Program and Project Accounting

Effective Date: 07/01/2017

Because of the wide variety of grants that BWSR disburses to local governments, the accounting systems and structures that are already in place at those local governments, and the many different funding sources that local governments have to deal with and are held accountable to, it is impossible to identify a universal method of accounting for BWSR grants that will work for all.  The information below provides a few examples of best practices for program and project accounting that could be adapted for local use. This type of accounting will assist in future reconciliations of the grant by BWSR.

The examples below are not exhaustive or definitive.  There may be other data elements that you track in your time, program, or project-based accounting systems, depending on your own capacities and needs. 

Example 1:  Program Accounting

The first example shows how a grant recipient might summarize the expenditures, including staff time, on a BWSR Conservation Program and Operations Grant—in this case, the Natural Resources Block Grant Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) program.

 To save space on the page, the example lists hours charged to the grant by Activity in the same column as hours contributed in match.  It may be clearer to list them in separate columns.  After summarizing staff time expenditures, the worksheet lists the other direct costs charged to the grant, similarly categorizing them by eLINK Activity.

Note:  The staff time listed in this program summary, as well as in the following example, is meant to be a summary only.  It should be backed up by a more detailed time tracking system that tracks the time spent on the grant by multiple employees, by grant and activity, and by date.  See also “Best Practice:  Time Tracking.”

Example 2: Project-based Accounting

Here is an example of accounting for expenditures on a Clean Water Fund project.  The example tracks staff time assigned to the Activity of Technical/Engineering Assistance separately from the expenditures assigned to the Activity of Conservation Drainage.  In addition, local dollars contributed to the projects in match are separated out from other spending on the project, so that the costs charged to the grant can be totaled separately.