Archived Information

School Finance: Charter Schools

Memorandum

In accordance with M.G.L. c. 71, § 89, each Massachusetts Charter School shall have its independent audit filed annually on or before January first following the fiscal year end. As described in the revised Massachusetts Charter School Audit Guide. June 2005 (http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/charter/charter_audit.html), as part of the new submission requirements taking effect for FY2006, charter schools are required to electronically file the FY2006 Charter School End of Year Financial Report (CSEOYFR).

The CSEOYFR was designed to capture charter school financial data in a standardized format for the following reasons:

• To meet grant compliance requirements applicable to all public schools. This data is not currently captured or has been unclear/inconsistent due to the lack of standardized financial definitions for charter schools. (This is data that is captured for all other public school districts through the End of Year Pupil and Financial Report http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/account/eoy06.html.)

• To address issues raised by the State Auditor's report of June 15, 2004 (Link updated on 04/02/08) on charter school financials, as well as new Government Accounting Standards Bureau (GASB) requirements. For example, the State Auditor noted that inconsistency in how charter schools reported their financial activity made comparisons impractical.

• To create consistency in the report-out of charter school financials in order to allow for analysis.

The CSEOYFR file, along with the certification statement are due to the Charter School Office by January 1, 2007, as part of the school's completed audit report package. Complete audit submission requirements are outlined in the Audit Guide and reiterated below:

• Two (2) bound copies of the complete audit report, including management letter, if any, must be sent to:

  Department of Education - Charter School Office
  350 Main Street
  Malden, MA 02148-5023
  Attention: Coordinator of Research & Finance

• One (1) bound copy of the complete audit report, including management letter, if any, must be sent to:

  Office of the State Auditor
  1 Ashburton Place, Room 1819
  Boston, MA 02108
  Attention: Manager of Policy

• One (1) electronic copy of the completed audit report in PDF format must be submitted via the DOE Security Portal. (The instruction to use Security Portal is downloadable:  

• One (1) electronic copy of the Charter School Year End Financial Report (Revised as of November 29, 2006) must be submitted via the DOE Security Portal.

• Single audits, if applicable performed in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133 must also be filed with the Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Please refer to OMB Circular A-133 for the federal filing requirements.

Completing these reports accurately will require a careful review of all the instructions included within the Audit Guide and CSEOYFR electronic file. Since school officials sign and submit these data reports to the Commonwealth under the penalties of perjury, please take care to ensure that the data you submit from your school is accurate and meets the requirements of the law.

If you anticipate or experience problems with timely, accurate completion of your CSEOYFR, please contact Cliff Chuang of the Charter School Office at 781-338-3228 or cchuang@doe.mass.edu.

Thank you for your cooperation and assistance in providing this very important financial data.

Attachment:

1. FY2006 Charter School Audit and End of Year Financial Report Drop Box Submission Instructions:  

2. Charter School Year End Financial Report: (Revised as of November 29, 2006)