A major responsibility of the school principal is to monitor the internal accounting functions of the school in accordance with Miami-Dade County Public Schools' policy. Each year, as required by Section 237.02(4) Florida Statutes and State Board of Education Rule 6A-1.087, District School Boards must provide for audits of school internal funds. The audit results are brought before an audit committee made up of local business leaders, the Superintendent of Schools, School Board members, and district staff. After comments and suggestions by the audit committee, the audit results are then brought before The Miami-Dade County School Board.
In 1997, the former Deputy Superintendent of School Operations, the Chief Auditor, and audit committee members expressed concern about the number of schools cited with audit exceptions. The Deputy Superintendent and Chief Auditor brought staff together to brainstorm a solution to this problem. Through extensive collaboration of the two departments, the Money Matters Support Program was developed. The MMSP is a year-long support system that educates principals and other appropriate staff about a school's internal accounting procedures so that they can effectively carry out and/or monitor financial transactions to prevent errors and irregularities. MMSP is multifaceted, rich in resources, and its bottom line is to prevent audit exceptions in schools.
The MMSP has been in existence for several years and has demonstrated its effectiveness by significantly reducing audit exceptions at school sites and consistently receiving overwhelming support from principals and region/district administrators. |
