Follow the Money
C.L.O.C.K. Civic Education | Revised edition | September 27, 2026
On this page
- The short story
- Financial terms before you compare
- Keep the local framework visible
- Read an authority’s reporting relationship
- Start with the right version of the budget
- Approval and payment are different steps
- Give every comparison a label
- Identify the source and the fund
- Follow both construction and operation
- Build a traceable project record
- Follow payments to another organization
- Look beyond the amount already spent
- Practice: one hypothetical repair project
- Show the arithmetic
- Practice: avoid counting the same dollars twice
- Your money-trail worksheet
- Find reports, then inspect their scope
- A focused follow-up question
- Before sharing your finding
- Find the next record
- Sources and scope
- How to use this module
Trace the decision, the dollars and the result
The short story
Return to the fictional facility repair: City B manages the work, County A contributes funding, and the supplied records do not confirm completion. This module follows the approval into the financial records and then asks what was delivered.
The four questions below focus on the master checklist's authority, funding and records questions. Keep the entity and service roles from Modules 1 and 2 visible.
What was authorized? Where did the money come from? What was paid? What was delivered?
Financial terms before you compare
These short explanations are reading aids. Always use the definitions and accounting policies in the particular report.
| Term | Plain-language meaning |
|---|---|
| Fiscal year (FY) | The annual financial-reporting period. Write down its start and end dates; a project or grant period may differ. [6] |
| Fund | A separate accounting unit used to track specified resources and activity. A fund label alone does not identify a separate bank account. [7] |
| Appropriation | The spending authority granted through the governing body's budget action, subject to its applicable limits. [4] |
| Actuals | Amounts recorded for the reporting period using that report's accounting basis; the label alone does not mean cash paid. [6] |
| Accounting basis | The rules for when transactions are recognized. Budget and financial-statement figures can use different bases. [6] |
| Commitment | In this guide, an obligation still to be fulfilled, such as an unpaid amount under a contract. Check it separately from payments. [3] |
| Fund balance | A measure of a governmental fund's net resources under the relevant reporting basis. It can include amounts unavailable for spending; it is not simply cash on hand. [8] |
| Enterprise fund | A fund used for activities charging external users, such as water/sewer service; examine other revenues as well. [1] |
| SPLOST | Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. Identify the particular authorization and permitted projects; the acronym alone cannot answer how money may be used. [9] |
Keep the local framework visible
| Start a separate file for | Record before comparing |
|---|---|
| Appling County | The County entity, fiscal year, fund and project. |
| Baxley | The City entity, fiscal year, fund and project. |
| Graham | The City entity, fiscal year, fund and project. |
| Surrency | The City entity, fiscal year, fund and project. |
| Shared / Authority | Each participant, agreement, contribution and reporting relationship. |
These are research categories for the CLOCK series. Do not treat all spending inside the geographic county as County government spending. For an actual project, verify the entity on the approval and financial records.
Read an authority’s reporting relationship
DCA explains that authorities can be dependent or independent and may have finances included in a local government’s financial statements. [2] Check the reporting-entity notes before adding totals. Record the authority’s own role even when its financial information appears in another entity’s report.
Start with the right version of the budget
Use the following as a reading checklist. Record the document title, date, fiscal period, approval status and source page. Do not substitute a proposal for the record of what was adopted.
| Document or label | What to check |
|---|---|
| Proposed budget | What was recommended, by whom and for which period? |
| Adopted budget | Which version did the governing body approve? Locate the adoption record. |
| Amended budget | Which later changes were approved, when and at what level? |
| Budget-to-actual report | Which budget version is used? What is the actuals cutoff date and accounting basis? |
| Year-end financial report | Which entities and funds are included? Read the notes and any auditor’s report. |
| Payment record | Which transaction, payee, date, fund and invoice does it identify? |
Approval and payment are different steps
GFOA describes appropriations as the spending boundaries established by the governing body and recommends controls at the relevant level of appropriation. [4] To evaluate a local transaction, locate the actual appropriation and any amendments. A line in a proposed budget is not sufficient evidence of an authorized payment.
Give every comparison a label
For example: “Proposed FY [year] General Fund expenditures compared with adopted FY [prior year] General Fund expenditures.” If comparing actual results, state that instead. Record whether the numbers cover a full year or part of one.
Before using a year-end report, read what its auditor’s opinion covers and any qualifications or findings. For a specific purchase, continue to the supporting transaction records. Do not describe an audit as proof that every project achieved its intended result.
Suggested source line: Entity | Fund | Fiscal period | Version | Cutoff date | Document and page.
Identify the source and the fund
Georgia’s Uniform Chart of Accounts distinguishes fund types and revenue categories. Its water/sewer enterprise-fund description includes user charges and other revenues. [1] A fund label alone does not establish every source of support for a service.
For each amount, record both where the money originated and where it was accounted for. Use this checklist to guide the search; it does not assert that every local entity receives each type of funding.
| Source to investigate | Records and questions to pursue |
|---|---|
| Property taxes | Find the levy or rate record, collections and budget revenue line. Which entity receives the amount? |
| Sales taxes / SPLOST | Identify the exact tax program, authorization, project list and distribution agreement. What uses are authorized? |
| Utility charges / fees | Read the rate schedule and fund records. Separate customer receipts from transfers or capital support. |
| Grants | Find the award, conditions, matching contribution, reimbursement requests and receipts. |
| Borrowing | Identify proceeds separately from recurring receipts; review the debt terms and repayment schedule. |
| Transfers / shared funding | Match the sending and receiving entries. Locate the agreement or approved transfer. |
| Prior-year resources | Identify the fund-balance use and any restrictions described in the budget and notes. |
Follow both construction and operation
For a service or facility, ask separately how construction was financed and how ongoing operation is supported. Record the years involved. If two sources describe different periods or types of cost, explain that scope before calling their statements inconsistent.
For SPLOST or another restricted source, verify the particular authorization. Do not infer permitted uses from an acronym or a general budget heading.
Build a traceable project record
This is CLOCK’s suggested document trail. A project may use different document names; identify the records actually maintained and mark any gaps.
| Step | Evidence to locate |
|---|---|
| 1. Authority to spend | Adopted appropriation, amendments, resolution or other applicable approval. |
| 2. Funding | Fund/account, grant award, tax authorization, financing record or participant agreement. |
| 3. Commitment | Executed contract, purchase order, scope, price and approved changes. |
| 4. Billing | Invoice, billed period, quantity, unit price and supporting work record. |
| 5. Payment | Payment entry matched to invoice, payee, amount and date; check reversals or credits. |
| 6. Delivery | Inspection, acceptance, delivery receipt or performance report appropriate to the work. |
Follow payments to another organization
For a payment to an authority, nonprofit or other organization, read the agreement for its purpose, conditions and reporting requirements. Trace the sender’s approval and payment separately from the recipient’s reported use. Do not assume the County, a city or another funder controls every recipient decision.
Look beyond the amount already spent
GFOA recommends comparing budgets with actual results, reviewing outstanding commitments, and examining whether services are being delivered as anticipated. It also recommends examining the reasons behind differences and using appropriate comparison periods. [3]
Ask for the records that could resolve a specific gap: the change order explaining a higher invoice, the ledger entry linking a transfer, or the acceptance record supporting completion. Use the Citizen Toolkit’s request method and identify the project and date range.
A useful conclusion names the document and its limit: “The payment register records $[amount] paid on [date]. Completion remains unconfirmed in the records reviewed.”
Practice: one hypothetical repair project
These figures continue the fictional City B repair in records F1-F5. They are not actual local figures. This simplified exercise tracks payments and remaining contractual commitments for the same project, with no other costs or adjustments assumed. The contract is $115,000; the revised allocation is $120,000.
| Hypothetical record | Amount or status |
|---|---|
| Original approved allocation | $100,000 |
| Approved increase | $20,000 |
| Revised allocation | $120,000 |
| Payments recorded | $90,000 |
| Remaining contractual commitment | $25,000, additional to the payments above |
| Completion evidence | No acceptance record supplied in this exercise |
Show the arithmetic
Revised allocation: $100,000 + $20,000 = $120,000.
Increase over the original: $20,000 ÷ $100,000 × 100 = 20%.
Allocation less recorded payments: $120,000 − $90,000 = $30,000.
Allocation less payments and remaining commitment: $120,000 − $90,000 − $25,000 = $5,000.
The $30,000 allocation less recorded payments includes the $25,000 still committed in this exercise. This payment-based difference is not automatically an expenditure variance in a report using another accounting basis. [6] The $5,000 difference does not establish available cash or permission to redirect it. Completion cannot be confirmed from these supplied facts.
Practice: avoid counting the same dollars twice
In a separate invented transfer exercise, suppose Government A transfers $40,000 to Authority B, which pays the full $40,000 to a contractor. Adding the transfer and contractor payment gives $40,000 + $40,000 = $80,000 in recorded movements. But only $40,000 reached the contractor in this example. For a combined A-plus-B calculation, the transfer is internal to that combined boundary even though A and B are separate entities. Retain both entries in the trail; exclude the transfer only when calculating their combined payment to the outside contractor.
Define the measure first: authorization, cash movement, expenditure or completed work. Then choose records that answer that question.
Your money-trail worksheet
Choose one project or budget line. Complete one entry per entity and connect related entries by project name or agreement number. Use “not located” or “not confirmed” where the record is missing.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Entity and role | County, named city, authority or other participant; its documented role. |
| Period and fund | Fiscal year, report cutoff, fund and account or project code. |
| Approval | Original amount, amendments, dates and source pages. |
| Funding | Source, conditions and supporting record. |
| Commitments and payments | Contract, remaining obligations, invoices, payments and matching identifiers. |
| Result | Expected work, completion evidence and unresolved items. |
| Conclusion | What the sources establish; what remains unconfirmed. |
Find reports, then inspect their scope
DCA’s Report of Local Government Finance page links to submitted reports and the Tax and Expenditure Data Center. [5] Use these as discovery and comparison resources. Record the year and entity returned, and seek the underlying local documents for the transaction you are investigating.
A focused follow-up question
“I located [document, date, page] showing [amount or action]. Please identify the record linking that entry to [funding source, payment or completed work]. I have not yet located [specific record] in the materials reviewed.” This is suggested wording; replace the brackets with verified details.
Before sharing your finding
Recheck the entity, period, version and arithmetic. Separate document facts from attributed explanations and your interpretation. State the search limits. If the reviewed records do not resolve an issue, write: “I cannot confirm this from the records reviewed.”
Find the next record
Use the source-finding guide for document types, official starting points and unresolved local source limits.
Sources and scope
Sources reviewed September 27, 2026. Numbered links identify the material supporting the general financial concepts. The checklists, worksheet and invented exercises are CLOCK teaching tools.
1. Georgia DCA: Uniform Chart of Accounts. Fourth edition 4.3, amended May 2023. Fund classifications and revenue accounts; PDF p. 64, account 505, covers water/sewer user charges and other revenues. This is the dated edition reviewed, not a claim that every local account is identical.
2. Georgia DCA: Local Government Authorities. Authority structure and dependent/independent reporting classification.
3. GFOA: Budget Monitoring. Best practice adopted March 31, 2018; compares budget, actual results, commitments and service performance. Guidance, not a local legal ruling.
4. GFOA: Budget Control. Appropriations, spending controls and the level at which controls operate. Guidance, not proof of a particular local approval.
5. Georgia DCA: Report of Local Government Finance. Links to submitted reports and the Tax and Expenditure Data Center. Use the fiscal year and reporting entity shown in each result.
6. GFOA: Basis of Accounting versus Budgetary Basis. Timing, reporting periods and differences between budget and financial-statement figures.
7. GFOA: Fund Accounting Applications. Accounting funds and external reporting; a fund is an accounting unit.
8. GFOA: Fund Balance Guidelines for the General Fund. Meaning and availability of fund balance; some amounts are not spendable.
9. Georgia Attorney General Opinion 2007-5. Dated opinion used here to expand the SPLOST acronym, not to certify current local project eligibility.
How to use this module
Use it to organize a source-based review of one budget item, payment or project. It does not verify current local budget totals, tax rates, debt balances, SPLOST allocations or any organization’s compliance. Confirm those from the applicable local records before publishing a specific finding.
Return to Civic Education to choose another question, or use Module 3 to request the next record.
Follow the decision into the financial records, then follow the payment into evidence of the result.