Fiscal Reporting in Special Education The element of fiscal reporting constitutes a key component of special education program delivery. It plays a vital role in the acquisition and supplying (after completing centralized accounting) valuable information for supporting decisions and justifying financial resource utilization. The value of information may be proven through its content: i.e., resources' nature and the means adopted for raising them, resource allocation according to approved budget provisions, and their utilization (Cenar, 2011)

Successful special education management necessitates effective information utilization. Information pertaining to special education spans from student and staff data to program- and school- level financial data. An inclusive education data system will be able to offer the following benefits:

Data can be utilized in the decision-making process;

It can used for targeting particular improvement areas;

Disaggregated data can be utilized for examining wide-ranging aims;

Data can be employed for timely evaluation of special education program;

It can improve mandated reporting and administrative efficiency; and,

It may be used to aid budgetary control (Allison, Honegger & Johnson, 2009).

A holistic information system has particularly apparent benefits in the area of examining the link of cost with program. For appropriate, timely, and cost-effective decision-making with regard to students, programs, and schools, complete and precise information...

A uniform, holistic information system permits complete, timely, and accurate display of resource distribution and utilization (Allison, Honegger & Johnson, 2009).
Resource Definition

The importance of an inclusive information system will also become apparent in the examination of resource distribution (fiscal equity) as well as resource utilization (productivity), which are two key foci of schools' financial accounting data. Legal challenges faced by state school financial systems necessitated revision of funding formulas for ensuring equitable financing in school districts. In addition, these challenges required states into attempting to define the phrase "adequate education." The Judiciary, the public, and the media continue debating the notion of more equal resource distribution increasing equity in finite resources' consumption (Allison, Honegger & Johnson, 2009).

The fiscal reporting field emphasizes accountability and highlights school achievement. It concentrates on funds required for achieving a minimal acceptable academic performance level for each student. The evident trend is: understanding programmatic and fiscal data relative to specific student groups' unique needs (e.g., disabled students, students hailing from poor households, and students having limited English proficiency (Allison, Honegger & Johnson, 2009).

Reflection

Personally, I would formulate a budget for schools grounded in William Hartman's school budgeting…