Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 218 > Part III - Local Financial Management and Reporting

• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Auditor: means an independent certified public accountant licensed pursuant to chapter 473 and retained by a local governmental entity to perform a financial audit. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• County agency: means a board of county commissioners or other legislative and governing body of a county, however styled, including that of a consolidated or metropolitan government, a clerk of the circuit court, a separate or ex officio clerk of the county court, a sheriff, a property appraiser, a tax collector, a supervisor of elections, or any other officer in whom any portion of the fiscal duties of the above are under law separately placed. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Department: means the Department of Financial Services. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Dependent special district: means a dependent special district as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Financial audit: means an examination of financial statements in order to express an opinion on the fairness with which they are presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and an examination to determine whether operations are properly conducted in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Generally accepted accounting principles: means those accounting principles adopted by rule of the Board of Accountancy under chapter 473. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Independent special district: means an independent special district as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Legislative Auditing Committee: means a committee or committees designated by joint rule of the Legislature, by the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Limited revenue bonds: means any obligations issued by a unit to pay the cost of a project or improvement thereof, or combination of one or more projects or improvements thereof, and payable from funds, exclusive of ad valorem taxes, special assessments, or earnings from such projects or improvements. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Local governing authority: means the governing body of a unit of local general-purpose government. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Local governmental entity: means a county agency, a municipality, or a special district as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Management letter: means a statement of the auditor's comments and recommendations as prescribed by rules adopted by the Auditor General. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• political subdivision: include counties, cities, towns, villages, special tax school districts, special road and bridge districts, bridge districts, and all other districts in this state. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Revenue bonds: means any obligations issued by a unit to pay the cost of a project or improvement thereof, or combination of one or more projects or improvements thereof, and payable from the earnings of such project and any other special funds authorized to be pledged as additional security therefor. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Special district: means a special district as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Unit of local general-purpose government: means a county or a municipality established by general or special law. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• Verified report: means a report that has received such test or tests by the department so as to accurately and reliably present the data that have been submitted by the local governmental entities for inclusion in the report. See Florida Statutes 218.31
• writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01