Glossary
A
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.
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C
Confidentiality: Taxpayer Transparency Program enabling legislation 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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D
Document: The document number of the document that processed the transaction.
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E
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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F
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 2008 begins July 1, 2007 and ends June 30, 2008)
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
N
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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O
Object View: 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.). 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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P
Process Date: The date the transaction was processed in the statewide accounting and reporting system.
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 the statewide accounting and reporting system. 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 Program. 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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R
Revenues: Amounts received as recorded in the statewide accounting and reporting system.
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S
STARS: This 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.
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V
Variance to the State Budget: The source of KanView data is STARS, which records financial activity on an accounting basis rather than on a budget basis. These two reporting methods are inherently dissimilar and making comparisons between them is equivalent to comparing “apples to oranges”. Thus conclusions drawn from such comparisons may be limited in value and/or misleading. The primary reasons of 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 View: Allows revenue and expenditure data to be examined for a specific vendor or payee as a result of a vendor name search within KanView. Vendor or payee names are searchable and may also be displayed as part of other views if available in the statewide accounting and reporting system and if disclosable under federal and state law. Some transactions processed in the statewide accounting and reporting system are “non-vendor” transactions that do not require a vendor name or payee because a payment is not being disbursed. KanView identifies amounts where a vendor name is not required or not disclosable by using a descriptive term in place of a vendor or payee name, for example “adjustment transaction” or “summary payroll charge”.
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