ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses of fiscal accountability, performance, and fiduciary trust because the best-laid educational plans mean nothing without a sound financial plan—a plan based on the highest ethical and professional accounting standards. It describes the specific elements of implementing school budgets–that is, the operational aspects of putting money to work in schools. The chapter reviews the receipt of revenue and restrictions on expenditure and provides a panoramic view of how money flows through a school district from beginning to end. It also describes the code of ethical standards for handling public monies and deals with the concept of accountability itself, followed by deeper discussions of how money flows through schools. Central to the concepts of professionalism, accountability, and performance is the role of the school leader as fiduciary. The accounting function can provide a tool for assessing progress in several ways, and new directions are constantly being sought, particularly given increasingly fiery debates on school funding policy.
