4 Reporting
4.8 SAO Annual Report Schedules
4.8.1 Revenues/Expenditures/Expenses (Schedule 01)
4.8.1.10 The purpose of this schedule is to report the local government’s financial activity for the reporting year including beginning balances, revenues, expenditures, and ending balances. These are reported using BARS codes to identify the specific type of activity. For GAAP governments it is also required to report a summary of balance sheet transactions for each reported fund which will be reported to the 800 series of BARS codes. This includes assets, liabilities and deferred outflows and inflows.
4.8.1.20 Local governments are required to update the materially incorrect financial data submitted on this schedule. The requirement applies to all errors found prior or during an audit.
4.8.1.25 Local governments completing the Schedule 01 must ensure the data submitted is accurate. For each reported fund, the online filing system will calculate an ending fund balance using government-submitted information (beginning balance, plus revenues, less expenditures). If the calculated ending balance differs from the sum of reported ending balances in the fund by more than $1,000, a red flag will occur, and the annual report cannot be submitted until the variance is resolved within $1,000. This applies to each reported fund on the schedule.
For GAAP Proprietary Funds, local governments are required to report depreciation expenses using the appropriate depreciation BARS codes (501.XX).
For GAAP Proprietary Funds, local governments are required to report memorandum accounts for debt and capital which are listed in the table below. These accounts are not included in the system calculation for ending fund balance or the total expenditure amount and are used for comparative statistics. The filing system will compare the debt repayment reported on the Schedule 01 to the reductions reported on the Schedule 09.
391 (Debt Issued/Bond Proceeds) | 591 (Redemption of Debt) |
392 (Premiums on Bonds Issued) | 593 (Advance Refunding Escrow) |
393 (Refunding Long-Term Debt Issued) | 596 (Issuance Discount on Long-Term Debt |
594 (Capital Outlay) | |
595 (Capital Outlay – Roads/Streets) |
Electronic reporting is encouraged when filing annual reports. This schedule is submitted as part of the annual report via the Online Filing system on the State Auditor’s website at: https://portal.sao.wa.gov/LGCS/. The system will only accept an Excel file formatted in the prescribed record layout (see paragraph 4.8.1.50, below). The Amount column must be formatted as a number (the system will round to the nearest whole number); all other columns must be formatted as text.
4.8.1.30 The Schedule 01 templates can be found on the BARS Reporting Templates page. Templates are updated each year with changes to BARS code so it’s important for local governments to use the newest version of the template from the SAO’s website. There is no Schedule 01 template for cities/towns and counties because they have access to majority of all BARS accounts. A complete listing of BARS accounts by government type/accounting basis can be run from the BARS Account Export page.
For additional information on reporting requirements, please see:
- BARS Manual 4.1.2, Reporting Requirements for GAAP Governments
- Also see, BARS Manual 4.1.7, GAAP Versus Cash Basis Reporting
- Also see, BARS Manual 4.1.1, GAAP Reporting Requirements
4.8.1.50 The Schedule 01 should be formatted as follows for upload (also see example below):
Note: Blank rows may cause upload errors (the system interprets this as the end of the reported data). If using a template, unused rows should be deleted entirely; alternately, the Amount field may be entered as zero ($0). Hiding rows and/or clearing cells will result in upload errors.
Row 1: Column headers; this row may be populated but will not be included in the data import (i.e., financial data in the first row of the Excel will be deleted upon import.
Column 1: MCAG Number; this column may be left blank, but must be included for data import.
Column 2: Fund number; provide the three-digit fund number as prescribed in the BARS Manual 3.1.1, Fund Types and Accounting Principles. Make sure that the fund number correlates with the correct fund type. If using a template, the fund number is pre-filled out.
Column 3: Fund name; the fund name may be no less than 4 characters and is limited to a maximum of 40 characters. The fund name must be consistent for each reported fund number. Multiple fund names for a given fund number will result in a red flag, and the annual report cannot be submitted until the data error is resolved (e.g., if a line reports the fund number “001” with a fund name “General” and another line reports the fund number “001” with a fund name “Expense”, a red flag will occur. This variance is identified based on the text, so clerical errors like transposed letters will generate a red flag.).
Column 4: BARS account; coding must be valid based on the government type and basis of accounting.
- All BARS accounts must be reported as seven digits.
- For a full list of available codes, download your chart of accounts from the BARS Account Export page.
- For special purpose districts, templates are available that include the most commonly used BARS accounts for your government type and basis of accounting on the BARS Reporting Templates page.
Column 5: BARS account title; the Account Title can be found in the chart of accounts export, see the BARS Account Export page. If using a template, this is pre-filled out.
Column 6: Amounts; please note:
- Activity in BARS accounts should be reported as positive value (for both revenues and expenditures). All negative values will result in a yellow flag; this may be acceptable but should be double-checked to ensure accuracy of the negative amounts.
- Schedule 01 data is reported in whole dollars; the system will automatically round amounts including decimals to the nearest dollar upon upload.
- Do not include rows with totals, sub-totals, notes, etc. Rows should be limited to the above-prescribed data.
4.8.1.60 The Schedule should exclude the following:
- Clearing and suspense funds. For more information on this topic, see BARS Manual 3.6.11 Suspense Funds, paragraph 3.6.11.40.
- Managerial funds. Managerial funds should be consolidated for reporting; do not report managerial funds separately on the Schedule 01. For more information, see BARS Manual 3.1.1, Fund Types and Accounting Principles, paragraphs 3.1.1.40 and 3.1.1.50.
4.8.1.70 Cities/towns and counties are required to include all fiduciary funds on the Schedule 01 excluding the balance sheet accounts (800 series) from these funds. Counties should include data for all special purpose districts which would be reported in a custodial fund. Counties should not use functional BARS accounts for the special purpose districts. For more information on reporting fiduciary activity, see BARS Manual 4.3.7, Determining Fiduciary Activities to be Reported in Custodial Funds. Detailed guidance on fund coding can be found in BARS Manual 3.1.1, Fund Types and Accounting Principles.
For assistance, submit questions to the SAO HelpDesk through our Online Services.
If you need assistance resolving red or yellow flags during the online filing process, please see the Online Filing Flag Descriptions Guide on the BARS Reporting Templates page.
MCAG |
Fund Number |
Fund Name |
Account Code |
Account Title |
Amount |
1234 |
001 |
General |
3083000 |
Restricted Beginning |
301,200 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
3084000 |
Committed Beginning |
125,000 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
3085000 |
Assigned Beginning |
78,250 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
3089000 |
Unassigned Beginning |
575,456 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
3111000 |
Property Tax |
250,056 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
3174000 |
Timber Excise Tax |
157 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
3698000 |
Cash Adjustments |
-15 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
5083000 |
Restricted Ending |
259,000 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
5084000 |
Committed Ending |
25,000 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
5085000 |
Assigned Ending |
35,212 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
5089000 |
Unassigned Ending |
120,000 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
5111010 |
Legislative - Salary |
56,000 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
5111020 |
Legislative - Benefits |
25,000 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
5111030 |
Legislative - Supplies |
62,000 |
1234 |
001 |
General |
5111040 |
Legislative - Services |
55,000 |
1234 |
101 |
Special Revenue |
3083000 |
Restricted Beginning |
12,501 |
1234 |
101 |
Special Revenue |
3611000 |
Investment Interest |
27 |
1234 |
401 |
Water |
3434000 |
Water Sales |
23,978 |
1234 |
401 |
Water |
3611000 |
Investment Interest |
576 |
1234 | 401 | Water | 5340010 | Water Operations - Salary | 250,000 |
1234 | 401 | Water | 5340020 | Water Operations - Benefits | 35,000 |
1234 | 401 | Water | 5340030 | Water Operations - Supplies | 45,000 |
1234 | 401 | Water | 5340040 | Water Operations - Services | 24,000 |