Do you understand how the fund balance of a self-supporting fund is computed and how this differs from the fund’s cash balance? If not, see below for guidance:
- The fund balance represents the difference between a self-supporting fund’s total assets and total liabilities (i.e., what the fund owns vs. what the fund owes).
- While cash is an asset that contributes towards the self-supporting fund’s computed fund balance, it is typically not the self-supporting fund’s only asset.
- For example, in addition to cash, the self-supporting fund may also have other assets (such as accounts receivable, inventory for resale, or prepaid expenses) or liabilities (such as accounts payable or unearned revenue) which contribute towards the fund’s computed fund balance.
- To find the fund balance of a self-supporting fund in Banner:
- Go to Banner page FGITBSR and enter the applicable chart, fund, and fiscal year.
- Click on the Go button in the upper-right hand corner.
- The Current Fund Balance field in the lower right-hand corner of the page will then show the fund’s computed fund balance.
- If the computed fund balance is a Credit, then the self-supporting fund’s assets are greater than its liabilities. This is commonly referred to as a normal or positive fund balance.
- However, if the computed fund balance is a Debit, then that means the self-supporting fund’s assets are less than its liabilities. This is commonly referred to as a non-normal or negative fund balance and is denoted in Banner with an asterisk (*) in the last column of FGITBSR.
Contact
For further details, contact UAFR's applicable subject matter experts within the Self-Supporting Funds section of UAFR's Who to Ask list.
