Dear County and District Chief Business Officials and Charter School Administrators:

Transition to the Standardized Account Code Web-based Structure Financial Reporting System

The California Department of Education (CDE) is announcing the upcoming release of the new Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS) web-based financial reporting system (Web System), designed to replace the existing SACS desktop software, beginning with 2022–23 budget period reporting. The SACS Web System is managed by the School Fiscal Services Division (SFSD) of the CDE.

The SACS Web System will be used by local educational agencies (LEAs) to prepare and submit a series of required financial reports and data for the budget, interim and unaudited actuals reporting periods for 2022–23 and after, in both the SACS and Charter School Alternative Form formats, as applicable. Data and reports collected through the SACS Web System are used to demonstrate LEA compliance with the state-adopted Criteria and Standards for fiscal solvency, compliance with federal maintenance of effort requirements, and calculate LEA indirect cost rates used to recover indirect costs from state and federal programs. For purposes of the SACS Web System, LEAs include county offices of education (COE), school districts, charter schools, and joint powers agencies (JPAs).

The new SACS Web System is not altering the account code structure or the flow and approval of budget, interim, and unaudited actual data and reports. Rather, it is an upgrade of the technology platform used by LEAs to prepare and report financial data. Additionally, the release of the SACS Web System will not require charter schools to use the SACS format or submit financial reports that are not required by law. Charter schools that prepare financial reports using the Charter School Alternative Form may continue to do so, but reporting using the Charter School Alternative Form for the 2022–23 unaudited actuals reporting period will be done through the SACS Web System. The Alternative Form will be available in the system when 2022–23 unaudited actuals reporting functionality is released around late June, 2023.

It is important to note that the 2021–22 unaudited actuals period reporting will be done using the existing SACS2022ALL desktop software and the Excel-based 2021–22 Charter School Alternative Form. Both platforms will be available to LEA users around late June, 2022.

SACS Web System Access

The SACS Web System requires individual user access accomplished through the establishments of a user account within the system. Any user that will be responsible for creating, editing, reviewing, approving and/or submitting data will have a reporting entity and one or more user roles assigned to them. In general, each reporting entity requires a SACS Web Administrator and User Manager in order to perform administrative and user management activities.

The initial establishment of a user with the Administrator and User Management roles is performed by an oversight entity, as follows:

• CDE will establish one user with the Administrator and User Management roles for each COE;
• Each COE will establish, at minimum, one user with the Administrator and User Management roles for each school district, COE-authorized charter school, and JPA within the county;
• Each school district will establish, at minimum, one user with the Administrator and User Management roles for each school district-authorized charter school, if applicable.

Last fall, COEs received an overview of the SACS Web System, including user management functionality and were given information to begin developing procedures for managing and assigning SACS Web System users.

Financial Data Reporting in the New System

School districts, charter schools and JPAs should follow the procedures set up by their COEs to determine the SACS Web System Administrator and User Manager, who can then set up additional users in the system for each LEA. The CDE recommends that LEAs be prepared with their list of system users, including the associated LEA(s) and user role(s) to be assigned to each user, when the system goes live on or about April 5, 2022. User accounts cannot be set up in advance of the system go-live date.

The CDE will provide additional updates and information via email communications in the coming weeks.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we transition to the new SACS Web System. The CDE is available to provide support and technical assistance to all LEAs through this transition. If you have any questions, please email sacsweb@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

/s/

Christine Davis, Administrator
Financial Accountability and Information Services

CD
2022-02119