Accounting Basics for Tribes

October 4 - 5, 2022

KIVA developed this course to for tribes that need to prepare for annual audits

For all but one day of the year, the end of your financial year is always approaching – sometimes year-end is still months away, other times year-end is right around the corner. If your organization receives and spends $750,000 in federal funds, you must submit your audit report to the federal government within 9 months after your fiscal year end. Regardless of where you are in your accounting cycle, are you experiencing that familiar feeling of audit dread? Audits do not have to be your worst nightmare if you are working year-round to plan and prepare the audits carefully. With an audit strategy and a dedication to using best practices year-round, you can relax when the audit team comes calling.

A single audit is a review of an organization’s financial condition, its compliance with its federal awards, and an assessment of the organization’s internal controls. Unfortunately, many organizations have difficulty complying with audit reporting requirements for a variety of reasons, but primarily because of difficulties surrounding internal accounting functions, and not complying with federal grant awards.  Failure to submit audit reports often results in sanctions imposed on tribes by federal funding agencies and collections for significant amounts of disallowed costs (expenditures).

This course is designed to provide attendees the fundamentals of accounting to arm the attendees with a basic understanding of accounting practices and accounting concepts including governmental accounting, fund accounting, double-entry accounting, modified and full accrual accounting system.  Attendees will learn governmental accounting and how it applies to tribes, the basic accounting concepts and the “Accounting Equation”, double-entry accounting (debits/credits), T-accounts, normal balances, journals, ledgers, how transactions are processed; accounting transactions (accounts receivables, accounts payables, general ledger, payroll, activities); fund accounting (purpose, fund categories, interfund loans, interfund transfers, activities); basis of accounting (cash, accrual, modified accrual, measurement focus), accounting for federal grants & contracts, program revenues). The course also covers the OMB audit reporting requirements.

The course includes instructions on “becoming audit ready”, including ensuring the accuracy of your accounting transactions, year-end working trial balance by fund, general ledger detail, tribal operating budget, bank reconciliations, investments & loans, accounts payable/receivable, debt/liabilities, revenues, payroll, grant management and compliance, preparing the SEFA, indirect costs, and internal controls (accounting, procurement, property management). Being “audit ready” means deploying best management practices year-round.