The Administration and Management Narrative should provide an overview of key practices that contribute to the performance and productivity of your agency. The Narrative supports, but should not duplicate, evidence provided elsewhere in your self-study.

The Public Agency Financial Management Administration and Management Narrative should provide the Peer Review Team with a clear, concise description of how your financial management practices help to shape, advance and sustain your agency’s mission and strategic goals.

Purpose Standard: Financial Management (PA-FIN)

Agency viability and positive financial outcomes are achieved through diligent application of sound financial management practices that accord with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Provide responses to the following questions that address your agency’s achievement of the Financial Management Purpose Standard. Highlight applicable obstacles and innovations, if any, in each of your responses.

1. Describe the overall health of your agency's finances.

1. Include a description of significant factors that may have impacted your agency's finances, e.g., enhanced or reduced program-specific funding streams, recent hiring or spending freezes, new opportunities for federal claiming, etc.
2. If another governmental entity is fully or partially responsible for managing your finances, what responsibilities does your agency have? If the standards cannot be applied directly to your agency because another department or office has legal or statutory responsibility for overseeing its financial affairs, explain exactly how financial management and oversight occurs, and how the standards are being met.

(e.g., State budget cuts have forced the agency to impose a cap on contract dollars for family preservation services.)

2. Describe 2-3 actions that senior management has taken to enhance your agency's financial viability.

(e.g., In response to recent recommendations of the state auditor, the agency's Director approved a plan to strengthen the agency's system of internal control.)

3. How does your agency's management assure that its financial management systems are in accordance with the requirements of its fiscal authority?

4. How does your agency remain abreast of changing legal and regulatory requirements in relation to financial management practices?

5. Provide any additional information that would increase the Peer Team’s understanding of how the agency’s financial practices contribute to the achievement of its mission.

Attachments:

1. All COA-approved NA Requests.
2. A list of all NAs applicable to your agency provided within the standards.

Note:

Agencies being accredited for the first time: Please provide information for the last two years.

Agencies being reaccredited: Please provide information for the period since the last accreditation review.