General Accounting Office
Cheryl Ward
General Accounting Deputy Comptroller
Phone: (850) 414-4864
Fax: (850) 414-4891
Mission: To collect, safeguard, account for and report the Florida Department of Transportation's financial resources while ensuring compliance with relevant requirements.
Vision: General Accounting Office will be the leader in our field by being proactive, never being satisfied with the status quo, and continually promoting excellent customer service and employee satisfaction.
The General Accounting Office is comprised of the following sections:
Revenue Management staff is responsible for the daily management of cash and investments of the Department’s trust funds to maximize investment earnings while satisfying current obligations and maintaining compliance with cash management procedures and Florida Statutes. Responsibilities also include managing the Department's non-operating budget, and processing inter-fund, intra-fund, and interagency transfers as required. Performing certain accounting functions for, and ensuring compliance with, various trust indentures and statutes for the Turnpike Enterprise and other bond funded toll facilities. Preparing required reports in accordance with Florida Statutes.
Financial Reporting and Reconciliation staff are responsible for reconciliation of the Departments accounting records to the Department of Financial Services; reconciling revolving funds, job cost reporting, releases and allotments, subsidiary ledgers and the transfers in/out and due to/from other funds and/or agencies. Preparation of the Department’s portion of the State’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report as required by GAAP, GAAFR, and Section 216.102, Florida Statutes; establishing appropriate accounting codes, and assisting in the development and utilization of accounting systems.
Property and Insurance staff are responsible for maintaining the FLAIR Property Subsystem as required by Chapter 273, Florida Statutes, including coordinating the annual inventory with Districts and Central Office, monitoring the accounting for fixed assets, developing procedures for tracking and disposing of fixed assets, and reconciling the Property Subsystem with the FLAIR General Ledger, State Accounts and the Department's Job Cost Reporting system. This section also monitors to ensure that appropriate insurance is maintained covering the Department's fixed assets and other areas of loss exposure and preparing claims for recovery when a loss has occurred.
Accounts Receivable & Grants staff are responsible for implementing internal controls over the Department's accounts receivable function, maintaining the Accounts Receivable Invoicing (ARI) System, billing customers, following-up on delinquent payments, handling customer inquiries and disputes, billing/reporting on various grants awarded to the Department, billing/maintaining loans and accounting for the Department’s State Infrastructure Bank (SIB).
Locally Funded Agreements staff are responsible for administering the Department's Locally Funded Agreement receivables and maintaining the LFA and Accounts Receivable Invoicing (ARI) Systems. This area handles reconciliations, delinquent accounts, local funding for reimbursement, unearned and deferred revenue.
Cashier’s Office staff is responsible for coordinating the receipt, deposit, and accounting of all agency revenues/receipts and developing and monitoring internal control procedures over the collection of revenue/receipts and handling of cash. This includes Payment Card receipts and the coordinating and monitoring of compliance with Payment Card Industry Standards. The Cashier’s Office also processes all budget restorations and refunds.
Project Cost Management staff are responsible for maintaining the data integrity of the Project Cost Management Subsystem by monitoring project cost transactions and facilitating corrective action as needed. This activity ensures the proper identification and recording of the direct costs of the Department to the proper transportation project and is essential for the accurate billing to the Federal Highway Administration of over $1.8 billion each year. In addition, the staff is responsible for auditing all payroll, unit rate, and indirect cost distributions for accuracy prior to loading into the Project Cost Management System, billing FEMA for emergency relief work done by the Department and auditing Federal Projects for final billings and closure.
Federal Billing staff are responsible for producing and submitting a weekly Federal Bill to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which averages a reimbursement of $1.8 billion yearly. In addition, they are responsible for Federal Funds Management Reporting, Cash Management Improvement Act Reporting, Federal Project Audits and Statewide Federal Billing Training. The Federal Billing staff coordinates federal project management and billing among the Financial Manager at FHWA, the District’s Federal Aid Coordinators and the Federal Aid Management Office. In addition, the staff also develops the Department’s Indirect Cost Allocation rates; these rates are updated annually and audited for compliance with federal and state regulations.