Glossary
Account Code: This is used to define the nature of revenues
and expenditures within the statewide accounting system. Account Code applies to
Fiscal Years beginning with FY 2011. There are three levels of Account Code classification
contained in the data downloads which are maintained within the statewide accounting
and reporting system and used to facilitate various levels of reporting detail required
by internal and external users:
- Account1 - This is the Primary, or highest summary level of transaction reporting
- Account2 - This is the Intermediate level of transaction reporting
- Account3 - This is the Detail level of reporting
For example,
- “Contractual Services” represents expenditures at the Primary level,
- “Communications” represents one type of “Contractual
Services” at the Intermediate level
- “Commercial Long Distance Services” represents one type
of “Communications” at the Detail level.
Agency View: Provides revenue and expenditure data pertaining
to a specific state agency. Once a specific state agency is selected then
other KanView views may be used to examine the agency revenue and expenditure data.
Agency: A state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent primary
organizational state governmental unit that is responsible for oversight and administration
of specific functions. An agency is created under constitutional or statutory authority.
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA): The American Rescue Plan Act
(commonly known as “ARPA” or “ARP”) was signed into law on March 11, 2021 to provide additional
financial relief in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. ARPA includes a significant amount of
“Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds” (SLFRF) for state and local governments to
use over a period of several years. The local portion of these federal funds is referred to as
the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (LFRF).
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Business-type Activities: Activities that intend to recover all or a
significant portion of their costs through user fees and charges to external users
of goods and services.
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Component Units: Operations for which the State has financial
accountability, but they have certain independent qualities as well. For the most part,
these entities operate similar to private sector businesses and the business-type
activities.
Confidentiality: Taxpayer Transparency Act states that nothing
permits or requires the disclosure of information within KanView which is considered
confidential by federal or state law.
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Data Download: Fiscal year 2011 and subsequent fiscal years
revenue and expenditure data for agencies is available through downloads at the Data Download Center. Agencies are listed in alphabetic order and for each agency,
revenues and expenditures are contained in separate files. Note that agency data
will download as .csv file type. See Account Code
for an explanation of the nature of revenues and expenditures contained in download
data files. The user may need to further format the data to suit their viewing needs.
Date: The date the transaction was processed in SMART.
Document: The document number of the document that processed
the transaction.
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Employee Compensation: Compensation of employees of the State
of Kansas is displayed within KanView on the basis of Total Gross Pay.
The KanView data displayed was extracted from the state's central and university human resource/payroll systems.
Available data elements beginning with FY 2015 data include:
- Fiscal Year
- Agency Number
- The employing agency name
- Employee Name
- Job Title
- Total Gross Pay
- Overtime Pay
Employee Compensation - Confidentiality: The Taxpayer Transparency Act states that nothing permits or requires the disclosure of information within KanView which is considered confidential by federal or state law. Thus job classifications that contain positions that are confidential in accordance with federal and state law are not displayed in KanView. Examples of these exclusions include certain law enforcement positions, and university graduate and teaching assistant positions.
Employee Compensation - Funding Sources of the State of Kansas Workforce:
The funding sources of the State of Kansas employee workforce is varied and includes
the following:
- State sources – this includes the State General Fund, Special Revenue (Fee) Funds, Enterprise Funds, Internal Service Funds, Trust & Agency Funds, and Component Unit Funds.
- Federal sources – this includes grant monies awarded to the state from a variety of federal agencies. Examples include highway funds and social and rehabilitation services funds.
- Private sources – many positions within the Board of Regents University system are funded from various sources that are private funds. In other words state tax and fee revenues are not used. Examples of private sources include athletic association and endowment association funds. Common positions funded with private sources include university professors and athletic coaches.
Encumbrance: A means of restricting or reserving available
appropriations or spending authority pending the recording of actual liabilities
and/or expenditures. As purchase orders and other commitments for expenditures
are approved, the authority to make expenditures is restricted so as to ensure the
future availability of assets to pay for the approved expenditures. Until
the actual expenditure has been determined and charged against the spending authority
of the fund, the encumbered portion of available funds may not be used for purposes
other than those contemplated at the time resources are thus restricted.
Expenditures: Amounts disbursed as recorded in the statewide
accounting and reporting system.
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Fiscal Year: The fiscal year for Kansas government, established by state law (K.S.A. 75-3002), commences on the first day of July in each year, and closes on the last day of June the next succeeding year. The year in which June 30 falls determines the fiscal year. (For example, fiscal year 2016 begins July 1, 2015 and ends June 30, 2016.)
Function View: Identifies the high level functions of government,
activities and specific programs of the State. KanView initially displays the high
level functions of government denoting the high level purpose of the underlying
activities and programs as recorded in SMART. Upon
selecting a high level function, specific programs within this function can then
be displayed for a particular state agency.
Fund View: Provides revenue and expenditure data pertaining
to specific major fund types and funds. A “fund” is the fundamental
unit of accounting designed to demonstrate legal compliance and to aid financial
management by segregating transactions related to certain governmental functions
or activities. Fund View initially displays the major fund types denoting the high
level purpose of the underlying funds as classified in the statewide accounting
and reporting system. Upon selecting a major fund type, specific funds can then
be displayed for a particular state agency. Each agency fund is further segregated
by individual accounts (for budgetary or other legal requirements) which provides
an additional level of classification.
Valid major fund types and descriptions are:
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State General Fund: The primary operating fund of the State.
It accounts for all financial resources of the State except those required to be
accounted for in another fund. The state general fund is primarily supported by
tax revenue.
-
Special Revenue Funds: Funds established for specific purposes
normally specified by state statutes, or in the case of federal grants, for purposes
specified by the federal government. These funds are primarily supported by user
fees or grants.
-
Capital Projects Funds: Funds established to account for
the acquisition and construction of major capital facilities other than those financed
by proprietary funds and trust funds.
-
Debt Service Funds: Funds established to account for the
accumulation of resources and the payment of long term debt principal and interest.
-
Enterprise Funds: Funds established to account for activities that
are generally of a business nature where goods or services a sold to the general
public or similar customer groups.
-
Internal Service Funds: Funds established to account for goods
and services provided to other state agencies or internal departments on a cost-reimbursement
basis.
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Trust and Agency Funds: Trust funds contain monies received,
held, and disbursed by the State acting as a trustee, agent, or custodian. Agency
funds contain monies collected by the State as an agent and disbursed to other governments,
businesses or individuals.
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Component Units Funds: Funds of component unit(s). A component
unit is a legally separate organization for which the primary government is financially
accountable.
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Governmental Activities: Activities which are mostly supported by taxes and intergovernmental revenues (federal grants). Most services normally associated with State government fall into this category, including education, general government, health services, judiciary services, museums, natural resources, public safety, defense, regulatory services, social services, and transportation.
Gross Pay: Total Gross Pay includes all types of earnings including overtime, bonuses, and shift differential from all revenue sources, which may include non-state funds. Items not included in Gross Wage are fringe benefit income, taxable group life, KPERS, deferred comp, TSA and VTSA, Dependent Care and Health Care, before-tax health insurance (medical, dental, drug, and vision), before-tax parking, 1042 treaty exempt income, federal foster grandparent pay, and federal employee Thrift Savings Plan.
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Job Title: The official description of each State of Kansas
employment position. The display of employee compensation includes the corresponding
Job Title of the position held by the employee.
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KanView: The KanView name symbolizes greater accessibility and availability for the public to view financial information regarding Kansas state government. As a play on words, “KanView” is a website where a user “can view” Kansas government financial activity with more transparency. For KanView history see What is KanView? on the FAQs page.
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Local Unit of Government: A governmental entity below the state level and
is usually a creation of state statute. In Kansas, the term is generally synonymous with municipality.
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Municipality (Municipal): While in many jurisdictions, municipality is defined as city or town, under Kansas statutes,
the term encompasses governmental entities below the state level, and includes counties,
cities, townships, and special districts.
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Non-Expense Item: This is an expenditure
of funds reported in KanView that has no budgetary implications. The amount is shown
in the budget as a "non-expense" to acknowledge the transaction, but it is not included
in an agency's budget expenditure totals to avoid overstating the true cost of government
services. Examples of Non-Expense Items can be found in the Variance to the State Budget.
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Object View: (Applies to data prior to fiscal year 2011)
Identifies the source of the revenue (e.g. taxes, fee for services, etc.) or the
type of expenditure (e.g. purchase of goods, payment of utilities, etc.) for fiscal
years 2006 through 2010 from STARS. Object
view provides the three levels of classification - primary, intermediate, and detail
- maintained in the statewide accounting and reporting system used to facilitate
various levels of reporting detail required by internal and external users. Within
KanView the primary level is displayed first. For example, some expenditures may
be classified under the primary classification of “Contractual Services”.
Selecting a primary classification will display the intermediate level classifications
within the primary classification. For example, some expenditures may be classified
under the intermediate classification “Communications” within the primary
level “Contractual Services”. Selecting an intermediate classification
will display the detail level classifications within the intermediate classification.
For example, some expenditures may be classified under the detail classification
“Postage” within the intermediate classification “Communications”
within the primary level “Contractual Services”.
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Pay Rates: Compensation of employees of the State of Kansas
is displayed within KanView on the basis of rate of pay. There are different pay
rates for employees including:
- Bi-weekly - compensation is based on a two week period. An annualized salary would
be the product of 26 pay periods multiplied by the pay rate displayed.
- Daily - the rate is based on a dollar amount usually established by statute. An
annualized salary would be based on 260 days per year, however, most often employees
paid under this pay rate do not work for the state on a continual basis throughout
the fiscal year. Examples include board members and legislators.
- Hourly - compensation is based on an hourly rate. An annualized salary would be
the product of 2,080 hours multiplied by the pay rate displayed.
Program View: Identifies the high level functions of government,
activities and specific programs of the State. KanView initially displays
the high level functions of government denoting the high level purpose of the underlying
activities and programs as recorded in SMART. Upon
selecting a high level function, specific programs within this function can then
be displayed for a particular state agency.
Public Finance Transparency Board: The Public Finance Transparency Board was established by the Taxpayer Transparency
Act. This is a 15 member board comprised of executive branch officials, state
legislators, and the general public. The Public Finance Transparency Board
advises and consults with the Secretary of Administration on content, format, and
reports to be produced and incorporated into the KanView Web site.
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Revenues: Amounts received as recorded in the statewide accounting
and reporting system.
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STARS: The acronym stands for the Statewide Accounting and Reporting
System. This is the state’s central, or statewide, accounting system
which is the source of KanView data for fiscal years 2006 through 2010. STARS
was replaced after fiscal year 2010.
SMART: The acronym for the Statewide Management, Accounting and
Reporting Tool. On July 1, 2010 SMART was implemented as the state's central, or
statewide, accounting system which is the source of KanView data starting with fiscal
year 2011.
Special Districts: Local governmental unit that provides one designated function. In Kansas, the term
can include governmental entities like ambulance, cemetery, extension, fire, and rural
water districts; community colleges, school districts, recreation commissions, and
watersheds.
State Fiscal Recovery Funds (SFRF): These funds are part of the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and are intended to help states mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic. The funds are being used for a variety of purposes, including expanding affordable
and workforce housing, investing in the workforce to prepare people for the jobs of the future,
and strengthening the health care system in the even of surges of COVID-19 cases or the
emergence of new variants.
Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK): The executive Committee
oversees the distribution process of the American Rescue Plan Act Funding, assisted by four
advisory panels with additional members.
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Unaudited: The law requires that KanView data be displayed
no later than 45 days after the close of each fiscal year (June 30). The source
of KanView data is STARS (fiscal years 2006 through
2010) or SMART (for fiscal years beginning in with
2011). By law Kansas is required to prepare no later than December 31 a CAFR (Comprehensive
Annual Financial Report) for each previous fiscal year. The CAFR is the official
state financial report and is prepared over the six month period following the end
of the fiscal year in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
The CAFR preparation is monitored and formally audited annually by the independent
contracting audit firm. Thus KanView data is necessarily unaudited.
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Variance to the State Budget: The source of KanView data
is STARS (fiscal years 2006 through 2010) or SMART (for fiscal years beginning with 2011). These systems record financial activity on an accounting basis rather than on a budget basis. These two reporting methods are inherently dissimilar and conclusions drawn from making comparisons between them may be limited in value and/or misleading. The primary reasons for these differences can be found in the Variance to the State Budget.
Vendor: Any business, individual, corporation, or other entity
which receives payment from Kansas Government as the result of providing goods or
services, or receiving benefits, grants or other assistance.
Vendor Payments:“Checkbook” payments are made to vendors that provide goods or services, or have other business transactions with the agencies of the State of Kansas. Vendor payments can be viewed from the Vendor Payments search page. Vendor payments may also be downloaded from the Data Download Center. Download results include the following key data elements:
- Fiscal Year
- Agency (Business Unit)
- Account Description
- Funding
- Vendor Name
- Document Number
- Payment Date
- Amount
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