Degree Name

Education Specialist (EdS)

Semester of Degree Completion

1978

Thesis Director

Donald W. Smitley

Abstract

Section 2-3.27 of the School Code of Illinois requires the State Superintendent of Education to formulate and approve forms, procedures, and regulations for school districts in proper accounting of all receipts and disbursements; and to publish and keep current manuals, in loose-leaf form, relative to budgetary and accounting procedures.

At the present time the state has issued two accounting guidelines, the Illinois Financial Accounting Manual and the Illinois Program Accounting Manual. Community Unit School District Number One is currently using the chart of accounts from the Illinois Financial Accounting Manual for Local School Systems, Circular Series A, Number 246, revised January, 1972. This field study was to change the present Community Unit School District Number One 1978-79 budget account numbers to the account numbers used in the Illinois Program Accounting Manual for Local Education Agencies dated 1976.

The present bookkeeping system of Community Unit School District Number One is on a computer. A printout of the chart of accounts was requested for use. This is a listing of the account numbers presently utilized by the district by fund, description and numerical order.

Reference was made to the Illinois Program Accounting Manual for Local Education Agencies for the new account numbers and description for each of the account numbers used by the district. Then, the new account numbers were recorded beside previously used account numbers. This process was used for all funds.

The number of funds maintained by Community Unit School District Number One is six (6). These six funds were created when a tax levy was authorized by the Board of Education for a given purpose. The following funds are those used by Community Unit School District Number One:

1--Educational Fund

2--Operations, Building, Maintenance Fund

3--Bond and Interest Fund

4--Transportation Fund

5--Municipal Retirement Fund

7--Working Cash Fund

The writer selected six of the eleven classification groups outlined in the manual. These six classification groups are referred to as dimensions, which are used to describe expenditure transactions. The dimensions presented below are the ones to be used by the school district:

1--Fund

2--Function

3--Object

4--Source of Funds

5--Operational Unit

6--Subject Matter Area

The writer would recommend that any school district that is investigating changes in its accounting procedures should seek counsel from the Illinois Office of Education. This will save valuable time and effort.

The writer also recommends that any school district investigating changes in its accounting procedures should contact its data processing service personnel early in the process. It must be determined if the equipment can perform all of the functions necessary to implement the new accounting system. It will also determine whether or not the data processing service will have to rewrite their present programs.

The writer because of not having used the Illinois Program Accounting System has arrived at no conclusion as to the effectiveness of this system.

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