FY 2016 Appropriation

The Division of Finance is the State of Utah's central financial accounting office. The division provides direction regarding fiscal matters, financial systems, processes and information. This includes maintaining accounting and payroll systems, ensuring compliance with state financial laws, maintaining a data warehouse of financial information, producing the state's financial reports, and processing the state's payments.

Funding History
Appropriation Overview

During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature appropriated for Fiscal Year 2016, $10,746,500 from all sources for Finance Administration. This is a 4.8 percent increase from Fiscal Year 2015 revised estimated amounts from all sources. The total includes $6,729,000 from the General/Education Funds, an increase of 4.6 percent from revised Fiscal Year 2015 estimates.

Appropriation Adjustments

In addition to statewide compensation and internal service fund cost increases, the following appropriation adjustments were made during the 2015 General Session:

DescriptionOngoingOne-Time DAS Database Administrator ($74,400)$0
OngoingOne-TimeFinancing Source
($74,400)$0General Fund
Eliminate a database administrator (DTS IT expense) associated with payroll and FINET.
DAS Database Administrator - Part 2$74,400$0
OngoingOne-TimeFinancing Source
$74,400$0General Fund
Database administrator associated with payroll and FINET.
Executive Branch Ethics Commission Line Item ($3,000)$0
OngoingOne-TimeFinancing Source
($3,000)$0General Fund
New line item created in Finance Mandated for Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
Supplemental Savings Plan Amendments$0$7,200
OngoingOne-TimeFinancing Source
$0$7,200General Fund, One-time
Enactment of this legislation likely will not materially impact state revenue. Enactment of this bill will cost the Division of Finance $7,200 one-time from the General Fund in FY 2015 for consultant fees to update the state payroll system.
Utah Educational Savings Plan Amendments$0$20,800
OngoingOne-TimeFinancing Source
$0$20,800Dedicated Credits Revenue
Enactment of this legislation could generate $10,200 in dedicated credits one-time in FY 2016 for the Tax Commission and $20,800 in dedicated credits one-time in FY 2016 for the Department of Administrative Services for systems changes. The bill could also reduce revenue to the Education Fund by $6,400 in FY 2016 and $7,100 in FY 2017. Enactment of this legislation could cost the Tax Commission $10,200 one-time and the Department of Administrative Services $20,800 one-time for programming costs, paid for by the Utah Educational Savings Plan.

CAFR Audit Opinion and Achievement

The Division of Finance has received an unqualified audit opinion as well as a GFOA Certificate of Achievement for its CAFR every year for the last 29 years through FY 2013. The division has received a clean audit opinion for FY 2014 and has submitted the FY 2014 CAFR for the GFOA Certificate.

Statute

The following are some of the many statutes governing operations of the Division of Finance:

UCA 51-5-2 requires the division to establish procedures for the administration and collection of taxes, licenses, fees, and other revenues to allow them to be credited directly into the funds for which they are designated.

UCA 51-5-6 requires the division to use generally accepted accounting principles applicable to government units. The division must follow Governmental Accounting Standards Board standards, calculate liabilities associated with post-employment benefits, post revenues to the appropriate funds, prepare revenue and expenditure statements, and determine ISF costs that are eligible for federal reimbursement.

UCA 63A-3 is entitled "Division of Finance." Among its key provisions are:

  • The division director is the state's chief fiscal officer and the state's accounting officer.
  • The division must define fiscal procedures, provide accounting controls, approve proposed expenditures, establish procedures to account for leases, and prepare financial reports for the state auditor's examination. Higher Education institutions are subject to this statute only to the extent required by the Board of Regents.
  • The director must establish per diem rates for all state officers and employees of the executive branch, except higher education.
  • The director must adopt rules governing in-state and out-of-state travel by employees of the executive branch, except higher education.
  • The director must appoint an accounting officer and other officers necessary to economically perform the functions of the division. The director must also establish a comprehensive state accounting system and exercise accounting control over all state agencies except higher education.
  • The director must maintain a financial control system according to generally accepted accounting principles, to include keeping accounts in balance and giving the governor and legislature reports.
  • The division must collect accounts receivable as described in UCA 63A-3-Part 3.
  • The division must administer the Utah Public Finance Website to to permit Utah taxpayers to view, understand, and track the use of taxpayer dollars by making public financial information available on the Internet.
  • The division manages the Office of State Debt Collection which has responsibility for collecting and managing many of the State's non-tax receivables.

The Division of Finance is divided into six programs (Director, Payroll, Payables/Disbursing, Technical Services, Financial Reporting, and Financial Information Systems) and one office (Office of State Debt Collection) to accomplish its mission. Some of its key functions are to:

  • Produce the State's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
  • Ensure compliance with generally accepted accounting principles
  • Disburse all payments to vendors, contractors, and employees
  • Develop, operate, and maintain accounting systems to control spending, state assets, and state loans
  • Process the state's payroll
  • Account for revenues collected by all agencies
  • Collect and manage many of the State's non-tax receivables

Intent Language

HB0003: Item 43

Under the terms of 63J-1-603 of the Utah Code, the Legislature intends that appropriations provided for Finance Administration in Item 18, Chapter 11, Laws of Utah 2014, shall not lapse at the close of FY 2015. Expenditures of these funds are limited to maintenance and operation of statewide systems and websites, studies, training, information technology support and hardware and administration costs for the Executive Branch Ethics Commission: $2,900,000.

Financing from the General Fund Restricted -- ISF Overhead account represents charges to the internal service funds for overhead services such as accounting and auditing, building space, maintenance, security, etc. These funds are used in the Financial Information Systems program for FINET (statewide accounting system) support.

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COBI contains unaudited data as presented to the Legislature by state agencies at the time of publication. For audited financial data see the State of Utah's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.