Chapter 9 Section 2 : Financial Reporting

Financial Reporting
	Chapter 9. REPORTS

Financial Reporting

What Does Spending All the Money Really Mean?

	PLEASE NOTE
	For Mini-Grants, not all line items will apply to your project.

Your LSTA Special Project Report form includes a separate page for each line item in the budget. Only use the ones for which you have budgeted funds and have expenditures.

Refer to both your approved budget and your local accounting records to track your project expenses. Fill in the forms for each budget category, listing only actually expended amounts for which you have a check or warrant number and a paid invoice. For example, if you are paying a person weekly, or monthly, as part of this project, list the person's name, date of invoice, invoice number, number of hours, check or warrant number and amount of payment on the PERSONNEL form. DO NOT INCLUDE ENCUMBERED FUNDS, and NEVER INCLUDE LOCAL FUNDS. If there were no expenditures during that time period in a particular line item, do not include a sheet for it. Include only forms for line items which are applicable to your project. Photocopy forms as needed. Always give the exact amount of the expenditure. Do not round off expenditures to the nearest dollar in your reports, even though we have had you round them in your application and disbursement requests.

Even if your project is one that requires matching local funds, do not report them to us. By signing the Agreement (Agreement: #11) you are assuring us that you have met this requirement and have documentation to this effect in the project file kept in the library.

FINANCIAL EXPENDITURE SUMMARY:

Once you have completed line item sheets for all expenditures, transfer the subtotal of each line item form to the LSTA Financial Expenditure Summary sheet. Circle the project report number and list the subtotal for each category and the totals as requested. PLEASE NOTE: Use a calculator and double check all of your figures. An error in calculation on your end creates hours of work on our end and may slow up receipt of remaining project funds, not to mention your consultant's gray hairs again!.

Be sure to place expenditures in the correct line items. LIBRARY MATERIALS include books, periodicals, pamphlets, prerecorded videocassettes and audio cassettes, filmstrips, educational toys, games, realia, compact discs, puppets, art prints, subscriptions to electronic databases, and computer software. Group subcategories together and subtotal each within the materials category. SUPPLIES include blank videocassettes and audio cassettes, consumable items that will eventually need to be replaced such as canvas bags, album or CD cases, pockets, cards, envelopes, craft materials, paper, toner, storage boxes, labels, power cords, cables, three prong adaptors, batteries. EQUIPMENT includes furniture, computer hardware (software only if purchased as a package deal and its cost is included in the cost of the computer, not separately), surge suppressors, compact disc players, CD ROM drives, microfilm/fiche readers/printers, headphones, projectors, VCR's, display racks, shelving. TRAVEL includes transportation for speakers or other project staff at the mileage rate your agency allows. It may also include lodging and meals for speakers. In the OTHER category, you should also group expenditures by subcategory. Don't confuse printing with advertising. If you print a brochure for distribution, it is reported as printing. If you pay for an ad in a newspaper or on the radio, it is advertising. If you are paying a fee to a speaker for a program, it is an honorarium (See SAMPLE 5).

Remember, only two line items have sub categories: LIBRARY MATERIALS and OTHER. Expenditures in these categories should be grouped together, identified, and subtotaled. If competitive bids are required by your business office for items purchased, keep a copy in this folder (Agreement: #8). The Project Director is responsible for knowing about the financial part of the project and ensuring that all project funds are spent even if he or she is not actually responsible for completing this part of the report. Do not list credits on your expenditure statements, only expenditures. CAUTION: It is not an advisable practice to reimburse project staff for expenditures made with personal funds. We understand this sometimes happens but it should be kept to a minimum and never for large amounts.

	Please Note
	Grant funds may not be used to buy refreshments nor to pay library employees who are already full time staff. There may be occasional exceptions to the latter; talk to your project consultant about this first. There are no exceptions to the former-keep the calories (and the paper plates) in your own budget, or use us as an excuse not to serve purple Kool-Aid on your new carpet!

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Chapter 9. REPORTS	.	Equipment