Writer: Roger Nielsen
The Institute of Government and the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget (OPB) collaborated to produce a new Financial Management Program webinar, "Posting the Appropriations Act." This unique webinar offers state budget directors, analysts, and staff detailed instruction on how to post to the state budget and accounting systems in accordance with the Appropriations Act.
Once the governor signs the final appropriations bill, state agencies are mandated to implement the Appropriations Act and prepare their operating budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. Following the governor's signature, state agencies must have all their budget information posted to OPB's budget system by May 31 annually. After the budget is approved in the OPB budget system, agencies must post to their internal accounting system prior to July 1. State agencies will be better equipped to meet the posting deadlines required in the state statute as a result of the training provided by the Institute of Government.
Faculty member Tracy Arner, a Certified Public Accountant and governmental accounting expert, directs the Financial Management Program at the Institute and worked with OPB to develop this new webinar. Although the Institute offers an extensive catalogue of financial and accounting webinars and tutorials for local governments, the Posting the Appropriations Act webinar is the first produced exclusively for state government.
"We were pleased to work with OPB on this exciting endeavor. We believe it provides state agencies with an effective option for achieving timely and successful compliance with the Act," said Arner.
The two-hour, live webinar was hosted by the Institute on April 30 and was recorded for future training purposes. The webinar provides detailed instruction on compliance requirements as well as step-by-step procedures for inputting state agency budget data. The Institute also produced four complementary Microsoft Excel tutorials that provide state staff with additional instruction.
