This course has certainly succeeded in developing my strengths in the area of school finance. The knowledge I have gained and the activities I have participated in allowed me to spend time with our business manager and superintendent, which was an extremely valuable learning experience. I feel much more confident in the areas of internal controls, procedures and the auditing process.
The activities throughout this class allowed me to learn about school finance through real school data. Analyzing two districts not only helped me gain an understanding of the factors that affect revenue and expenditures in a district, but also prompted me to study my own district data.
One of the most interesting activities was learning about the financial audit and FIRST rating. This activity emphasized the importance of having procedures in place that create and effective checks and balances system. Procedures must involve multiple staff members so that there is never a time when one individual is solely responsible for a certain area. An atmosphere of accountability is created when teams of people work together to maintain ethical behavior.
My areas of improvement are in applying legal concepts and regulations as well as understanding the revenue forecasting process. These are two areas in which I feel much more confident than I did before the course, but do not quite have enough experience to feel as though I could do it without much guidance. Fortunately, education is a career of collaboration and lifelong learning. I know that although I may not know it all, I have a wealth of resources I can call on for help. This course provided numerous websites and other readings that I am certain will come in handy in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment