Nailing Down Your Finances

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Nailing down your finances
Federal Programs Directors Conference September,
2008
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Using the Correct Tools

• Budget Worksheet
• Budget Spreadsheet
• FACTS
• Website - Status Page

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Budget Worksheet

• Preliminary due in May
• Final due by October
• 9 pages
• All titles listed

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Budget Spreadsheet

• Preliminary due in May
• Final due by October
• 16 pages
• All titles listed, as well as Consolidated
  Administration

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FACTS (Federal Application Consolidated Tracking
System)

• Receive access to allocations
• Make Payment requests
• Enter Expenditure Reports
• Check status of funds and transfers

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Status Pages(www.state.tn.us/education/fedprog/ad
ministration.shtml )

• One is for deadlines from July-December
• One is for deadlines from January-June
• Enter Expenditure Reports
• Check status of funds and transfers

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Spread the Glue

• Holding your programs together
• Check each titles laws, regulations
  and guidance
• Study the needs of your system
• Combine the law and your expectations to
  establish a program to achieve student success

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Clamp down on your crew

• Get your team together, share the
  strategies of success and work together!
• Join the components
• Check your TCSPP, TSIPs, Consolidated Application
  and Budget
• Do they all match?

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Measure your amount
of work

• Check your calendar
• Use the timeline and grant period for
  submissions
• Bottom Line Give yourself enough time to be
  accurate and thorough!

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Mark the dates

• Plan your calendar to meet with your finance
  person on a regular basis
• Transfers (when needed) holds on funds
• Have your finance folks post regular payments
  such as payroll on FACTS to keep expenditure
  reporting timely

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Hammer out the Details

• Match the program with the funds needed
• Budget accordingly-Talk to your consultants as
  you plan and if you have questions
• Keep grant periods, carryover, and drop-dead
  funds in mind

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Spackle.when needed

• Addenda program changes
• Budget Amendments fiscal changes
• May be needed with addenda
• Change greater than 10 in any sub-category
  (individually or cumulatively)
• Requirements if one is needed
• Cover letter
• Justification page for each affected title
• Budget spreadsheet (revised)

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Nail down FACTS(www.k-12.state.tn.us/facts)

• Monitor requests and payments
• Remember the 45-day window at the end of each
  quarter for reporting
• Use FACTS reports for oversight
• Grant Status Report
• Grant Transaction Report

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Grant Status Report by School Year
Status Report-Transfer Stream
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Grant Transaction Report
Shows Awards, Approvals, Transfers, Payments,
Expenditures for each title Can be used to get a
monthly report on all titles in your LEA for your
monitoring purposes
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Carryover

• Spend or obligate under EDGAR 70.76
• Titles I, III, and IV have caps
• 15 on Title I
• 25 on Titles III and IV
• Waiver requests must be submitted and approved by
  9/30
• letter to SDE project director

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Drop-Dead Funds

• Grant money has a 27-month lifespan
• Money not spent or allowably obligated drops
  dead and reverts back to the feds
• FY07 funds drop dead 9/30/08
• FY08 funds drop dead 9/30/09
• Release of Funds - website
• Request by title, not grant year!

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Step-by-StepPayment Requests
1.
3.
4.
2.
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Step-by-StepExpenditure Reports
Expenditure Reports
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FACTS Caution Flags

• -Drawing down funds without reporting
  expenditures
• -Reporting expenditures without drawing down
  funds
• -Not drawing funds for months at a time
• -Not complying with Cash Management Information
  Act (CMIA)

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Need more money? Transfers may help
Transfers
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FYIWho ya gonna call?

• NCLB Consultants
• Fiscal consultants
• SDE staff

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Status Page Caution Flags

• Gold Flags Pending deadlines, item not ready for
  LEA, nothing required YET
• Red Flags Deadlines missed, items incomplete,
  out of compliance

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Secure your finances and peace of mind

• Remember to keep up with the little things
• Little things become big things
• Big things become findings

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Brought to you by Eve Carney and Brenda
Staggs Grants Coordinator and Grants Manager
for Federal Programs