Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 17 > Chapter 2 - Accounting

• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Approving authority: means :

  (a)in the case of a state agency, the approving authority as defined in 17-7-102;

  (b)in the case of a local government entity, the local government entity's governing body. See Montana Code 17-2-301

• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• charge: means a fee, charge, levy, or other assessment that is established by state agency rule or local government entity ordinance and that is:

  (i)charged by the state agency or local government entity to a user of a service provided by the state agency or local government entity;

  (ii)charged by the state agency or local government entity in exchange for a license, permit, or other type of grant of authority by the state agency or local government entity; or

  (iii)collected exclusively to provide promotional or marketing services to the person on whom the charge is levied and that is not assessed or collected pursuant to Title 15. See Montana Code 17-2-301

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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.
• Governing body: means the:

  (a)board of county commissioners in the case of a county;

  (b)municipal commission in the case of a municipality;

  (c)commission in the case of a consolidated government; or

  (d)town meeting legislative body in the case of a town. See Montana Code 17-2-301

• 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 audit division: means the legislative audit division established by 5-13-301. See Montana Code 17-2-301
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• local fund: means an accounting fund maintained by a local government entity for which the exclusive source of revenue is one or more charges for services or interest or other income on the fund. See Montana Code 17-2-301
• Local government entity: means a county, city, consolidated government, or town. See Montana Code 17-2-301
• Operating plan: means the financial plan used by a state agency or local government entity showing in detail the purposes for which the state agency's or local government entity's operating revenue will be spent in the current fiscal year of the state agency or local government entity and the fund from which the expenditures will be made. See Montana Code 17-2-301
• Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Several: means two or more. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• State agency: means an agency as defined in 17-7-102. See Montana Code 17-2-301
• state fund: means an account within the special revenue fund established by 17-2-102 for which the exclusive source of revenue is one or more charges for services or interest or other income on the fund. See Montana Code 17-2-301
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203