Uniform Chart of Accounts

The chart of accounts is a listing of all the accounts in the general ledger, each account accompanied by a reference number. To set up a chart of accounts, one first needs to define the various accounts to be used by each fund. Each account should have a number to identify it. For very small cities, three digits may suffice for the account number, though more digits are highly desirable in order to allow for new accounts to be added as the city grows. With more digits, new accounts can be added while maintaining the logical order.
The State of Wisconsin has a recommended Uniform Chart of Accounts designed for cities. The primary objective of a Uniform Chart of Accounts is to facilitate the preparation of uniform annual financial statements, that is, statements that may be reliably compared to those of other cities. Because of this aim, it is especially important that transactions are entered in a consistent manner.
The City of Lake Mills uses the State recommended Uniform Chart of Accounts as a basis, but with a twist because of the numbering system used by our accounting software. The city has a relatively simple accounting setup and as economic pressures demand better performance measurement and the city grows this will need to change. The change process begins with the bookkeeper and the persons in the departments who are responsible for assigning account numbers to PO’s. Next, the bookkeeper and top management must determine if meaningful reports can be produced from the system to measure overall performance. Management will need to consult with the auditors to determine if the new system meets legal requirements and finally staff must work with the software consultant to make the system work in the computer.