Office of Fiscal Operations and Accountability

The Office of Fiscal Operations and Accountability (FOA) is an Office in the Maryland State Department of Education’s (MSDE’s) Division of Financial Planning, Operations, and Strategy tasked with leading and overseeing the Department’s accounting functions and cross-division fiscal monitoring, training, and support. FOA develops and recommends policies and procedures relative to financial and cost accounting that are designed to ensure MSDE is in compliance with all applicable State and federal accounting and reporting requirements. The core functions of FOA are to:


  1. Create, maintain, monitor, and enforce fiscal processes and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs);

  2. Build capacity in program staff to ensure each program knows how to access their financial information and receives training on pertinent fiscal systems (e.g., NOGA, AFR, etc.);

  3. Monitor spending transactions and revenue throughout the year to ensure accountability and compliance with department policies and statutes;

  4. Work with the Accounting Branch to ensure the finance division maintains all processes as required by law, grant awards, and Department policy; and

  5. Foster communication and transparency between programs and the different offices of finance.

The MSDE Accounting Branch resides within the Fiscal Operations and Accountability Office because the Accounting Branch is overseen by and should implement the policies and procedures designed by FOA. The Accounting Branch is structured to maintain requisite duty separation while still providing a clear and consistent ‘home’ for the various work functions of the Accounting Branch:

  • Accounting Branch

    • Accounts Receivable and Payroll

      • Draws and Treasury

      • Invoicing and Receivables

      • Payroll Cost Allocation

    • Accounts Payable

      • Finance Codes and Systems Maintenance

      • Grants Accounting Section

      • Expenditure Accounting Section

​The Accounting Branch is responsible for accounting and reporting all funds appropriated for use in the operation of MSDE. This Branch is also responsible for the initiation of monitoring activities that are designed to detect possible financial problems and to recommend corrective courses of action. In addition, this Branch is responsible for providing regular and Special Payments payrolls, controlling inventory, and transmitting authorization to the Comptroller’s Office for payments to vendors for various services and goods.



Contact:

Neeta Gandhi
Senior Executive Director, Financial Operations
Office: (410) 767-7520