Accounting Procedures Handbook

8 FINANCIAL REPORTING AND CONTROL accounting system details and then completes the Certification Statement for the MSDE annual report submission process. Refer to the MSDE Financial Reporting Manual for Maryland Public Schools for additional information. E. Financial Accounting and Reporting Oversight/ Control a. The Comptroller has overall oversight and monitoring responsibility for the Business Support Services Department including the financial accounting and reporting function. As part of this role, the Comptroller is responsible for ensuring dual control exists within and across all major functions of the Business Support Services Department. As an example, the Comptroller plays a major role in this regard by reviewing procedures to be applied to various transactions and reporting details generated by the financial accounting and reporting function, particularly as related to any significant data input originated by the Accounting Manager. In addition, various financial reports are generated and reviewed from a quality control perspective by the Accounting Manager and/ or Comptroller at year-end as well as throughout the year on a monthly, quarterly, or interim basis. b. The Accounting Manager is the primary individual in-charge on a day to day basis for the financial accounting and reporting function within the Business Support Services Department, with the Comptroller providing ongoing oversight to this central function. For quality control, the Accounting Manager is responsible for reviewing (as appropriate) source financial data received from other managers and authorized personnel of WCBOE (as applicable). F. Internal Reports Accountants and various other employees submit reports for review by the Comptroller on a regular basis throughout the year. Reports are typically run and submitted to the Comptroller for review on a monthly, quarterly, or other interim basis. Reports are sent to and received by the Secretary to the Comptroller who date stamps them upon receipt before making them available for the Comptroller’s review. Reports are maintained for two years in the internal filing cabinet outside of the Comptroller’s Office, then moved to archives and maintained for 7 years. The Secretary to the Comptroller maintains a control listing for internal reports and will advise the Comptroller of any reports that have not been received in a timely manner. Refer to Section 24 for the listing, reporting frequency, and description of Internal Reports. G. Comprehensive Master Plan (CMP) Annual Updates The Budget Manager is responsible for updating the CMP in accordance with MSDE guidelines.