Standardized Account Code Structure
Field Descriptions

FUND/GROUP (2 digits)

FUND
  • A fiscal and accounting entity, with a self-balancing set of accounts recording cash and other assets, all related liabilities, and residual equities and balances, or changes therein.
  • Established to carry on specific activities or attain certain objectives of an LEA in accordance with special regulations, restrictions, or limitations.
  • Applies to revenue, expenditure, and balance sheet accounts.


    • ACCOUNT GROUP
  • A self-balancing group of accounts established to account for fixed assets of an LEA; or established to account for the unmatured general debt of an LEA.
  • Applies to balance sheet accounts.

    • RESOURCE (Project/Reporting) (4 digits)

  • Used for accumulating revenues and expenditures to meet various specialized reporting requirements of local, state, and federal agencies and internal reporting needs of an LEA.
  • Tracks categorical activities, e.g. ESEA, Chapter 1.
  • Designates restricted and unrestricted source of funds in General Fund.
  • Applies to revenue and expenditure accounts; may be used in balance sheet accounts.

    • PROGRAM GOAL (4 digits)

  • Accumulates costs by instructional goals and objectives of an LEA.
  • Groups costs by population, setting, and/or education mode.
  • Allows the charging of program costs (instructional costs and direct support costs) to the benefiting program goals.
  • Provides the framework for accumulating the costs of different Functions by program goals.
  • Designed to accommodate capture of financial information by subject matter and/or mode of education.
  • Includes the option of a 0000 code for functions which are not directly assignable to a program goal.
  • Applies to expenditure accounts; may be used in revenue accounts.

    • FUNCTION (ACTIVITY) (4 digits)

  • Applies to expenditure accounts; may be used in revenue accounts.
  • Describes activities or services performed to accomplish one or more items in the Program Goal field.
  • Describes the activity for which a service or material object is acquired.
  • Consists of activities which have somewhat the same general operational objectives.

    • OBJECT (4 digits)

  • The service or commodity obtained as a result of a specific expenditure; the general source and type of revenue; or a balance sheet account.
  • The primary revenue classification differentiates local, state, and federal revenue sources; revenues from restricted sources are further classified using the Resource (Project/Reporting) field.
  • Used to generate financial statements.
  • Applies to revenue, expenditure, and balance sheet accounts.

    • SCHOOL (4 digits)

  • Designates a specific, physical school structure or group of structures which form a campus as identified in the California Public School Directory.
  • Unit under a principalŐs responsibility for which a unique set of test scores is reported.
  • Includes a generic districtwide site or clearing account to capture costs not readily assignable to a particular site. The costs in this account may be distributed back to the school sites.
  • Applies to expenditure accounts; may be used in revenue accounts and balance sheet accounts.
  • While the field is mandated, reporting to the state at this level is not mandatory. Counties and districts should, however, build into their systems a capacity for use of this field in the future.
    • Excerpted from a document distributed by the California Department of Education