Charter Schools . . .

The State of Florida adopted charter school legislation in 1996 in response to education initiatives which emerged from the business community, and the following year six charter schools began operation.   Entrusting "public funds" to "private groups" brings with it legislated rules and regulations for expenditure of funds and periodic reporting. Charter schools are subject to accountability and reporting standards which often exceed those of public schools.
  
The enacting legislation also required that charter schools be audited for financial reporting and compliance issues. The first six audits were conducted by the Florida Auditor General.

In 1998, approximately 30 charter schools were in operation in the State, and Independent Certified Public Accountants began to conduct audits.  

Our firm was among the first firms who contracted with charter schools, and we conducted many of the initial audits for schools in the Central Florida area for the 1998-99 school year. 

We have continued to conduct charter school audits in Central Florida and have expanded our services to include bookkeeping and monthly financial reporting through our Small Business Services group.  We have assisted schools in installing and implementing computer systems and have provided budgeting and planning assistance to their Boards.  

Our extensive experience with not-for-profit organizations makes us uniquely qualified to deal with the issues facing charter schools in Florida. During the course of many audit cycles, we have prepared and refined highly specialized audit programs to meet the compliance and reporting needs of charter schools. We are well versed in the issues unique to governmental auditing and our staff is constantly receiving specialized training in this important area. The requirements of GASB 34 have caused the reporting issues for Charter Schools has become more complex.  We work closely with our Charter School clients to effectively and efficiently meet this special requirement.

We also offer a variety of other services to Charter Schools, including:

Comprehensive Technology Solutions
Online Payment Systems

Please contact Edith L. Yates, CPA for additional information about how our Firm can help your charter school.