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New Clerk Orientation Role of the Clerk/Comptroller as County Finance Officer

New Clerk Orientation Role of the Clerk/Comptroller as County Finance Officer. December 3, 2012 1:15 -2:30 pm Hon. Kirk Reams, Jefferson County Clerk Hon. Brent Thurmond, CPA, Wakulla County Clerk Hon. Jeff Smith, CPA, Indian River County Clerk. Role of the Clerk.

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New Clerk Orientation Role of the Clerk/Comptroller as County Finance Officer

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  1. New Clerk OrientationRole of the Clerk/Comptroller as County Finance Officer December 3, 2012 1:15 -2:30 pm Hon. Kirk Reams, Jefferson County Clerk Hon. Brent Thurmond, CPA, Wakulla County Clerk Hon. Jeff Smith, CPA, Indian River County Clerk

  2. Role of the Clerk • Article VIII, Section 1, subsection (d) specifically says the clerk of the circuit court shall be the ex-officio clerk of the board, auditor, recorder and custodian of all county funds when not otherwise provided for by county charter or special act of Legislature • Florida Statute 125.17 specifically gives the Clerk of the Circuit Court for a county the authority to be the Clerk and Accountant for the Board of County Commissioners

  3. County Government Structure

  4. County Government Structure Citizens/Voters Sheriff Clerk of Court Comptroller Property Appraiser Tax Collector County Judge(s) Supervisor of Elections

  5. Who are the players on the Board of County Commissioners • County Commission – size of Commission depends on size of County • Typical County has 5 Commissioners • Divided into Districts • County Administrator – serves at the pleasure of the Commission • Responsible for day to day operations of entire County and its components

  6. Who are the players on the Board of County Commissioners • Office of Management & Budget Director – serves at the pleasure of the County Administrator • Staff might include one or more Budget Analysts • Office of the Comptroller/Finance- serves at the pleasure of the Clerk of Circuit Court & Comptroller • F.S. 28.12 and 125.17

  7. Comptroller/Finance Functions (cont’d) • Financial Statement preparation • Make all fiscal year end adjustments and accruals for reporting purposes • Obtain draft statements from all Constitutional Officers; • Combine statements with BCC financial information to produce draft comprehensive financial report for external auditors;

  8. Comptroller/Finance Functions (cont’d) • Accounts Payable • all vendor, contractor, debt and regulatory payments for the BCC • Insure all vendor invoices, requests for contractor payments etc. are properly approved via department head or designee, purchase order or Commission approved • Comply with Statute 218.735 “Prompt Payment Act

  9. Comptroller/Finance Functions (cont’d) • Accounts Receivable • Record all accrued revenue • Reconcile collections with accrued revenue from prior year • Record all current receipts • Grant Accounting • Record all Grant Revenue • Record all Grant Expenditures • Prepare Schedule of Major Grants for Audit

  10. Comptroller/Finance Functions (cont’d) • Payroll • Process and issue paychecks for all BCC employees • Timely deposit all withholding and payroll taxes to regulatory agencies • Timely file all payroll related forms to regulatory agencies • Administer County Cafeteria Plan • Administer Deferred Compensation Plans

  11. Comptroller/Finance Functions (cont’d) • Enterprise Accounting – all business like activities of the BCC • Debt Management • Timely payment of all debt obligations • Review all debt issuances • Custody and accounting of all debt proceeds • Prepare Debt schedules for reporting purposes

  12. Comptroller/Finance Functions (cont’d) • County Property • Capitalize and tag all tangible County property • Record capitalized property • Conduct annual inventory of County Property • County Treasurer • Cash management • Banking Contracts • Investment of County funds pursuant to approved policies • Reporting of investment results

  13. Comptroller/Finance Functions (cont’d) • County Treasurer (continued) • Article V and Article VIII mandates that the Clerk/Comptroller be the custodian of ALL County Funds • This has been a source of litigation between Clerks and BOCC - Brock Case

  14. County Auditor • Set out by Constitution Article VIII • Set out by case law • Powers Case • Brock Case • Design, install and test Internal Controls • Pre-audit • Public Purpose • Legality of Expenditure • Properly Budgeted

  15. County Budget Office • Creates BCC County wide Budget • Responsible for monitoring expenditures to insure budget authority is not exceeded • Interim reporting to BCC of Budget to Actual Results

  16. Clerk of Circuit Court/Comptroller • Above all, the Clerk/Comptroller is a Public Trustee • Responsible for promoting accountability, transparency and good stewardship of citizen’s money.

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