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COURSES
Last Updated: September 30, 2007

Upcoming Classes

  1. The half-day GASB Statement No 34 Basic Statements and MD&A Overview workshop will be conducted on Friday morning December 14, 2007, at the Assabet Valley Regional School District in Marlborough. Due to the importance of understanding your financial statements under SAS 112, I am opening the current Uniform Massachusetts Accounting System (UMAS) class to others to provide a timely and informative session on the Basic Statements and the MD&A. This workshop will provide an overview of the two government wide statements, the eight fund perspective statements, and the Management Discussion and Analysis. If you want an overview of the new reporting model, this workshop is for you. For more information, please click on http://www.theabrahamsgroup.com/Courses_GASB34.htm

  2. The next DOE/DOR Roundtable will be conducted on Friday afternoon December 14, 2007, at the Assabet Valley Regional School District in Marlborough. This roundtable features Jay Sullivan from the Department of Education and Ellis Fitzpatrick from the Department of Revenue to discuss and answer your accounting and reporting questions. Find out when the 2:00 bus leaves or if the mileage varies on the 2:00 bus. Learn about the latest DOR IGRs, Circuit Breaker accounting regulations, and other accounting treatments. This roundtable is offered free of charge but space is limited so early registration is required. For more information, visit http://www.theabrahamsgroup.com/Courses_DOE_DOR.htm

  3. The Fall 2007 Uniform Massachusetts Accounting System (UMAS) course is now closed with 20 attendees. The next UMAS class will start on January 25, 2008. UMAS is offered to municipal and school officials and private sector individuals and related staff, who desire a basic course in current Massachusetts' governmental accounting. The course will focus on UMAS system as promulgated by the Bureau of Accounts in their updated UMAS Manual, including 2007 revisions to the capital projects and enterprise fund chapters. UMAS is the "preferred" accounting system for municipalities; regional school districts; water, sewer, fire and other districts; and municipal school departments. The course integrates Department of Education budgeting, accounting and reporting requirements, the new reporting model, Statement No. 34 of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and water, sewer, fire, and other district requirements. The Spring 2008 class is scheduled to meet on January 25, February 8 and 29, March 14 and 28, and April 11, 2008. This class will rotate between the Natick Town Hall, Dudley Municipal Complex, and Assabet Valley Regional High School. This class is limited to the first 24 registrations. For more information, please click on http://www.theabrahamsgroup.com/Courses_UMAS.htm

  4. Boot Camp, the three-day detailed general ledger journal entry course, will meet on Friday, February 1 and 15 and March 7, 2008, at the Avon Town Hall. This course is a detailed general ledger journal entry course designed to train accountants to learn the Uniform Massachusetts Accounting System (UMAS). This class is called Boot Camp because the journal entries are repeated over and over. This class helps prepare town accountants and city auditors for the Uniform Municipal Accounting System (UMAS) certification exam. If you need a class to teach you the day-to-day UMAS journal entries or if you are having difficulty preparing for or passing the UMAS certification exam, then this class is for you. Topics covered include tax recap sheet budget journal entries, reconciliation of treasurer's cash, capital project accounting, debt accounting, common journal entries, closing journal entries and free cash calculation. This class is scheduled to be completed 10-days prior to the start of the MMAAA review classes. This class is limited to the first 24 registrations. For more information, visit http://www.theabrahamsgroup.com/Courses_BootCamp.htm

  5. The one-day Municipal Law Workshop will be conducted on Thursday, February 28, 2008, at the Avon Town Hall. This session will focus on provisions in the Massachusetts General Laws pertaining to Municipal Finance. If you need a class to teach you the day-to-day basic legal requirements or if you are having difficulty preparing for or passing the Municipal Law portion of the UMAS certification exam, then this class is for you. This class is scheduled to be completed three weeks prior to the start of the MMAAA review class. This class is limited to the first 24 registrations. For more information, visit http://www.theabrahamsgroup.com/Courses_MunicipalLaw.ht
  1. The September 17, 2007 Basic Net School Spending Workshop (for Dummies) is now closed with 24 people attendees. The next Basic Net School Spending Workshop will be conducted on Monday morning, February 11, 2008, from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM at the Assabet Valley Regional Vocational School in Marlborough to review the FY09 (that is correct - FY09 preliminary net school spending numbers. This workshop is an introductory session on net school spending. This workshop will review the DOE website on the Chapter 70 program and the foundation budget covering net school spending regulations, Chapter 70 district profiles, foundation enrollment, NSS compliance, the compliance supplement, NSS worksheet and municipal costs paid on behalf of the school district. This workshop is recommended for new school and town officials or individuals who would like a net school spending overview or refresher.For a direct link, please visit http://www.theabrahamsgroup.com/Courses_Basic_NS_Spending.htm
  1. The September 17, 2007 Advanced Net School Spending Workshop is now closed with 21 attendees. The next Advanced Net School Spending Workshop will be conducted on Monday afternoon, February 11, 2008, from 1:30 - 4:30 PM at the Assabet Valley Regional Vocational School in Marlborough to review the FY09 preliminary net school spending numbers. This workshop is a hands-on, Excel based session that will allow you to compute your FY09 preliminary net school spending numbers. This workshop will focus on how your local contribution, Chapter 70 distribution and FY09 preliminary required net school spending are calculated. Bring your laptops and follow along to compute your numbers. This workshop is recommended for individuals who have a basic understanding of the foundation budget, local contributions, Chapter 70 distributions, required and actual net school spending and the like. For a direct link, please visit http://www.theabrahamsgroup.com/Courses_FY09_Advanced_Spending.htm
  1. The next Martha's Vineyard Net School Spending Workshop will be held from 1 - 5 PM on Friday afternoon, August 1, 2008 at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. For more information,
    http://www.TheAbrahamsGroup.com/Courses_MV_FY09_Final_Spending.htm
  1. The  How to Prepare Massachusetts Financial Statements class is full. Registrations are now closed. If you are interested in scheduling another class this fall or in the spring, then please e mail me at Bettergov@aol.com. This two-day class is offered to municipal and school officials and private sector individuals and related staff that desire a hands-on course in preparing financial statements including the Combined Balance Sheet for Free Cash or E&D Certification, Basic GASBS No. 34 Statements including the eight Fund Perspective and two Government Wide Statements and the Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A). This is not an overview class; this is a how to do it class using Excel combining and combined spreadsheets to prepare the combined and fund perspective statements. For more information, click here.
  1.  The next School Fund Accounting course will be conducted on Friday, December 7, 2007 at the Needham School Administration Building.  This session will focus on fund accounting requirements based on the provisions in the Massachusetts General Laws pertaining to School Finance. The focus of this class is on Chapter 71 of the MGL, school special revenue, student activity accounts, and other funds. If you need a class to teach you the day-to-day basic school fund accounting requirements, then this class is for you. This class will focus on the school finance laws and accounting requirements for municipal and regional school districts. This class is limited to the first 24 registrations. For more information, click here.
  1. Only nine seats remain for the next Performance Based Measurement and Budgeting class, scheduled this fall to help you develop performance measures and integrate the measures into your FY 2009 budget. This class will meet on Thursday, October 18 and Friday, November 16, 2007, at the Natick School Administration Building. This class will focus on the performance measurement and performance budgeting movement that is sweeping the country.  This session will update you on the latest Government Finance Officers Association’s management and budgeting guidelines and recommended practices and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s latest guidance on Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting including their 16 criteria for performance reporting.   This class is limited to the first 24 registrations. This class will also discuss MUNIS’ new performance budgeting and activity based costing module for you MUNIS users.  For more information, click here.


For updates on course announcements, contact Mark D. Abrahams through any of the following:

Web: http://www.theabrahamsgroup.com
Email: Bettergov@aol.com
Phone: 617 803-8529
Fax: 508 788-6217