As 2009 draws to a close many of us are in the spirit of giving…and receiving.  Material wishes aside, the only gift I really want — and that I know I will get — is my own copy of the FY2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (”CAFR”) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts state government.

You see, it is the only annual report that is comprehensive enough to be compliant with the same accounting standard used by businesses.  While each fiscal year ends on June 30, this particular report is not available to the public until late December or early January following the close of that period.

Looking back at FY2008 one can plainly see that what our politicians call “the budget” was $26.8 BILLION, total CAFR spending was $50.8 BILLION — $24 BILLION more than what the annual General Appropriations Act covers.

Why the difference?  Without transparency we cannot know.  Where did the money go, and why is so much off budget?  Without accountability we cannot know.  How well-spent was the money, and who truly benefitted from it?  Without the information and tools available online to let the people do their own analysis of their government we cannot know.

What does FY2009 have for its total?  When Santa brings me my present (via the Office of the State Comptroller), that is at least something we can know.

Next year we can all look forward to lots of transparency and accountability when I get elected as our next State Auditor.

Transparently Yours,
Kamal Jain

FY2008 Spending
Budget =  $26.8 BILLION <– this is the so-called “budget”
SBFR  =  $47.7 BILLION
CAFR  =  $50.8 BILLION <– this is the real number for total spending

FY2009 Spending
Budget =  $28.2 BILLION <– this is the so-called “budget” *
SBFR  =  $49.4 BILLION
CAFR =  $??.? BILLION <– We will know in late December or early January

REFERENCES
FY2008 Budget — See total of column “FY 2008 GAA” available at:

http://www.mass.gov/bb/gaa/fy2008/app08/ga08/hdefault.htm

FY2009 Budget — See total of columns “FY2009 GAA” and “FY2009 Total Spending” * available at:

http://www.mass.gov/bb/gaa/fy2009/app_09/ga_09/hdefault.htm

* Note that “FY2009 Total Spending” is shown as $27.9 BILLION.

FY2008 SBFR — See total for 2008 on page 316 (”Ten-Year Schedule Of Expenditures And Other Financing Uses By Secretariat”) of SBFR available at:

http://www.mass.gov/Aosc/docs/reports_audits/SBFR/2008_SBFR.pdf

FY2009 SBFR — See total for 2009 on page 106 (”Ten-Year Schedule Of Expenditures And Other Financing Uses By Secretariat”) of SBFR available at:

http://www.mass.gov/Aosc/docs/reports_audits/SBFR/2009_SBFR.pdf

FY2008 CAFR — See total for 2008 on page 164 (”Ten-Year Schedule Of Expenditures And Other Financing Uses By Secretariat”) of CAFR available at:

http://www.mass.gov/Aosc/docs/reports_audits/CAFR/CAFR_2008.pdf

FY2009 CAFR — We have to wait until late December or early January.

DEFINITIONS/EXPLANATIONS
Fiscal Year — Per Wikipedia (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiscal_year): A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is a period used for calculating annual (”yearly”) financial statements in businesses and other organizations. In many jurisdictions, regulatory laws regarding accounting and taxation require such reports once per twelve months, but do not require that the period reported on constitutes a calendar year (i.e., January through December).  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a fiscal year which begins on July 1 of each year and ends on June 30 of the following calendar year.

Budget — Expenditures and revenue plans as defined by the General Appropriations Act of each given fiscal year.

SBFR — The Statutory Basis Financial Report, typically available in late October or early November for the prior fiscal year ended June 30 (approximately 4 months after close of fiscal period).

CAFR — The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, typically available in late December or early January for the prior fiscal year ended June 30 (approximately 6 months from close of fiscal period).

Tags: Accountability, Budget, Transparency

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