Guiding Principles, Policies, and Mandates

Did you know:

1. that there is a public hearing before the Board of Trustees adopts the final budget annually?   *
2. the District’s unrestricted general reserves shall be no less than 7%?  **
3. District’s fiscal management follows the Principles of Sound Fiscal Management? ***

   * This is a Title 5 requirement in Administrative Procedure 6200 Budget Preparation. Links to an external site.
 ** Board Policy 6250 Budget Management Links to an external site.
*** California Code of Regulations,  Title 5 Education, Section 58311 Links to an external site.

Budget Development and management is guided by a multitude of mandates, principles, and policies from ACCJC Accreditation and Ed Code requirements in addition to Cabrillo's own Board Policies and Procedures. 

From the Budget and Accounting Manual Download Budget and Accounting Manual

Authoritative Requirements
In addition to the legal requirements of the Education Code, California Code of Regulations, BAM, federal guidelines, and other applicable statutes and regulations, California Community Colleges are required to present their financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for state and local governments. GAAP set the minimum requirements for a fair presentation of financial data in external reports. Since 1984, determination of GAAP for state and local governments has been the responsibility of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). For private enterprises and non-profits, including private colleges and universities, GAAP is established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and older pronouncements issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). GAAP provides uniform minimum standard of and guidelines to financial accounting and reporting. They are the framework within which financial transactions are recorded and reported resulting in financial statements that provide comparability between governmental entities, consistency between accounting periods and reliability for internal and external users of financial statements.

A sample of the mandated requirements are listed below:

1.  Accreditation Standard 3: Infrastructure and Resources

• • ACCJC annual fiscal report, Links to an external site. Board of Trustees approved on 4/8/24 Links to an external site.,  4/3/23 Links to an external site., 4/4/22 Links to an external site., 4/5/21 Links to an external site., 4/6/20 Links to an external site.
  • ACCJC Links to an external site. Accreditation Standard 3 Infrastructure and Resources

Note:  This is not a complete list.