201981 Creating a System-wide Public Health Chart of Accounts

Tuesday, November 10, 2009: 2:30 PM

Amy Atkins, MPA , Division of Local Health, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Charleston, WV
A chart of accounts is a fundamental method for gathering, sorting, and analyzing financial data. It is a vital component of an effective financial management system and is a standard business practice in other sectors of industry and healthcare. This session will describe a statewide initiative to develop a public health chart of accounts designed to acquire uniform financial data for public health programs across the state of West Virginia. The primary goals for the application of the chart of accounts were to improve financial transparency, assure accountability for funding, and implement quality improvement activities.

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the process of designing and implementing a statewide standardized chart of accounts 2. Recognize how state and local public health agencies in West Virginia combined basic financial management concepts and information technology to improve organmizational accountability 3. Identify the challenges and successes of establishing a framework for tracking public health financial information 4. Describe the relationship between the goal of acquiring uniform and meaningful data and it's impact on business practices in local public health agencies

Keywords: Public Health Administration, Fiscal Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: 20 years of project management experience, 10 of which are in the field of public health. Served as the project manager for this initiative and served as a member of the National Turning Point Performance Management Collaborative.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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