b'Finance DepartmentMission StatementThe mission of the Finance Department is to maintain the nancial records of Beaufort County in accordance with generallyaccepted accounting principles and in accordance with principles prescribed by the American Institute of Certied PublicAccountants (AICPA), the Government Finance Ocers Association (GFOA), and the Governmental Accounting StandardsBoard (GASB); and provide management with up-to-date and accurate nancial data for use in making decisions aecting thecitizenry of the County. Furthermore, to ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal laws in the maintenance of records,receipt and disbursement of monies, and reporting requirements.Goals and ObjectivesComplete Comprehensive Annual Report by December 31, 2023Implement Project Accounting to keep the Countys chart of accounts condensed and manageable.Provide annual training to all departments on Finance related functions and Finance forms.Department DescriptionAll nancial operations of the County are managed through Finance. This includes working with the annual audit, preparing theCountys budgets, establishing and maintaining controls over all nancial activities, providing information to departments andthe public, processing accounts payable on a weekly basis, payroll on a biweekly basis, processing travel requests for theCountyemployees,reconcilinggeneralledgeraccounts,maintainingandreportingCountysxedassetsandcalculating/recording depreciation on all xed assets, preparing various reports to include all federal ARPA reporting, andvarious other duties as necessary. The Finance Department currently has fteen (15) full-time employees.Performance MeasuresFinancehasreceivedtheGFOACerticateofAchievementforExcellenceinFinancialReportingforthe2021AnnualComprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), and has applied for the award for the 2022 ACFR. Approximately 28,000 checksand Electronic Funds Transfers were prepared in the prior year. Finance processes payroll on a biweekly basis for BeaufortCounty, Bluton Fire District, Ladys Island Fire District, and Daufuskie Island Fire District for approximately 1,500 employees.Budget Highlights and Special NotesOver the past year the Finance Department has revamped its operations and overhauled sta positions and reassigned tasks.Finance has coordinated and assisted in the implementation and training of an integrated, modernized P-Card process andwill be completing the chart of accounts conversion which will go into eect July 1, 2023.Expenditures Summary$1,640,584 -$98,232(-5.65% vs. prior year)Beaufort County, SC | Budget Book 2024 Page 255'