Organizational Self-Balancing Fund

An Organizational Self-Balancing Fund is a bookkeeping account that represent funds-related transactions.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) be a Self-Balancing Account (according to fund-based accounting).
  • It can (typically) be constrained for specific Spend Purposes.
  • It can (typically) be a member of a Funds Tree (typically for a not-for-profit's CoA).
  • It can range from being a Government Entity Fund to being a Non-Profit Organization Fund.
  • It can be composed of Funds Sub-Accounts (such as proprietary funds, and fiduciary funds).
  • It can be represented by a Funds Journal, Funds Ledger, ...
  • It can be referenced by a Not-for-Profit Expenditure Transaction, and ...
• Example(s):
  • a Government Entity Fund, such as a City Government Fund, a Local Government Fund, a State/Province Fund, or a National Government Fund.
  • a Nonprofit Organization Fund.
  • ABC Newstand's Funds Account.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • a Revenues Account.
  • a Expenditures Account.
  • a Liabilities Account.
  • an Assets Account.
• See: Sub-Organization, Expenditure Transaction, Fund, Fixed Asset, Accrual Accounting, Cash Basis, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, GL Transaction.

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References

2016

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fund Retrieved:2016-9-28.
  • Fund may refer to: … Fund accounting, an accounting system often used by nonprofit organizations and by the public sector

2015

• (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fund_accounting#Overview Retrieved:2015-12-28.
  • Nonprofit organizations and government agencies have special requirements to show, in financial statements and reports, how money is spent, rather than how much profit was earned. Unlike profit oriented businesses, which use a single set of self-balancing accounts (or general ledger), nonprofits can have more than one general ledger (or fund), depending on their financial reporting requirements. An accountant for such an entity must be able to produce reports detailing the expenditures and revenues for each of the organization's individual funds, and reports that summarize the organization's financial activities across all of its funds.

    A school system, for example, receives a grant from the state to support a new special education initiative, another grant from the federal government for a school lunch program, and an annuity to award teachers working on research projects. At periodic intervals, the school system issues a report to the state about the special education program, a report to a federal agency about the school lunch program, and a report to another authority about the research program. Each of these programs has its own unique reporting requirements, so the school system needs a method to separately identify the related revenues and expenditures. This is done by establishing separate funds, each with its own chart of accounts.

• (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fund_accounting#State_and_local_government_funds Retrieved:2015-12-28.
  • State and local governments use three broad categories of funds: governmental funds, proprietary funds and fiduciary funds.

    Governmental funds include the following. * General fund. This fund is used to account for general operations and activities not requiring the use of other funds. * Special revenue (or special) funds are required to account for the use of revenue earmarked by law for a particular purpose. State and federal fuel tax revenues require special revenue funds, because federal and state laws restrict these taxes to transportation uses. * Capital projects funds are used to account for the construction or acquisition of fixed assets, such as buildings, equipment and roads. Depending on its use, a fixed asset may instead be financed by a special revenue fund or a proprietary fund. A capital project fund exists only until completion of the project. Fixed assets acquired and long-term debts incurred by a capital project are assigned to the government's General Fixed Assets and Long-Term Debts. * Debt service funds are used to account for money that will be used to pay the interest and principal of long-term debts. Bonds used by a government to finance major construction projects, to be paid by tax levies over a period of years, require a debt service fund to account for their repayment. The debts of special assessment and proprietary funds are serviced within those funds, rather than by a separate debt service fund. * Permanent funds account for public infrastructure improvements financed by special levies against property holders. Sidewalk and alley repairs often rely on special assessments. Proprietary funds include the following. * Internal service funds are used for operations serving other funds or departments within a government on a cost-reimbursement basis. A printing shop, which takes orders for booklets and forms from other offices and is reimbursed for the cost of each order, would be a suitable application for an internal service fund. * Enterprise funds are used for services provided to the public on a user charge basis, similar to the operation of a commercial enterprise. Water and sewage utilities are common examples of government enterprises. Fiduciary funds are used to account for assets held in trust by the government for the benefit of individuals or other entities. The employee pension fund, created by the State of Maryland to provide retirement benefits for its employees, is an example of a fiduciary fund. Financial statements may further distinguish fiduciary funds as either trust or agency funds; a trust fund generally exists for a longer period of time than an agency fund.

2013

• (Georgia Department of Community Affairs, 2013) ⇒ Georgia Department of Community Affairs. (2013). “Third Edition of the Uniform Chart of Accounts for Local Governments in Georgia."
  • QUOTE: Governmental accounting systems should be organized and operated on a fund basis. All of a government’s individual funds are first classified by category and then by fund type within each category.

    There are three categories:

    1. Governmental funds — used to account for activities primarily supported by taxes, grants, and similar revenue sources.
    2. Proprietary funds — used to account for activities that receive significant support from fees and charges.
    3. Fiduciary funds — used to account for resources that a government holds as a trustee or agent on behalf of an outside party that cannot be used to support the government’s own programs.

2005

• (U.S. GAO, 2005) ⇒ U.S. GAO. (2005). “A Glossary of Terms Usedin the Federal Budget Process.” In: U.S. Government Accountability Office GAO-05-734SP Journal.
  • QUOTE:
    • Account: A separate financial reporting unit for budget, management, and/or accounting purposes. All budgetary transactions are recorded in accounts, but not all accounts are budgetary in nature. Some accounts do not directly affect the budget but are used purely for accounting purposes. Budget accounts are used to record all transfers within the budget, whereas other accounts (such as deposit fund, credit financing, and foreign currency accounts) are used for accounting purposes connected with funds that are nonbudgetary in nature.
    • Federal Fund Accounts: Budgetary accounts composed of moneys collected and spent by the federal government other than those designated as trust funds. Federal fund accounts include general, special, public enterprise, and intragovernmental fund accounts. (See also Standard General Ledger Chart of Accounts.)
    • General Fund Accounts. Accounts in the U.S. Treasury holding all federal money not allocated by law to any other fund account.General Fund Receipt Account. A receipt account credited with all collections that are not earmarked by law for another account for a specific purpose.

2004

• http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2004/h2r2/ch_4.asp#3
  • QUOTE: For governmental entities to ensure the proper segregation of resources and to maintain proper accountability, an entity's accounting system should be organized and operated on a fund basis. Each fund is a separate fiscal entity and is established to conduct specific activities and objectives in accordance with statutes, laws, regulations, and restrictions or for specific purposes. A fund is defined in GASB Codification Section 1300 as a fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts recording cash and other financial resources, together with all related liabilities and residual equities or balances, and changes therein, which are segregated for the purpose of carrying on specific activities or attaining certain objectives in accordance with special regulations, restrictions, or limitations.

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