Fiscal Operations Resources

                         Institute Releases Inaugural Issue of the

                           Financial Oversight Handbook (11/8/07)

• The Financial Oversight Handbook is designed to be a comprehensive resource for SUNY authorized charter schools in navigating the many facets of financial accountability.  (Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat™ to use the interactive .pdf file.)

• Consistent with other Institute publications, the Fiscal Oversight Handbook contains a Reader's Guide and a section on Frequently Asked Questions. This Handbook lays out the expectations related to financial accountability and is aligned to the State University’s renewal process and criteria.

• This Handbook underscores the Institute's belief that the need for school fiscal accountability begins at the application phase and continues throughout the life of a charter school.

• Stand-alone versions of all Handbook appendices, as well as a sample Accountant's Report, are also posted below in Microsoft Word format for your convenience:

Sample Accountant's Report

Appendix A - State University Charter Renewal Benchmarks (Fiscal)

Appendix B - Selected Internal Control Practices for Charter Schools

Appendix C - Required Charter School Policies

Appendix D - Reporting Deadlines Calendar

Audit Reference Guide, 3rd Edition

                                                    -    Updated 8/23/07  -

• The Audit Reference Guide for Charter Schools Authorized by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (the Guide) was developed to provide assistance to charter schools authorized by the State University of New York throughout the annual audit process. This assistance is focused on helping school officials and board members to understand the basic requirements and limitations of the audit. The primary goal of the Guide is to assist in ensuring accountability over public funds and to provide a suggested format for the financial statements.

School officials are encouraged to share the Guide with their independent auditor or prospective auditor. The auditor should not consider this document to be all-inclusive, or a substitute for professional judgment. Furthermore, the auditor clearly needs to follow professional standards that are referenced but not repeated as part of this document.

The Charter Schools Institute would like to acknowledge the assistance of the staff of the New York State Education Department, school officials, and several audit practitioners and in preparing this document. Comments or questions regarding this Guide should be addressed to the Charter Schools Institute.

• Information on evaluating the financial and organizational capacity of an education contractor (subject-specific curriculum developers, education service providers, special education service providers, etc.) is provided in the following publication from the American Institutes for Research and The Finance Project: Choosing an Education Contractor: A Guide to Assessing Financial and Organizational Capacity.