GASB STATEMENT 34 ADVISORY COMMITTEE

M i n u t e s

April 10, 2001

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Location          Conference Room 222

Wade Hampton State Office Building

Columbia, South Carolina

 

Time                10:00 AM

 

Attendees        Barbara Hevener–South Carolina Office of Comptroller General, Program Sponsor

Kathy Glass–KPMG, Program Manager

John Campbell–University of South Carolina

Becky Carver–South Carolina Department of Mental Health (Guest)

Carl Chase, South Carolina Department of Transportation (Guest)

Bruce Dorman–South Carolina Department of Public Safety

Rich Gilbert–South Carolina State Auditor’s Office

Lanna Harris–State Budget and Control Board, Internal Operations

Paul Jarvis, South Carolina State Treasurer’s Office (Guest)

Laura Johnson, South Carolina Department of Public Safety (Guest)

Steve Lake, South Carolina Department of Public Safety (Guest)

Paul Lewis, South Carolina Department of Public Safety (Guest)

Billy Martin–South Carolina Employment Security Commission

Renee Moore–State Budget & Control Board, Office of Information Resources

Pat O’Cain–South Carolina Office of Comptroller General, Data Processing

Kelly Richardson, KPMG (Guest)

Lynda Robinson–South Carolina Department of Education

Boyd Rhoten–South Carolina Department of Mental Health

Bill Stitler, KPMG (Guest)

Ed Walton–University of South Carolina (Guest)

Debra White–South Carolina Department of Transportation

Bonnie Gunter–South Carolina Office of Comptroller General

(Administrative Coordination and Minutes)

 

Agenda       Welcome and Introduction

Approval of Minutes

Discussion of Upcoming Agency Training Sessions

Discussion of Agencies’ GASB 34 Efforts

-Department of Public Safety

-Employment Security Commission

-Department of Transportation

-College and University Controllers’ Group

 

Welcome and Introduction

§         The meeting was called to order; members and guests were recognized.

 

Approval of Minutes

§         Copies of minutes for the meeting of February 6, 2001, were distributed and approved.

§         Barbara proposed streamlining the minutes to “bulleted” items instead of the previous more formal format; members approved this change.

Discussion of OCG’s Upcoming Agency Training Sessions

§         Registration materials and a proposed agenda for agency training sessions to be held on April 30 and May 2 at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History Center were distributed.  (This information also was posted to the OCG’s website.)

§         The morning session will group all participants together in an auditorium setting for topics applicable to all.

§         Two concurrent afternoon sessions will be held:  one for closing package agencies and another for financial statement entities.

§         A full day’s attendance is intended to qualify for 6.1 hours of CPE.

§         Members were encouraged to provide feedback regarding these plans.

Discussion of Agencies’ GASB 34 Efforts

Four agencies presented their agencies’ GASB 34 implementation efforts to date:

Department of Public Safety (DPS)

§         Financial information for DPS is incorporated into the statewide CAFR from closing packages, but DPS also issues audited financial statements.

§         Bruce Dorman reported that DPS had contracted with KPMG to study its internal system and to help it develop a GASB 34 work plan.

§         The study proposed forty-six projects; those identified as having the greatest impact relate to:  (1) staff education/training, (2) capital assets, (3) depreciation, and (4) financial reporting.

§         DPS appointed an eight-person steering committee and formed working teams involving staff from Accounting, Material Resources, Audit Services, and Information Technology.

§         Steve Lake, a project leader, discussed revenue analysis.

§         Laura Johnson, also a project leader, summarized several key issues relating to receivables and analysis (primarily cleaning up accounts receivables and updating the accounts receivable system).

§         Paul Lewis, from the DPS general accounting area, commented on issues relating to fund classification.

§         The speakers provided several “handouts” to committee members.

Employment Security Commission (ESC)

§         Financial information for ESC currently is incorporated into the statewide CAFR from closing packages, but ESC also issues audited financial statements; beginning in FY02, ESC will provide audited financial statements rather than closing packages to the OCG.

§         Billy Martin reported that ESC has contracted with KPMG for assistance. 

§         The planned July implementation will involve a team effort between accounting and data processing areas.

§         Under GASB 34, the ESC becomes an enterprise fund effective July 1, 2001; it must, therefore, begin to prepare statements of cash flows.

Department of Transportation (DOT)

§         Financial information for the DOT is incorporated into the statewide CAFR from audited financial statements, and this will continue to be the case in the future.

§         Debra White listed key areas:  (1) a comprehensive fixed assets system, including infrastructure (roads and bridges), depreciation, and resolution of issues associated with buildings that were previously transferred from DOT to DPS; and (2) accounts receivable/revenue reporting systems.

§         DOT has retained the services of (a) its external audit firm to assist in the implementation effort and (b) former State Auditor Ed Vaughn as a part-time project consultant.

§         Asset manager Carl Chase discussed DOT’s planned participation in a national conference in Nashville that will focus on infrastructure and GASB 34 reporting requirements; he expects the conference to provide essential information for DOT’s GASB 34 implementation project.

§         The focus of DOT’s GASB 34 infrastructure project will be creating an inventory/database of the over 41,000 miles of state-maintained roads, associated rights-of-way, more than 8,000 bridges, and more than 700 facilities.

College and University Controllers’ Group (CUCG)

§         The CUCG includes controllers of South Carolina’s ten four-year and research institutions and one representative from the State Board of Technical and Comprehensive Education; all CUCG member organizations are incorporated into the statewide CAFR from audited financial statements and a “closing package” that helps the OCG combine the financial data for all twenty-six institutions in a consistent format.

§         John Campbell, the CUCG’s chairman and Comptroller of the University of South Carolina (USC), updated the committee regarding the CUCG’s GASB 34 implementation efforts, which began more than a year ago.

§         Through a series of meetings with the OCG, State Auditor’s Office, and Commission on Higher Education, the CUCG has developed a framework for South Carolina’s public colleges and universities to use in implementing GASB 34, the primary purpose of which is to set a platform for consistency among the institutions in completion of data that must be merged into the statewide CAFR.

§         Mr. Campbell also described USC’s GASB 34 implementation project.

Adjournment:

The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 AM.

 

Next Meeting:

The committee agreed to suspend the May meeting due to training sessions and other GASB 34 activities in that month.  The next committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 5, 2001, at 10:00 AM, in Room 222 of the Wade Hampton State Office Building in Columbia.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara C. Hevener

/bpg

Enclosures

 

Click here to view the Agenda provided to Advisory Committee members at the meeting.

 

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