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Financial Management: A Course for School Nutrition Directors (4 Hour)

National Food Service Management Institute

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Can you answer these financial management questions about the school nutrition program in your district?

Main sources of revenue?

Percentage of total revenue attributed to each source?

Expenditure categories?

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More questions Cost to produce a meal?

Percent of revenue spent for labor or food?

Labor productivity index (meals per labor hour)?

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More questions

Net gain or loss over the past 3 years?

How many employees understand the importance of cost controls to the success of the program?

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Defining Financial ManagementFinancial Management can be

defined as The process of defining the financial

goals and program objectives for the school nutrition programs, and

Implementing activities to attain those goals through the effective use of resources

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Role of the School Nutrition Director in Managing Finances Management of financial resources Maintain financial accountability Involve administrators, board members,

cafeteria managers, and nutrition staff to identify goals

Promote team approach Assess, monitor, and evaluate program

funds Maintain on-going training

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Development of a Financial Management Information System

Objective: Know the basic financial recording and reporting processes and procedures for directing the operation of a school nutrition program.

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Financial Management Information System Provides a uniform and consistent

financial reporting structure Provides meaningful and timely financial

management information Supports federal reporting requirements

Financial Management Information System (cont.) Adheres to Generally Accepted

Accounting Principles (known as GAAP)

Provides a basis for determining accountability

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NFSMI Financial Management Information System

Available at:www.nfsmi.org

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Classification of Expenditures Labor Employee Benefits Professional and

Technical Services Property Services Food and USDA

Foods

Supplies Capital Equipment Miscellaneous Indirect Costs Fund Transfer-Out

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Financial Reporting of Revenue and Expenditure Transactions

Objective: Know how to use financial reports that are consistent with federal and state guidelines to achieve a financial management system that provides a cost effective program with high integrity.

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Types of Financial Reports Statement of Revenue and Expenditures

(Net Gain/Loss Statement)

Statement of Net Assets (Balance Sheet)

Budget

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Statement of Revenue and Expenditures Revenue by source

Expenditures by category

Net gain/loss for the statement period

Comparison of current month with previous month’s information and year-to-date information.

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Statement of Net Assets Assets

Cash balance, receivables due, and value of inventories

Liabilities Outstanding payables Deferred revenue Sales tax owed (when appropriate)

Fund Balance

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The Fund Balance The school nutrition director can use

the Fund Balance reported on the Statement of Net Assets to Verify how much of the fund balance is

reserved for encumbrances Determine how much money is available

for expenditures Gauge how the program is performing

financially

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The Budget as a Management Tool

forecasting revenue

identifying how revenue will be allocated for expenditures

predicting how much money will be in the fund balance at year’s end

The budget assists in managing theschool nutrition program by

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Methods of Budgeting1. Incremental(baseline) – Previous

year’s budget is starting point. Adjustments made to each line item to reflect expected changes.

2. Zero – Start with zero for each line item and build according to expectations.

3. Combination – Uses zero for some items and incremental for other items.

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Setting a Meal Standard for Financial Management and Analysis

Objective: Know how to use financial management tools and standards to operate a financially and nutritionally accountable school nutrition program consistent with federal and state guidelines.

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Using Meal Equivalents in Program Analysis to Measure Performance

By converting food sales to meal equivalents, the school nutrition director can determine meal cost, labor productivity ratios, and the average revenue earned per

meal/meal equivalent

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Meal Equivalent Conversion Formulas1. 1 lunch = 1 lunch2. 3 breakfasts = 2 lunches (2/3 = .67)3. 3 snacks = 1 lunch (1/3 = .33) 4. other food sales revenue from other food sales current free lunch reimbursement + current USDA Foods value

per lunch

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Managing Revenue in School Nutrition Programs

Objective: Know how to analyze, interpret, and use revenue data for program evaluation and improvement.

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Why it’s important to compare revenue earned with meal cost This comparison is useful because

It helps determine if and where revenue needs to be increased.

It allows you to analyze revenue by source.

It identifies areas in which revenue should be monitored for revenue loss.

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Setting Meal Prices Average Lunch Cost ($2.56) minus Section 4 reimbursement ($0.24) minus USDA Foods Value ($0.2/75) yields Lunch Base Price = $2.1125

The projected average lunch cost of $2.56 is a hypothetical figure for illustrative purposes only. Many school districts project meal costs for the new school year based on anticipated increases in food, labor, and other considerations, and then use the formula to determine a base price for each meal served.

*Rates shown in this slide are for school year 2008-2009

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Types of Nonreimbursable School Day Food Sales1. Adult meals2. Sale of a second meal to a student3. Individual components of the

reimbursable meal such as milk4. Other food items not on the menu (a

la carte)

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Nonreimbursable Foods Sold Away from Campus or Outside School Day

1. Catered meals 2. Contract meals that do not qualify

for reimbursement (some meals such as day care might qualify for reimbursement)

3. Special school function meals such as athletic banquets

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Managing Expenditures in the School Nutrition Program

Objective: Know how to analyze, interpret, and use expenditure data for program evaluation and improvement.

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Expenditure Analysis Analyzing financial reports can

provide information about patterns or trends, significant changes in costs categories, deviations from financial goals, possible abuse or theft, and transaction errors

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Types of Expenditure Analysis Total costs to produce a meal Meal costs per expenditure category Percentages of operational costs to

total revenue Costs to produce a meal compared

with the average revenue generated per meal

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Meal Costs Deviations Higher food costs at the beginning of

the year due to larger than normal food purchases

Purchase of a large ticket item Unplanned large repair bills

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Food Cost Percentage to Total Revenue Formula: Costs of Purchased Food Total Revenue

Example: $16,500 (food costs) $30,000 (revenue)

= .55 x 100 or 55%

55 cents from each dollar generated was used to purchase food.

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What do Cost Percentages Mean?If total of all cost percentages is Less than 100%-operating balance

increases Equal to 100%-program breaks-even More than 100%-operating balance

decreases

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Comparing Revenue to Expenditures

1. Total net gain/loss to the school nutrition program expressed in dollars

2. Percent of gain/loss expressed in percentage of revenue

3. Net gain/loss per meal or meal equivalent

Comparing revenue to expenditures tells us

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Controlling Food and Labor Costs in School Nutrition Programs

Objective: Know how to apply cost control measures to operate a financially sound program with nutritional integrity.

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Meals Per Labor Hour Number Meals/Meal Equivalents

Number of Paid Productive Labor Hours

Example:338 total meals/meal equivalents

24 paid productive labor hours

= 14.08 or 14 meals per labor hour

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Using Participation as a Financial Management ToolUsed as a forecasting tool to

Prevent waste in excess labor hours and overproduction of food.

Reduce customer dissatisfaction because of inadequate staff and too little food prepared for the number served.

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Developing and Analyzing a School Nutrition Budget

Objective: School nutrition directors should understand the importance of using the budget as an analysis tool and control document.