Organizational Systems and Leadership: Safeguarding Financial Operations

Question 1

Financial controls help school admin evaluate the use of financial resources and safeguard against fraudulent, wasteful or simply ineffective use of funds. These controls typically fall into two major categories: _____________ and _____________.

Answer 1

Internal Control and Financial Audits.

Question 2

Internal control involves establishing ________ to safeguard assets and verify that accounting data is ________ and ______.

Answer 2

protocols

reliable and accurate.

Question 3

The characteristics of effective internal control: (5)

Answer 3

there should be a clear and formal organizational structure (everyone knows the chain of command), each division should have a distinct account that can be tracked separately, no single individual should completely control all phases of any important transaction, and the personnel tracking and recording assets should be separate from those handling the assets. Systems should be designed to reconcile assets throughout the allocation process such that errors or discrepancies by one employee or division will be caught by the next entity involved (not duplicative, but checks).

Question 4

In a financial audit, and _______ ________ examines a school district’s accounting, financial, and operational systems. Audits typically take one of two forms: _____ _____ (outside firm looks at accounting books) or ______ ______ (done by district employees who look at books and equipment, etc.).

Answer 4

independent appraiser

external audit/ internal audit