Finance Checklist for Schools and Finance Officials

As we move towards the end of the first quarter of the year, we thought it was a great time for all government entities and public finance personnel to conduct a review of a number of items as they relate to your entity's financial "well-being." The items listed below are important, and most certainly should be monitored on a continuing basis. These 10 recommendations offer finance teams a great way to start the year off with a "hands-on" approach to educating themselves on relevant financial information while conducting prudent due diligence.

1. Review governing state statutes.

2. Review Investment Policy to ensure consistent or narrower than state statute. Prepare Investment Policy if entity does not currently have one. Share Investment Policy internally to relevant finance team members and entity executives, as well as externally to any financial service providers.

3. Review cash flows for bond projects and operating funds. Re-evaluate liquidity needs based on cash flow projections.

4. Review current portfolio and accounts, as well as asset allocation and any concentration limits. Confirm that any investments and associated credit ratings are permissible under your entity�s Investment Policy.

5. Review authorized signatories and access persons on accounts. Update as necessary.

6. Sign up for electronic statements and account access. Update passwords as needed.

7. Investigate use of ACH (Automated Clearing House) as a cost effective alternative to wire transactions. Arrange for direct deposit of state aid if not currently receiving state aid by direct deposit.

8. Review prospectus and information statements for all mutual funds and investment pools where assets are invested.

9. Check out your service providers.

Review ADV of any investment advisor�s used by your entity at www.sec.gov

Review FINRA BrokerCheck Report for any broker-dealer used by your entity at www.finra.org

Review information for any banks used by your entity at www.fdic.gov

10. Contact your financial service providers to discuss your current portfolio, cash flow and other information. Investigate new products and new investment opportunities that may better suit your entity�s needs.

Obviously this list could be much longer, and many of these items should be monitored on a continuing basis � we hope that this list provides a starting point to a year filled with responsible, critical and creative financial management.

Jennifer L. Scheffel is an attorney with PFM Asset Management LLC. She works closely with Boards of Trustees and Directors of mutual funds and local government investment pools on matters of governance and due diligence. She is a registered compliance principal with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (formerly the NASD).

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