Annual Financial Reporting

General Guidelines

Notice:

For further guidance, please refer to Auditor of State Bulletin 2015-007.

Annual Financial Report Filing Requirements and Due Dates

ORC §117.38 requires that local public offices file their annual financial reports with the Auditor of State (AOS).

Entities filing on a GAAP basis have 150 days following the end of the fiscal year to submit their financial reports to the AOS in accordance with ORC §117.38.
Community improvement corporations, including economic development corporations and county land reutilization corporations, established under ORC §1724.05 and development corporations established under ORC §1726.11 must file their financial reports to the AOS within 120 days of their fiscal year-end.
Universities and Colleges subject to ORC §3345.72 and/or OAC §126:3-1-01(A)(2)(a) must file their financial statement no later than October thirty-first (31st) of each year.
Other entities required to file and GAAP-mandated entities choosing to not file on a GAAP basis, have 60 days following fiscal year-end to complete their submission in accordance with ORC §117.38.

Entities Required to File Utilizing the GAAP Basis of Accounting

Counties, Cities and School Districts, including Educational Service Centers and Community Schools and Government Insurance Pools – required by OAC §117-2-03(B). (Note: As amended in 2015, the new GAAP filing requirement for government insurance pools is effective for annual financial report filings for periods ending December 31, 2016 and after.)
Community Improvement Corporations, including Economic Development Corporations and County Land Reutilization Corporations – required by ORC §1724.05..
Development Corporations – required by ORC §1726.11.
Universities and Colleges – required by OAC §126:3-1-01(A)(2)(a).

Note: An entity failing to comply with the filing requirements under ORC §117.38 may be subjected to the penalties established by the ORC.

Components of Financial Statements

The required components of the financial report will vary by entity type and basis of accounting. Please consider the descriptions below when compiling your annual financial report.

Governmental Entities (including governmental nonprofit entities) filing GAAP, OCBOA Cash or OCBOA Modified Cash basis:

Management’s Discussion & Analysis (required for GAAP; optional for OCBOA Cash & OCBOA Modified Cash)

Basic Financial Statements

Government-Wide Financial Statements
Fund Financial Statements
Notes to the Basic Financial Statements

Any Other Required Supplementary Information (RSI) (GAAP only)

Nongovernmental Nonprofit Entities filing GAAP, OCBOA Cash or OCBOA Modified Cash basis:

Basic Financial Statements

Statement of Financial Position
Statement of Activities (also known as Statement of Changes in Net Assets)
Statement of Functional Expenses (required for voluntary health and welfare organization; optional for all other nonprofit organizations)
Statement of Cash Flows (GAAP only)
Notes to the Financial Statements

Any Other RSI (GAAP only)

Regulatory Cash Basis Entities (a cash basis commonly referred to as “AOS basis”):

Basic Financial Statements

Statement(s) (or Combined Statement(s)) of Receipts, Disbursements and Changes in Fund Balances – Governmental, Proprietary and Fiduciary, as applicable
Notes to the Basic Financial Statements

Notice:

The Hinkle System filing links for entities with periods ended June 30, 2016 will be sent by email and available via eServices (as described below) by the end of July, 2016.

The fiscal officer or other assigned contact for each entity required to file its annual financial report with the Auditor of State’s Office will be emailed an entity-specific Hinkle System filing link shortly after the entity’s fiscal year end.

To ensure your entity receives the email with the entity-specific Hinkle System filing link, please add HinkleSystem@ohioauditor.gov to your fiscal officer’s email contact list.

If your entity’s fiscal officer did not receive or did not retain the email, your entity-specific link may also be accessed by logging into your entity’s eServices account here.

To log in, you will need your entity’s customer number (available on billing invoices and/or Hinkle System email correspondence) and your customer email address (generally the fiscal officer’s email). Once you have logged in, click the “HINKLE SYSTEM” link at the top of the screen. This link will also provide the status of your entity’s Hinkle System filing (Not Started, In Progress or Submitted) and access to view/print/save the data/document which has been keyed/uploaded into the system.

If you have additional questions, please contact us at HinkleSystem@ohioauditor.gov.

Hinkle Annual Financial Data Reporting System (Hinkle System)

All entities required to file annually with the Auditor of State are now required to file via our Hinkle Annual Financial Data Reporting System (Hinkle System) as indicated below:

Cities and Counties – periods ended December 31, 2013 and thereafter
School Districts (including educational service centers and community schools) – periods ended June 30, 2014 and thereafter
Libraries, Townships and Villages – periods ended December 31, 2014 and thereafter
All other entities required to file – periods with 2015 year end and thereafter

The Hinkle System is an internet-based application that allows certain financial statement, debt, and demographic data to be entered and/or uploaded and transmitted to the AOS to satisfy the filing requirements prescribed by the ORC and the OAC. The Hinkle System increases uniformity in financial reporting, generates the statutory reports for the governor and general assembly required pursuant to ORC §117.38, and provides users of this information improved access and functionality.

Reporting in the Hinkle System – entities must access the Hinkle System via an entity-specific link provided by email to the entity’s fiscal officer/designated contact after the end of the reporting period.

Uniform Accounting Network (UAN) Clients – for most UAN clients, the entity’s required filing via the Hinkle System will be completed as part of their year-end UAN reporting. For UAN clients reporting on a GAAP or other accounting basis which cannot be prepared by UAN, instructions will be provided by UAN regarding how to file via the Hinkle System.

Electronic Filing Waiver Request for Small Governments – a waiver from required electronic filing may be requested for limited circumstances. If a non-UAN, small government entity is unable to file electronically, the Electronic Filing Waiver Request for Small Governments form should be completed and submitted for consideration. Waivers may be granted for one financial reporting year only. A new request must be submitted for each annual financial reporting period.

Filing Extensions

The AOS will consider granting an extension when the circumstances listed in AOS Bulletin 2015-007 exist or have occurred. The request for extension should be submitted to the AOS at AFRExtensions@ohioauditor.gov no later than the deadline for filing the annual financial report.

Please be aware that receiving an extension for filing the entity’s annual financial report does not eliminate the assessment of penalties for failing to comply with the requirements of OAC §117-2-03(B), which requires certain entity types to prepare their financial reports pursuant to GAAP.
Entities not filing on a GAAP basis should also request extensions, if necessary, to avoid a noncompliance citation in the management letter for a late filing.
After an entity selects its basis of accounting in the Hinkle System, the filing due date will appear in the upper right corner of each the Hinkle System screen. Any extension granted will be reflected in the due date.