Bureau of Accountancy

The Bureau of Accountancy (BOA) is responsible for all aspects of the City's accounting and financial reporting. It oversees the City's accounting operations throughout the year and prepares the Comptroller's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) each year as required by the New York City Charter, which contains the City's official, audited financial statements. These financial statements are also included in the City's Official Statements prepared in conjunction with the City's issuance and sale of debt. BOA is also primarily responsible for the design and management of the accounting aspects of the City's centralized accounting and budgeting system,the Financial Management System, or "FMS."

Most of the functions of the Bureau are performed by one of its six divisions, whose duties and responsibilities are summarized below.

Accounting Compliance Division
This division ensures that the accounting information prepared by all City agencies is accurate, including:

• Review and approval of expenditure accruals requested by City agencies as part of the fiscal year-end closing.
• Reviews documentation supporting expenditure accrual.
• Reviews agency cash imprest fund accountability statements.
• Monitors and reviews bank accounts of City agencies.
• Prepares statements detailing grant receivables and deferred revenues.
• Monitors agency activities in billing and collecting revenue due from grantors.
• Reviews the recording of revenues into FMS to ensure that they are properly recorded and classified.
• Assists other City agencies in identifying the source and purpose of many cash receipts for purposes of proper recording.
• Review and analysis of outstanding agency grant receivables to ensure that they are collectible and that cash receipts have been properly applied.
• Issues the Comptroller's Internal Control and Accountability Directives and Comptroller's Memoranda (CMs) which promulgates policies and internal control guidelines for all City agencies.
• Conducts extensive research for the purpose of issuing as well as updating Internal Control and Accountability Directives and Comptroller's Memoranda.
• Assists city agency personnel who have questions, problems, or need help with internal control policies and procedures.
• Prepares the City’s schedule of expenditures for federal award in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office of Operations for inclusion within the City’s Annual Single Audit.
• Analyzes and assists with the implementation of new accounting pronouncements issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), the organization responsible for promulgating generally accepted accounting principles for governments, for their impact on the City’s accounting and Financial Reporting.

Vendor Support Division

This division is responsible for vendor approval and data management of vendor information in FMS, administration of Backup Withholding procedures, and issuance of Form 1099-MISC and 1099-INT forms including:

• Approval of new vendors in FMS Accounting through the collection of IRS required documentation (i.e., Form W-9).
• Maintenance of vendor/customer information in the central database that is part of FMS, in conjunction with staff from the Mayor's Office of Contracts.
• Administers the reporting of Backup Withholding, 1099-MISC and 1099-INT income to the IRS including identifying and managing system changes in order to ensure compliance with IRS regulations and responding to IRS penalties and notices.
• Responds to inquiries regarding Backup Withholding, 1099-MISC and 1099-INT forms from the public and City agencies.
• Advises and holds training sessions for City agencies on Backup Withholding and 1099 procedures and reporting guidelines;
• Monitors Internal Revenue Service announcements and publications for changes to the internal Revenue Code that impact Backup Withholding and 1099 reporting.

Capital & Debt Division
This division monitors Capital Fund Contracts, Capital Assets and ensures the proper administration of the City’s outstanding debt, including:

• Maintains the City's Capital Projects Fund and capital asset records.
• Reviews the City's Capital Projects Fund Expenditures.
• Monitors the City's Condemnation Award process.
• Maintains and monitors the City's Capital Assets inventory.
• Monitors and reconciles the City's Capital Investment Account.
• Reviews all Capital contracts as they pertain to Capital Assets.
• Assists other City agency representatives regarding Capital Projects Fund, Capital Asset and Debt Service Fund accounting issues.
• Maintains accounting records for the City's Debt Service Fund and debt outstanding.
• Prepares and files the required debt statements and reports as required by New York State law.
• Prepares and process payments for cost of issuance and lease rentals relating to Debt Service.
• Reconciles and maintains accounting records relating to Interest & Redemptions, Called Bonds and Refunded Bonds
• Prepares the projections for future debt service requirements for submission to the New York State Comptroller and the City's Office of Management and Budget.
• Coordinates with the City's fiscal agent to ensure that debt service payments to individual bondholders are made as required.
• Updates and manages the City’s Funded Debt System
• Processes and reports the application of bond proceeds to appropriate capital project categories.
• Assists in the Maintenance of the City’s Database Management System (DMS)
• Assists in the preparation of the City’s CAFR.

Financial Reporting Division
This division manages various aspects of the City's accounting and financial reporting, including:

• Analyzes and implements new accounting pronouncements issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), the organization responsible for promulgating generally accepted accounting principles for governments, for their impact on the City's accounting and financial reporting.
• Reconciles the City’s central treasury and other City bank accounts.
• Issues emergency checks on behalf of the City of New York.
• Signs all checks issued by FMS and the City Pension Plans.
• Works closely with City agencies in researching aged outstanding checks issued by the City.
• Maintains the City’s General Fund General Ledger.
• Acts as liaison with the City’s component units.
• Analyzes the City’s long-term liabilities such as accrued vacation and sick leave, judgment and claims, and capital and expense leases.
• Records all investments and interest income for the City’s General Fund.
• Analyzes the City’s balance sheet accounts.
• Manages the production of the City’s annual CAFR.
• Coordinates the City’s Audit Committee meetings.
• Coordinates the preparation of the City University Construction Fund financial statements.
• Establishes and monitors Fiduciary Accounts for City agencies.
• Maintains various trust and agency accounts for assets for which the City acts as custodian.
• Manages and accounts for security and other deposits received from City contractors and others and held by the City of New York.
• Assists City agencies in resolving issues regarding vendor retainage and substitution of securities for retainage.

Fiduciary Services Division
This division performs the investment accounting for the City’s five main pension plans and the City’s nine variable supplement funds (VSFs), as well as records payment of pension benefits to members of the City's pension plans and VSFs, including:.

• Issues pension related replacement checks to the retirement systems’ pensioners and members.
• Resolves problems resulting from lost and forged pension checks.
• Reconciles pension bank accounts.
• Prepares investment accounting information based upon data received from the Comptroller's Bureau of Asset Management.
• Coordinates pension plans and VSFs financial information for inclusion in the City’s CAFR.
• Assists the pension plans and VSFs in the preparation of their annual financial statements and CAFRs.
• Provides assistance to the retirement systems in response to GFOA comments.
• Acts as liaison with the pension plans and VSFs’ independent auditors and the New York City Office of the Actuary.
• Responds to inquiries regarding pension benefits from pensioners

Fiscal Services Division
This division interacts with City Agencies and Payee/Vendors concerning warrants (checks) and is responsible for various types of payments, including:

• Payments for workers' compensation.
• Payments for settlements & court ordered judgments.
• Tuition payments to New York State community colleges for New York City residents attending schools outside the five boroughs.
• Payments to individuals or corporations for properties seized by the City of New York.
• Prevailing wage payments for employees working under New York City approved contractors.
• Reimbursements to various City Agencies and other miscellaneous payments.

Other BOA Functions
In addition to the responsibilities assigned to the Divisions of the BOA as described above, there are a number of functions handled by the BOA, including:

• The BOA manages the accounting functions of the City's central accounting and budgeting system, FMS. This function also includes working with other Bureaus within the Comptroller's Office to meet their FMS needs and requirements.
• A Support Team within the BOA assists the various divisions in their work on a rotating basis to promote cross-training within the Bureau
• The BOA coordinates the annual audit of the City's financial statements by independent auditors including management of the audit contract, reviewing work plans, and scheduling seminars and information sessions.
• The BOA provides consultation to other Comptroller's Bureaus as to accounting matters.
• Design and management of various aspects of FMS, working closely with staff from the City's Financial Information Services Agency (FISA).

View Audit Closing Instructions and Download Forms

COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL REPORT FOR FY11