How To

Accounting Services
Provides prompt and accurate payment of vendor/supplier invoices in recognition of both general fund and revolving fund obligations incurred by customers. The unit also provides accounting functions related to monies appropriated for the funding of special projects and/or accounts assigned to DAS for the purpose of maintenance and disbursements of such funds.

Asset Management
Works with customer agencies to record, track, and dispose of physical assets and equipment throughout their useful life cycle. Services includes:

• Entering financial data into the state’s CORE reporting system
• Tagging
• Performing annual physical inventory
• Reconciling results of perpetual inventory records 
• Reporting findings to the Office of the State Comptroller
• Disposal of surplus property

The DAS Asset Management team adheres to the surplus policies provided by the DAS State Surplus Program; it is not in control of these programs or procedures. Customer agencies are asked to complete and submit the DAS Surplus Property Request Form to Property.mgmt@ct.gov to initialize disposal of any state assets.

The unit also provides daily courier service in the Hartford area for the agency’s bureaus, divisions and units.

Budget
Develops and administers the midterm and biennial budgets for its customer agencies to submit to the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) and Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA). Services include:

• Developing and submitting biennial budgets
• Monitoring and reporting on monthly expenditures
• Developing financial projections and estimates
• Meeting with agency heads to review budgets and expenditures
• Preparing ad hoc reports for:
  • Conducting financial analysis
  • Developing revolving fund budgets, rates, and financial statements
• Responding to requests for information from the auditors, OPM, OFA and customer agencies.
• GAAP Reporting

Central Accounting (CAU)
Provides centralized accounting services for its customer agencies. Services include:

• Billing verification and processing
• Balancing and reconciling accounts
• Maintaining transmittals and logging for all accounting transactions
• Payment processing
  • Researching problems
  • Ensuring successful posting
  • Preparing bank deposits for all receipts.
• Preparing, reconciling, and distributing various periodical financial reports
• Developing itemized and per capita liability statements.

Grants Management
Provides support and assistance to customer agencies in the management of Federal and Other Restricted Accounts. The primary responsibility of the unit is to assist agencies in achieving maximum program results while ensuring compliance with Federal and State regulations and requirements. The unit provides support with:

• Cash management
• Federal and State reporting
• Regulation implementation and interpretation
• Budgeting
• Other aspects of grant management.

 
The Unit continually evaluates the processes of expending and reporting awards in order to standardize and improve efficiency and fiscal accountability.

Project Accounting

• Providing Bond Fund financial support to the Construction Services Division of DAS
• Receiving monthly Bond Fund requests from client agencies for consideration at the monthly State Bond Commission meetings
• Handling all accounting functions for large, formal construction projects throughout the State of CT
• GAAP Reporting

Purchasing
Procures all of the commodities and services required by its customer agencies to ensure their continuous and efficient operations. Items requested can range from:

• Office supplies
• Equipment
• Contracts for consulting services

The tremendous diversity of commodities and services requested requires the Purchasing Unit to deal with a wide variety of state agencies, employees and vendors.

School Construction Audit Unit
Conducts audits at the completion of school constructions projects for compliance with state statutes and program regulations. These projects occur throughout the State and range in complexity from simple roof repair to complete construction of a new facility. The type of audit performed is determined by the amount of state grant funds awarded to ensure they are either expended properly or returned to the State.