Financial Services
Policies and Procedures - Financial Services
Policy 3 - University Accounting
Accounting - University Concepts
Accounting in a university is the means by which financial data are made available for efficient administration. A State university is in the nature of public trusts. Therefore, the inherent obligations for stewardship and accountability necessitate a system of accounting that ensures control and complete disclosure of the results of its operation and of financial position.
The University follows the fund accounting and reporting guidelines recommended by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) guided by the standards of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Certain concepts are embodied in the financial accounting system for The University of North Carolina at Greensboro which differ from private enterprise. Higher educational institutions are created to carry out the function of instruction, research and public service rather than to produce profits. The user of higher education financial data, therefore, must focus on the sources and uses of institutional resources and the way in which those uses contribute to the attainment of the institution's objectives. To satisfy the requirement to account properly for the diversity of resources and their uses, the principles and practices of "fund accounting" are employed. Refer to Policy 4 for definitions of " fund accounting".