Audit
A systematic review or examination of the assertions or actions of a third party to evaluate conformance to some norm or benchmark.

Adult Protective Services (APS
Adult Protective Services includes the 24-hour, 365 days a year access to assistance and/or referral with reports of physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect by caretaker, self-neglect, exploitation and abandonment.

Cash Method Of Accounting
Accounts for income and expenses when actually received or paid.

Blue Book
This is the term commonly used to describe the Government Finance Officers Association publication Governmental Accounting, Auditing and Financial Reporting. Initially, the blue book was the authoritative source for GAAP for state and local governments.

Accrual Method Of Accounting
Accounts for income and expenses in the 12-month period earned or incurred, which is not necessarily when it is received or paid.

Receipt
A written record of a transaction.

Invoice
A written record of a transaction, often submitted to a customer or client when requesting payment.

Double-Entry Accounting
A system of accounting that records each business transaction twice.

Ledger
A physical collection of related financial information, such as revenues, expenditures, accounts receivable, and accounts payable.

Base Adjustment
Adjustments made to the initial base level budget to reflect total base level funding available to the agency. The list of acceptable base level technical and policy adjustments are included in the biennial budget instructions. Adjustments are generally made on a technical or policy basis. Examples of technical adjustments are one-time appropriations and program sunsets. Examples of policy adjustments are salary increases and space rental changes.