Business intelligence versus business analytics

“Business intelligence (BI) is descriptive, enabling better business decisions that are based on a foundation of current business data. Business analytics (BA) is then a subset of BI, with business analytics providing the prescriptive, forward-looking analysis. It is the umbrella of BI infrastructure that includes the tools for the identification and storage of the data for decision-making.

BI might tell an organization how many new customers were acquired last month and whether order size was up or down for the month. As opposed to this, business analytics might predict which strategies, based on that data, would most benefit the organization. For example: What happens if we increase advertising spending to give new customers a special offer?”

Reference:

https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/business-intelligence

What are fiscal policy statements?

 Fiscal Policy Statements

1.      All cash accounts (except petty cash) owned by the firm will be held in financial institutions which are insured by the FDIC. No bank account will carry a balance over the FDIC insured amount.

2.      All capital expenditures which exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) will be capitalized.

3.      Employee or public personal checks will not be cashed through the petty cash fund.

4.      No salary advances will be made under any circumstances.

5.      No travel cash advances will be made except under special conditions and pre-approved by the Executive Director.

6.      Reimbursements will be paid upon complete expense reporting and approval using the official firm form. Reimbursements to the Executive Director will be authorized by the Board Chair.

7.      The Owner/President  is the signatory on  the firm’s bank accounts.

8.      Bank statements will be reconciled monthly. All bank statements will be given unopened to the Owner/President  for review.

9.      Correction fluid and/or tape will never be used in preparing timesheets or any accounting documents.

10.   Accounting and personnel records will be kept in locked file cabinets in the Owner/President’s office and only parties with financial and/or HR responsibility will have access to the keys.

What is a procedure for financial reports?

 Financial Reports

The Bookkeeper will prepare the monthly and annual financial reports for distribution to the Owner/President. The reports will include: balance sheet, statement of income and expenses, budget versus actual report for each program which has an established budget, a budget versus actual report for the organization, accounts receivable aging, accounts payable register and aging, cash flow projection, and any other requested reports.

What is an internal control for end of month and fiscal year-end close procedures?

 End of Month and Fiscal Year-End Close

1.      The Owner/President will review and sign off on all month- and year-end journal entries. They will be printed and filed for audit trail purposes. The Audit Manager will perform these duties for clients.

2.      At the end of each month and fiscal year end, the Owner/President  or Audit Manager will review all balance sheet accounts including verification of the following balances: cash accounts match the bank reconciliations, fixed assets accounts reflect all purchases, write-downs and retirements, accounts receivable and payable accounts match outstanding amounts due and owed.

3.      The income and expense accounts review will include reconciliation to amounts received and expended and verification that payroll expenses match the payroll reports including federal and state payroll tax filings.

4.      Once the final monthly and fiscal year-end financial statements are run, reviewed, and approved by the Owner/President or Audit Manager, no more entries or adjustments will be made into that month or year’s ledgers.

5.      At the end of the fiscal year, the Owner/President will prepare the annual Return for the firm. The Audit Manager will perform this function for clients. The return will be presented to the client representatives for their review and approval. The Audit Manager or client staff will then file the return with the Internal Revenue Service by the annual deadline.

6.      All other appropriate government filings including those required by the state tax board and attorney general’s office will be completed and filed with the appropriate agency.

What is an internal control for payroll processing?

 Payroll Processing

1.      Timesheets are to be prepared by all staff on the approved form and submitted semi-monthly on the 15^th and 30^th  of the month.  If the 15^th and/or 30^th of the month fall on a weekend or holiday, the timesheets are to be submitted the day prior to the weekend or holiday. Exceptions to the submittal date may occur and will be communicated accordingly.

2.      Timesheets are to be kept on a daily basis and completed in ink – unless prepared electronically.

3.      Any corrections to timesheets are to be made by making a single line through the error and writing in the correction. Correction fluid and/or tape are not allowable.

4.      Timesheets are to be signed and dated by the employee and the employee’s supervisor for submission to the Owner/President or Bookkeeper.

5.      Any changes to the standing information of the payroll register from the prior period including addition of new employees, deletion of employees, or changes in base pay rate must be accompanied by an Employment Information Form and signed by the Owner/President before the change can be made.

6.      The Bookkeeper will process payroll in a timely manner and record vacation time, holiday hours, sick time, and any other information deemed necessary to properly reflect time worked.

7.      Paychecks will be distributed by the Operations Manager on the 16^th and 31^st of each month. If the 16^th and 31^st fall on a weekend or holiday the paychecks will be distributed the day before.

8.      If the employee requests that his/her check be turned over to a third party, the request must be made in writing prior to distribution.

9.      Employees may choose direct deposit to a designated bank account. Their paycheck is deposited directly into the designated account on the payroll date. The employee will receive a verification stub.

10.   The Owner/President will review payroll expenditures and allocations monthly.

11.    All quarterly federal and state payroll reports will be prepared and filed appropriately.

12.   All W-2 statements are issued to employees prior to January 31^st of the following year for the prior calendar year.

What is an internal control for personnel records?

 Personnel Records

1.      All personnel files contain the following documents: an application and/or resume, date of employment, position and pay rate, authorization of payroll deductions, W-4 withholding authorization, termination data where applicable, a signed confidentiality agreement, a signed acknowledgement of receipt of Employee Handbook, an emergency contact form, and other forms as deemed appropriate by the Operations Manager.

2.      All employees will fill out an I-9 form and submit the allowable forms of identification to the Operations Manager.

3.      The completed I-9 forms will be kept in a secure location separate from the personnel files.

4.      All personnel files are to be kept in a secure, locked file cabinet and accessed only by authorized personnel.

What is a capitalization policy for property and equipment?

 Property and Equipment

Property and equipment includes items such as:

1.      Office furniture and equipment

2.      Computer hardware

3.      Computer software

4.      Leasehold improvements

It is the organization’s policy to capitalize all items which have a unit cost greater than one thousand dollars ($1,000). Items purchased with a value or cost less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) will be expensed in the period purchased.

The depreciation period for capitalized assets is as follows:

Computer Hardware                                                    36 months

Office Equipment                                                        60 months

Office Furniture                                                          60 months

Computer Software                                                     36 months

Leasehold improvements                                            Length of lease

1.      A Fixed Asset Log is maintained by the Bookkeeper including date of purchase, asset description, purchase/donation information, cost/fair market value, donor/funding source, identification number, life of asset.

2.      The Log will be reviewed by the Owner/President.

3.      Annually, a physical inspection and inventory will be taken of all fixed assets and reconciled to the general ledger balances.

4.      The Owner/President shall be informed in writing of any change in status or condition of any property or equipment.

5.      Depreciation is recorded at least annually. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets. Any impaired assets discovered during the inventory will be written down to their actual value.