The Abrahams Group

ACCOUNTING FOR RESULTS:
Activity Based Costing

GENERAL LEDGER ABC ACCOUNTING PROJECTS
Last Updated: 11-15-01

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There are a number of software vendors that provide general ledger and/or cost accounting modules to cost government services. This section describes some of the general ledger cost accounting implementations that Mark Abrahams has implemented. Systems are presented in alphabetical order.

ACS/BRC

The ACS (formerly BRC) accounting system consists of are three ledgers: (1) balance sheet (2) revenue and (3) expenditures. The ACS/BRC expenditure ledger system provides up to a 24 character, 5-dimension design as follows:

1111.22222.33333.44444.55555

Any number of dimensions and any amount of characters within a dimension may be utilized provided that the first dimension is always fund and is always four characters regardless if the four characters are used. The town and school department may have the same classification structure or may have two different structures, one for the town and one for the school department.

City of Chelsea, Massachusetts
BRC

The City of Chelsea converted to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System and automated the system on the BRC. Mark Abrahams helped the City revised the accounting system to the UMAS system and to implement the revised chart of accounts on the BRC system.

Middleborough Public Schools, Massachusetts
ACS

The Middleborough Public Schools asked The Abrahams Group to redesign and implement a revised chart of accounts to support the revised Department of Education reporting requirements. The system now accounts for fund, location, object, DOE function, program and subject.

AMERICAN MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (AMS)

AMS has developed the LGFS and the Advantage 2000 series financial systems software. Examples of AMS cost accounting implementations are:

Maricopa County, Arizona
AMS Advantage 2000 Series

Maricopa County has been implementing a Managing for Result program for the past two years. The Abrahams Group was brought in to work with Weidner Consulting to implement budgeting for results and a cost accounting system. Once fully implemented, the system will formulate budgets at the activity level and present the budget along program lines. The Adaytum software is being utilized for the Budgeting for Results program. The County will allocate resources to support the program structure derived from department strategic business plans.

The County is utilizing the AMS Advantage 2000 series software to provide detailed cost accounting by activity or service. The EJamis electronic time and attendance system is being implemented to capture hours by activity. EJamis feeds the County's payroll system for employees to be paid and Advantage 2000 to track payroll costs by activity. Non payroll costs are also tracked through Advantage 2000 by activity. This system is tracking funds, agency, organization, programs, activities, sub activities and objects. Click on http://www.maricopa.gov for more detail.

ARLINGTON TRUST SOFTWARE
Massachusetts Municipalities
Massachusetts School Departments

Converting the Town of Whitman's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the Data General/Arlington Trust system.
Converting the Town of Westport's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the Data General/Arlington Trust system.
Converting the City of Everett's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the Data General/Arlington Trust system.
Converting the City of Revere's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the Data General/Arlington Trust system.

BI TECH

The Bi Tech financial software provides general ledger and job ledger accounting.

Riverside California
Bi Tech

The City of Riverside has been implementing a Managing for Results program for the past year. The Abrahams Group assisted the city departments to develop a program and activity structure and define performance measures. The City has prepared its budget to include program goals and outcome measures. This year the City is developing a SQL database to compile performance information and is restructuring its Bi Tech budgeting and accounting systems to support the City's program and activity structure. The Bi Tech accounting system will track funds, departments, divisions, programs, activities, sub activities, location, age groups (parks), object and other information.

Milwaukee Public Schools
Bi Tech

The Milwaukee Public Schools is a major school system with around 150 individual sites and another 150 collaboratives and other schools. The Abrahams Groups has been assisting the School Department to improve its program planning and performance measurement efforts as well as to implement performance based budgeting and cost accounting on the Bi Tech system. The accounting system will compile information for:

Tax	X	Operating, construction, extension
Fund	XX	General, categorical, et al
Sub Fund	XXX	Details within fund (i.e., Title I, Title VI)
Resp Center	XXX	Budget control for sites and system wide budgets
Location	XXX	Individual school sites, collaboratives and others
Function	XXXXXX	Function types
Program	XX	Regular, SPED, bilingual, occ ed, et al
Grade Level	XX	Pre K, K, elementary, middle, high et al
Type	X	Assets, liability, revenue, expenditure
Object	XXX	Salaries, contract services, travel et al
Fiscal Year	XX	Fiscal year identifier

CAYENTA (SFG)

Metro Parks Tacoma, Washington
Cayenta (SFG) Software

The Tacoma Metropolitan Parks District has been implementing a Managing for Results program for the past year. The Abrahams Group with assistance from Weidner Consulting developed strategic business plans for the District's lines of businesses including a program, activity and service structure with related performance measures. The District converted from an annual budget to a biennial budget and developed a performance based budget to support its strategic business plan. The District is utilizing Excel spreadsheets to present its performance based budget and Cayenta (formerly SFG) software for activity based cost accounting. The District is also developing a Microsoft Access database to compile performance information. The accounting system tracks the District, its lines of businesses, programs, activities, locations (over 80 individual park locations), and objects while maintaining the requirements of the state of Washington chart of accounts.

COJEBEC-SFG SOFTWARE
Massachusetts Municipalities
Massachusetts School Departments

Implementing financial systems for the Town of Oak Bluffs, Oxford, Westwood, Canton, Chatham, and Littleton on the Wang/Cojebec system.

CPA SOFTWARE

Converting the Town of Bolton to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on CPA software.

DataNational SOFTWARE
Massachusetts Municipalities
Massachusetts School Departments

Converting the Town of Southbridge's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the Data General/Arlington Trust system.
Converting the Town of Norton's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the Data General/Arlington Trust system.
Converting the Town of Sandwich's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the Data General/Arlington Trust system.
Converting the Town of Norwell's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the Data General/Arlington Trust system.
Converting the Town of Bridgewater's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the Data General/Arlington Trust system.
Converting the City of Taunton's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the Data General/Arlington Trust system.
Converting the Town of Gloucester's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the Data General/Arlington Trust system.

IDC SOFTWARE
Massachusetts Municipalities
Massachusetts School Departments

Converting the City of Lowell's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the IDC system.
Converting the Greater Lowell Regional School District's accounting system to the Uniform Municipal Accounting System on the IDC system.
Implementing financial systems for the Cities of Somerville, and Lawrence, on the IDC system.

IMG/PROGRESS SOFTWARE
Massachusetts Municipalities
Massachusetts School Departments

IMG's Progress software contains a 31-character classification structure including delimiters as follows: AAA B CCC DDD EEEEEE FFFF G H I.

Town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts
Progress Software

The Town of Hopkinton asked The Abrahams Group to redesign its account classification structure and implement a revised chart of accounts to support the Massachusetts Uniform Municipal Accounting System and the revised requirements from the Massachusetts Department of Education. The revised Malden system supports:

The UMAS fund, department, and object accounting
The DOE requirements for fund, location, grade level, academic program, program, function, state object and UMAS object accounting.

Ashland Public Schools, Massachusetts
Progress Software

The Ashland Public Schools asked The Abrahams Group to redesign its account classification structure to support the revised requirements from the Massachusetts Department of Education. The revised system supports the DOE requirements for fund, location, grade level, academic program, program, function, state object and UMAS object accounting.

Chicopee Public Schools, Massachusetts
Progress Software

The Chicopee Public Schools asked The Abrahams Group to redesign its account classification structure to support the revised requirements from the Massachusetts Department of Education. The revised system supports the DOE requirements for fund, location, grade level, academic program, program, function, state object and UMAS object accounting.

KPMG SOFTWARE
Washington DC
R*STARS

The District of Columbia has been implementing a Managing for Result program for the past year. The Abrahams Group was brought in to work with Weidner Consulting to develop strategic business plans for eight District agencies, implement performance based budgeting and a cost accounting system. The budget system will formulate budgets at the activity level and present the budget along program lines. The District is utilizing a Microsoft Office Access and Excel in house system to compile and load their annual financial plan and is to replace this software with a state-of-the-art budget system. The KPMG R*STARS system software is being utilized to provide activity based cost accounting to support the programs, activities and services as defined in the strategic business plans. R*STARS will provide the following accounting structures:

Organization
Program
Fund
General Ledger
Revenue Object
Expenditure Object
Appropriations
Function
Project
Grant

The program structure is reset to provide the program, activity and service structure to support the strategic business plans.

City of San Diego
Performance Accountability Software

The City of San Diego asked The Abrahams Group to develop a program and activity structure with performance measures for five pilot departments. The City reconfigured its Performance Accountability software and now has a significant (a "gazillion") number of activities, each with input, output and efficiency measures, linked to program goals and outcome measures.

Maryland-National Capital Parks Planning Commission
Performance Accountability Software

The Maryland-National Capital Parks Planning Commission asked The Abrahams Group to develop a program and activity structure with performance measures for all Commission services. The Commission's Performance Accountability software will be reviewed to determine how it will support the program, activity and sub activity structure.

MUNIS
Massachusetts Municipalities
Massachusetts School Departments

A number of Massachusetts municipalities have implemented cost accounting systems using the MUNIS software. The MUNIS software provides 10 segments and a 31-character classification structure. The Abrahams Group has:

Developed a uniform classification structure, chart of accounts, payroll interface and integrate the Brockton School System's financial system with the City's financial system on the MUNIS 5GL system.
Developed a uniform classification structure and chart of accounts, and integrate the Shrewsbury School System's financial system with the Town's financial system on the MUNIS 5GL system.
Developed a uniform classification structure and chart of accounts, and integrate the Attleboro School System's financial system with the City's financial system on the MUNIS 4GL system.
Developed a uniform classification structure and chart of accounts, and integrate the Rockland School System's financial system with the Town's financial system on the MUNIS 4GL system.
Developed a uniform classification structure to integrate the Lawrence School System's financial system with the City of Lawrence's MUNIS 5GL system.
Developed a classification structure and chart of accounts to automate the Town of Sudbury's general ledger on the MUNIS 4GL system.
Developed a classification structure and chart of accounts to automate the City of Lowell and the Lowell Public School's general ledger on the MUNIS 4GL system.
Developed a classification structure and chart of accounts to automate the City of Weymouth and the Weymouth Public School's general ledger on the MUNIS 4GL system.
Developed a classification structure and chart of accounts for the Town of Northboro on the MUNIS COBAL system.
Developed a classification structure and chart of accounts for the Town of Spencer on the MUNIS COBAL system.
Developed a classification structure and chart of accounts for the Town of Holliston on the MUNIS COBAL system.
Developed a plan to integrate the Chicopee School System's financial system with the City of Chicopee's MUNIS system.

Frankin County, Ohio
Program Cost Accounting
MUNIS Software

Franklin County has been implementing a Managing for Result program for the past two years. The Abrahams Group was brought in to work with Weidner Consulting to implement strategic business planning, budgeting for results and a cost accounting system on the MUNIS financial software. The system will formulate and present the budget at the program or lines of business level. The American Management System's (AMS) BRASS software is being utilized for performance based budgeting. The County will allocate resources to support the program structure derived from department strategic business plans. The County is utilizing the Computer Center MUNIS software to provide activity based cost accounting to support the lines of business, programs and activities defined in the strategic business plans. Click on http://www.co.franklin.oh.us for more detail.

PENTAMATION
Massachusetts Municipalities
Massachusetts School Departments

The Pentamation system has six levels to account for financial activities. The Abrahams Group has:

Developed a uniform classification structure, chart of accounts, payroll interface and integrate the Framingham School System's financial system with the Town of Framingham's Pentamation 3.0 financial system.
Developing a revised classification structure, chart of accounts and payroll interface to enhance the Newton Public Schools accounting system on the Pentamation 3.0 financial system.
Developed a uniform classification structure and chart of accounts for the town of Norwood's Pentamation system to support the Massachusetts Uniform Municipal Accounting System.
Developed an integrated payroll system for the Acton Boxborough Regional School District using the Pentamation 3.0 financial system.

SYSTEMS CONSULTANTS, INC (SCI)
Massachusetts Municipalities
Massachusetts School Departments

The SCI system has been expanded to allow ten (10) segments for a total of 24 characters (including delimiters). The only restriction is that the first segment must be fund and cannot exceed three characters.

City of Malden, Massachusetts
SCI

The City of Malden asked The Abrahams Group to redesign its account classification structure and implement a revised chart of accounts to support the Massachusetts Uniform Municipal Accounting System and the revised requirements from the Massachusetts Department of Education. The revised Malden system supports:

The UMAS fund, department, and object accounting
The DOE requirements for fund, location, grade level, academic program, program, function and object accounting.

City of Waltham, Massachusetts SCI The City of Waltham asked The Abrahams Group to redesign its account classification structure to support the Massachusetts Uniform Municipal Accounting System and the revised requirements from the Massachusetts Department of Education.

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