures.
• Evaluate school financial goals and incorporate them into the tracking and management systems.
• Create and implement appropriate internal controls.
• Review payroll setup and processing for full integration with financial system.

Routine Services

• Process accounts payable and receivable.
• Review UFARS account codes for all expenses and revenue.
• Enter all transactions into finance software system.
• Integrated payroll processing, using either the payroll module in the financial software, or a payroll service provider, including posting payroll transactions into finance software system using proper UFARS coding.
• Maintain budgets in financial software system and make changes as needed.
• Communicate with the Department of Education as needed to ensure compliance of state-required reporting.

Monthly Services

• Perform bank reconciliation(s).
• Perform cash flow projection and monitoring.
• Perform general ledger reconciliation.
• Enter Title Funds and Special Education expenditures into MDE systems, including monitoring of federal and state programs on EDRS, SERVS, etc.
• Produce monthly report package, including Dashboard, Balance Sheet, Income Statement (revenue/expenditure report compared with budget), Payment Register and Cash Flow Projection.
• Provide written reports for board meetings as required.
• Provide suggestions and advice on how to maximize school funds.
• Grant accounting and reporting of all restricted funds.
• Attend Board Meeting or Finance Committee Meetings as agreed.

Quarterly Services

• Review and analyze the budget.
• Report trends and recommend changes to the Board.
• Verify proper UFARS coding and make changes as necessary.

Annual Services

• Prepare financial reports as needed by MDE or other governmental agencies.
• Create annual financial statements.
• Managed the process of creating the annual operating budget.
• Prepare and file 1099’s.
• Prepare the 990 Tax information, to be reviewed and submitted by the auditor as part of the year end audit.
• Work with grant writers or other school personnel to establish budgets for special programs.
• Provide UFARS coding for special programs and/or grants.
• Upload UFARS year-end reports.

Audit Preparation

• Close out books for the fiscal year.
• Prepare audit work papers.
• Analyze revenues and process accounts receivable journal entries.
• Evaluate expenditures and process journal entries.
• Review accounts payable and enter accounts payable listings.
• Review and enter appropriate salary data.
• Compare restricted funds coding with revenue sources and expenditures.
• Oversee scheduling of audit meetings and work closely with the selected auditor to ensure that all deadlines and compliance criteria are met.

Other Services and Support

• Provide formal Board training in the area of finance; how to read and understand your financial statements, including operating budgets, and cash flow statements. We will coordinate formal training in other areas like HR Practices and Governance.
• Charter School Finance Award: The vast majority of our clients secure this award on an annual basis.
• HR management/services: Our HR services include Payroll, assistance with insurance packages, and personal activity reports required for federal funding.
• Back office business structuring/guidance: We will provide guidance with your business back office and help you determine the structure. We provide our standard procedures and best practices that can be implemented to your structure.
• Building relationship with the school: The most important part of the relationship is developing trust with the Director, business office and Board. We achieve this trust through transparency, accuracy and timeliness, while engaging the school on a regular basis as we develop the budget, and understand your goals and financial needs. We will work closely with your leadership team to develop a flexible template, enabling what-if analysis and easy decision making. We also use this time to assist the school in implementing procedures and best practices.

How We Support You

• At a functional level, we provide all of the services listed in our proposal for back office business management. In addition we provide higher level guidance and support like you would get from an internal controller or CFO. We regard the financial health of the school as though it were our direct responsibility. We will provide advice and guidance on all business management matters. We believe that the final decision making is the responsibility of the school, and as your finance partner, we make sure you have the information so that you understand how your decisions fit within the budget and the impact they have on the financial health of the school.
• It is our goal to make sure that the Finance Committee and/or Board is well versed and understands the financial picture and cash flow. We are available to attend either Financial Committee meetings or Board meetings as needed.