FOUNDATIONS - Financial Management The area of Budget and Finance continues to evolve as the school districts within the province complete the implementation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for the public sector and to adopt new reporting requirements for the Governmental Reporting Entities.  These two initiatives continue to add to the complexity of our financial systems. We continue to commit significant effort to the development, design, and implementation of our Accounting and Payroll system.  This has been a major undertaking in that the system that is being replaced served the district well for over 25 years.  However, the new system will provide a significantly more flexible environment which will improve our ability to provide greater information to decision makers throughout the school district on a much more timely basis and in a much more user-friendly format.  The introduction of these systems has driven major adjustments to the roles of staff as well as work processes.  It is expected that this project will be completed early in the next school year. As a result of provincial government initiatives regarding changes to the budgeting and reporting requirements integrating school district finances into the provincial financial records, there is a greater need for the schools’ books and records to conform to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and to be audited.  To this end, we have contracted with a firm of chartered accountants to review our internal audit programs and to perform the necessary internal audit functions.  In addition, we have begun the provincially prescribed formal integration of individual school financial records into the school district’s financial reports.  These processes have drawn significantly on the resources of the Finance Department and will effect major change in the nature and scope of financial reporting in Richmond as well as across the province. We have undertaken a review of our purchasing functions and are in the process of reorganizing the Purchasing Department in order to obtain greater cost efficiencies through more intensive negotiations with suppliers and by consolidating orders to maximize the price-breaks available to the district through bulk buying. The 2005/06 Operating Budget was balanced with no reductions in service, largely as a result of significant resources having been provided by the provincial government.  We continue to look closely at all possible opportunities to increase district revenues and conserve resources in this fiscal year in order to be able to significantly reduce the district’s structural deficit and avoid any disruptions to the service levels currently in place. Revenue generation initiatives will affect our ability to sustain service levels.  Along with the traditional revenue sources such as rentals, interest, and Continuing Education programs, the district continues to develop and sell software and expand its International Programs. <<Prev -- Table of Contents -- Next>>