Finance & Accounting

200 Grand River Suite 203
Port Huron, Michigan 48060
Telephone: 810-989-6905
Fax: 810-985-3463

CONTACTS:
Dena Alderdyce, Finance Director

The Finance and Accounting division provides accounting, accounts payable and receivable, budgetary, risk accounting, fixed asset management, auditing, and purchasing services to the various funds and departments of the County.

A system of accounts is organized under the rules and regulations of the State of Michigan and is maintained to accumulate, classify, and report on the financial activities of the County departments. The system provides for the proper accounting of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenditures which facilitates the preparation of financial reports for many users, including the Board of Commissioner's, the various departments, the State of Michigan and the Federal government. Internal controls are derived to protect the assets of the County in a way that is both practical and cost effective.

A system of accounts payable is maintained to handle the payments to the many vendors the County deals with on a daily basis. The system maintains a vendor base of over 5000 vendors and over 12,000 vendor checks are issued each year.

A system of accounts receivable is currently being developed to assist the many departments that have contracts and grants with their billing and accounting for monies owed the County.

Oversight of the annual budget process is administered in this department. The annual budget is governed by the tenets of the Michigan Uniform Budgeting and Accounting Act (Public Act 621 of 1978, as amended). After the creation and adoption of the annual budget it is monitored for compliance. As needed, amendments are proposed to the Board of Commissioner's for adoption.

Risk accounting is the process of identifying proper risk levels for the County to maintain with our property and liability insurance. Staff investigates, submits and tracks incidents for property and liability and act as a direct liaison with our insurance carrier, as well as coordinate damage repairs with vendors.

Fixed asset management is maintained to account for and properly record the activities involved with the purchase and disposition of assets used in the departments throughout the County. A fixed asset threshold of $5,000 has been utilized for the recording and depreciating of assets, except for land and building, which are recorded at any cost.

As required by State statute the County is annually audited by independent Certified Public Accountants in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and their report is issued and available in this office. Additionally, all Federal programs and grants are annually audited under the tenets of Federal compliance guidelines and these reports are also available in this office.

A system of purchasing is in place that offers assistance to the various departments in their purchasing needs. Small office supply contracts and a procurement card system are in place to facilitate purchasing of items, as well as the use of purchase orders.

Other duties performed in the Finance and Accounting department include financial forecasting, the development of fiscal policies and procedures, the design and implementation of accounting and financial reporting systems, servicing and accounting for the County's short and long term debt, developing options for the financing of capital projects.