On August 1, BPAS will close to prepare the system for the 2026-27 Biennial Budget process. BPAS will open for agency and MMB Budget Division users on August 20.
Please contact budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us with any questions.
|
Thank you for completing the User Verification forms to prepare for the upcoming 2026-27 Biennial Budget process. The access changes we received from agencies for Budget Systems and the Budget Division SharePoint site are complete and the forms on SharePoint are now archived.
Going forward, if you need to make changes to your team’s Budget Systems access, please download and use a blank User Authorization form found on the Budget Systems webpage (https://mn.gov/mmb-stat/documents/budget/budget-systems/budget-systems-user-authorization.pdf).
In AMA, the Fund Balance Classification selection for the General Fund (1000) is changed to only “A” for assigned. There is no longer an option to select “C” for committed for the General Fund. See the article below for more information about Fund Balance Classifications.
The AMA Glossary is updated to reflect this change to the General Fund and is available on the MMB website via the Statewide Budget Systems’ page at: https://mn.gov/mmb/budget/statewide-budget-systems/ama.
|
Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 54, Fund Balance Reporting and Governmental Fund Type Definitions, requires reporting of fund balance for governmental funds in classifications based primarily on the extent to which the government is bound to honor specific purposes with the balances. Under GASB Statement No. 54, there are five classifications for governmental funds to be reported under: Non-spendable, Restricted, Committed, Assigned and Unassigned. Please see Note 1 to the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for definitions of the categories in the “Net Position/Fund Balances and Fund Balance Classification Policies and Procedures” section, beginning with the paragraph that discusses fund financial statements.
The classification is based on the classification of revenue source. If the appropriation is a transfer from the General Fund, or any other resource within the State, the appropriation should be classified as assigned (A) because an internal resource cannot be restricted or committed because it is not an external revenue source. Only external resources can be considered restricted or committed. All appropriations reported in SWIFT for the General Fund (Fund 1000) must be from non-dedicated revenue receipts. This would make all appropriations reported in the General Fund (Fund 1000) to be classified as assigned (A) because they are a General Fund appropriation and not from an external revenue source. This means a General Fund appropriation is rarely restricted or committed because it is not from an external revenue source.
The restricted or committed classification will depend on the authority that placed the constraints on the external revenue stream. For example, if a nonprofit entity donated funds to be used for a specific purpose, this appropriation would be classified as restricted (R) because it is an external revenue source that is restricted for a specific purpose. If the legislature creates a new fee, and at the same time requires this fee to be used for a specific purpose, this appropriation should be classified as restricted (R).
In contrast, if the legislature repurposes an existing external revenue for a specific purpose, the appropriation should be considered committed (C). For example, the legislature previously established a taconite tax to be used for a specific purpose, but in a subsequent session redirected a portion of those taxes for a new purpose. Those appropriations would be classified as committed (C) because they are from an existing external revenue source but were later redirected to a new specific purpose.
Please make sure to select the appropriate designation for appropriations based on GASB Statement No. 54 classification requirements (Assigned, Restricted, or Committed). It is important that the appropriations are classified correctly because this data is used to report the correct fund balance classification on the ACFR. The Appropriation Maintenance Application (AMA) limits the options for the fund balance classification by fund to help agencies select the correct classification. See the AMA Glossary that includes the fund balance classifications options for each fund. Any questions please contact Paul Thompson at paul.c.thompson@state.mn.us.
|
