Accounting Procedures
The Fiscal Procedures Manual for the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) shall be used to comply with generally accepted accounting procedures, good business practices, Board policy, and applicable laws. The Chancellor shall revise and maintain the manual as needed.
Financial Budgets
In accordance with the purpose of NACC, primary consideration in budget planning is placed upon the needs of the instructional programs. The first items budgeted are the salaries of instructional and other professional personnel. Other costs that must be projected are the salaries of support personnel; instructional supplies and equipment; office supplies and equipment; travel; materials and fees for specialized testing; membership costs for institutional and program accreditation; and physical plant maintenance, utilities, and insurance.
The President calls meetings for budget planning during the spring and summer of each year. The current year’s budget is analyzed to detect trends that may affect the projected budget year; enrollment projections are compared with actual enrollment; and revenue projections, particularly student revenues, are compared with actual revenues to date. Similar comparisons are made for expenditures for all segments of the budget.
Instructors and other staff members along with their supervisors provide input for the budget through estimating their expenditures for the projected budget year. These estimates address the amounts necessary to support all programs and functions of the institution in accordance with established purposes and policies. These estimates are compiled and prioritized by the budget supervisors and are balanced against the projected funds available. Funds may be shifted within each office or divisional category through re-budgeting authorized by the Dean of Financial Services and the President.
The budget is submitted as required to the System Office of the ACCS, for submission in turn to the ACCS Board of Trustees. Once the budget is approved by the Board, any major changes during the fiscal year must be submitted by the President for Board review and approval or disapproval.
Purchasing Procedures
The Alabama Community College System Purchasing Manual shall be used to comply with ACCS Board policy, and applicable state laws associated with purchasing. Approved joint purchase agreements may be used if in the best interest of the College.
Purchase Orders
NACC requires a Purchase Order for the purchasing of goods and services with institutional funds, including restricted grant funds.
No one other than the Dean of Financial Services and the President has the responsibility of obligating any funds under the name of the College. All purchases made will be authorized on the official purchase order which is issued upon the approval of requisitions submitted to the Business Office.
The person filling out the requisition must have access to the Banner SSB app located in MyNACC on the college website, www.nacc.edu.
The person making a request should specify the quantity, description, and price of each requested
item. Choose the vendor if known. Note: New vendors must be established by the Business Office. The new vendor must submit a valid W9 prior to being setup in Banner.
The completed form will be submitted to the division director, program coordinator, Grant Administrator or other immediate supervisor in charge of that department’s budget; upon their approval, the form is forwarded to the Dean of Financial Services and then to the President for final approval. Should funds not be available for the requisition, a Re-budget Request should be completed and sent for approval by the Dean of Financial Services and the President.
Once all approvals have been made the requisition is then converted into a purchase order.
Purchase orders will be issued by the institution each day the Business office is open, excluding
special circumstances.
A copy of the purchase order is sent to the initiating person after the purchase order is processed.
Purchases received should be checked carefully against the purchase order copy; any discrepancies
must be reconciled. Upon receipt of invoice, the person who initiated the requisition and received the
goods notes the date purchases were received and signs to authorize the payment. The invoice is then
returned to the Business Office for payment. All invoices should bear the related purchase order number for reference.
Bidding
Institutional contracts for labor, services, work, or for the purchase or lease of materials, equipment, supplies or other personal property is governed by the Alabama Bid Law, Title 41. The law is amended periodically, especially the value limit on purchases that do not require competitive bidding. Currently, the limit is $50,000 for any item or group of like items purchased within a fiscal year. Items exceeding the limit are offered for competitive bidding. Any item, regardless of cost, may be offered for competitive bidding.
The construction, installation, repair, renovation, or maintenance of public buildings and structures are governed by Public Works, Title 39. These projects over a threshold of $50,000 are required to be bid. This type of bid is subject to different requirements than the Title 41 type bids. The Business Office will establish which type of bid process should be used.
An invitation to bid (ITB) is constructed by the Business Office personnel using specifications based upon the needs of the individual or department submitting the request or specifications from previous bids from which the same item(s) was purchased. Vendors to receive the ITB are selected from the institutional vendor listing, the internet, or other identifiable source of vendors offering the item(s). Bids received in the Business Office by the deadline established in the ITB are considered valid bids. The bids are opened immediately after the deadline, and the sessions are open to the public. The individual requesting the item(s) are requested to be present and participate in the analysis of each bid response to select the lowest responsible bidder. The lowest responsible bidder is awarded the bid and a purchase order submitted to that bidder.
It should also be noted that personal property acquisitions estimated to exceed $500,000 must have Board of Trustees approval prior to acquisition.
Inventory Control
NACC maintains an inventory list of all items capitalized by the institution, according to federal guidelines for capitalizing items. Currently those items costing a total of at least $5,000, including component costs, are capitalized and recorded in the institution’s accounting system. All capitalized items are decaled and maintained on the institution’s inventory control listing.
In addition to items costing $5,000 or more, items purchased by federal grants that are considered to be of a “personal nature” and more liable to be stolen or misused are uniquely decaled and maintained on separate inventory control lists. These items are not capitalized but are subject to all control functions in place for capitalized items. The inventory control of these items is the responsibility of the campus unit for which the grant was awarded.
An annual inventory of capitalized items is conducted by Business Office personnel to locate and identify each item on the list. The inventory shall show the complete description, manufacturer’s serial number, acquisition cost, date of purchase, location, responsible individual, and the college property control number. Each building on campus has an individual responsible for supervision of the building and its contents. This individual is responsible for locating the decaled items on the inventory control list and reporting its location to the Business Office personnel. Any time a decaled item is moved from its inventory control list location, it is the responsibility of the building supervisor to notify the Business Office personnel as to the new location of the item using the Property Transfer Form.
Whenever any building supervisor ceases for any reason to be the property manager, the Dean of Financial Services shall immediately notify the President in writing. College officials shall immediately check the inventories of all property for which the property manager was responsible and the successor to the property shall execute a written receipt for all property received by him or her or coming into his or her custody or control.
If any inventory item is lost or considered stolen, an investigation is conducted and documented by campus police. Documents are submitted to the local police departments for further investigation and possible recovery of the lost or stolen items. A search of other campus facilities is conducted by the building supervisors to attempt to locate the missing item. If the item cannot be located or recovered, an insurance claim is submitted to the Alabama Department of Risk Management providing insurance coverage for facilities and contents for settlement. Any item not recovered within one year is removed from inventory control and the institution’s accounting system.
If any inventory item is damaged beyond use by whatever means, an insurance claim is submitted to the Alabama Department of Risk Management for settlement and removed from inventory control and the institution’s accounting system.
Fund-Raising
All fund-raising activities of the College are conducted to help fulfill its mission. Fund-raising includes two basic practices at NACC: (1) the solicitation of funds for program-related and student activities and (2) obtaining donated equipment.
All program-related and student fund-raising activities must be approved by the President. The Request for Fund-Raising Activity form should be submitted for approval of these activities and can be found on the Forms page of the College website.
Occasionally monetary contributions or equipment are made on an unsolicited basis. These contributions must be approved by the President. Such contributions must be included in the College’s financial records and are subject to the state auditing process. Both types of fund-raising are to be included in the College planning process and are to be regularly evaluated by the Dean of Financial Services.
Grants
Proposals
It is the policy of the College to encourage employees to develop proposals for external grants for specific projects relating to their disciplines. It is emphasized, however, that the College is a teaching institution and that grant activities should not interfere with instructional responsibilities.
All proposals should be submitted through the proper institutional official as designated in the organizational chart. The President makes the final determination concerning a request.
College personnel must maintain institutional control of the administration of research projects and not permit institutional activities to be threatened by the acquisition of contracts and grants. Staff and faculty undertaking research and publication through grants and contracts should balance their work so that all aspects of their job descriptions are met. The final measure of this balance is the annual personnel evaluation.