Finance and budget

Three divisions of Finance & Administration

Under the direction of the Superintendent of Finance and Administration, the Finance Department is responsible for the development and administration of policies to allocate human and financial resources to support learning for all students. The Finance Department consists of three (3) operating divisions: Finance and Budget; Accounting; and Payroll.

Finance and Budget

The Finance and Budget division is responsible for the preparation and administration of the annual school board budget, government grants and other revenues, financial statement issuance and government reporting, short and long-term financing (including debenture issues), legal, audit and banking services, and internal audit services. Additionally, this division manages school cafeteria services and the School Generated Funds system, support and reporting.

Accounting

The Accounting division is responsible for the processing of supplier invoices, payment requisitions, expense reports, and petty cash, as well as accounts receivable, billing, cash receipts and deposits. Accounting also prepares financial statements and government reports, in addition to Federal (GST) and Provincial Sales Tax rebate applications.

Payroll

The Payroll division is responsible for coordinating all aspects of payroll. Payroll staff ensure the administration of employees’ pension plans, prepares applicable government reports, remits deductions, dues and premiums to external agencies.

 

2023-2024 Budget

The Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) has approved a budget of $649.5M for the 2023-2024 academic year. The balanced budget includes the use of $5.9 million from a planned drawdown from reserves that is within the 1% use permitted by the Ministry. The Board has healthy reserves of over $34 million for future use. The budget is designed to accommodate an expected enrolment of 47,639 students, which is 2.4% higher than the previous year, resulting in an additional 1,119 students. The budget includes 124.6 new full-time equivalent staffing positions, including 54 education assistants and two mental health workers.

Consolidated Financial Statements

Our Board maintains a system of internal controls designed to provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded, transactions are properly authorized and recorded in compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements, and reliable financial information is available on a timely basis for preparation of consolidated financial statements. These statements are audited by an independent external auditor appointed by the Board, who provides their opinion on the Board’s consolidated financial statements.