For finance directors
Adopting the CACOA
Why a California agency would adopt a common chart of accounts, what it takes, and a plan that fits inside one fiscal year.
9
State Controller reports produced from one ledger
0
gaps in 727K tested combinations on the Cities FTR
95-100%
of the dollars filed statewide, by report, that the chart can produce
72-99%
of accounts mapped by rule, not judgment, in the sample changeovers
Why adopt it
The state reports come from the ledger. Every CACOA code already has a line on every State Controller report an agency files: the Financial Transactions Report for cities, counties, or special districts, and the transit, street, and road reports where they apply. Mapping once replaces rebuilding a crosswalk every January.
Numbers mean the same thing everywhere. When two agencies use the same codes, their budgets, audits, and filings can be compared without a translation table. Boards, auditors, and new staff read the same chart.
Staff turnover stops erasing knowledge. Each code says what belongs in it, gives an example, and says what belongs elsewhere. The answer to "where does this go?" is written down, not held in one person's memory.
It costs nothing and locks in nothing. The chart is free, openly licensed, and published as Excel and CSV files any accounting system can load. Releases are numbered, every change is logged, and adopted codes never change meaning.
It is tested, and the results are public. Every release is checked against hundreds of thousands of code combinations and against what agencies actually filed statewide. See how it is tested and three sample changeovers.
Choose a path
You do not have to renumber anything to start. The adoption paths chapter explains each in more detail.
| Path | What changes | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Map | Nothing in the ledger. Each account carries a CACOA code in a crosswalk table. | Small agencies; anyone who wants results first |
| Blend | New accounts follow CACOA numbering; old ones stay mapped. | Agencies planning a system change |
| Convert | CACOA codes become the posting codes. | New agencies; system replacements |
A plan that fits one fiscal year
The steps below assume a July 1 start and the Map path. Converting follows the same steps, with the cutover at step 7.
- Decide and assign (January). Pick the path and name one owner. Tell the auditor early; they will want to see the mapping.
- Pull the current chart (January). Export the trial balance with every account used in the last two years, plus the fund and department lists.
- Map it (February). Paste the trial balance into the mapping workbench. Map by account series first, then by title. Mark anything you had to decide as a judgment call and write down why.
- Check combinations (February). The workbench flags combinations the chart does not allow, such as depreciation in a governmental fund, and says how to fix each one.
- Run last year's report (March). Produce last year's State Controller report from the mapped trial balance and compare it with what you filed. Explain every difference over your threshold. Most will be places where the agency filed a transaction differently from year to year.
- Add local detail (April). Where you need more detail than the chart publishes, add codes in the reserved local ranges. See adding your own codes.
- Adopt (May to June). Approve the mapping as the agency's standard, and for a conversion, load the new codes into the system before July 1.
- Close the year on it (July onward). Close the fiscal year, produce the report from the mapped ledger, and keep the mapping file with the audit workpapers.
- Keep it current (every spring). Each release lists what changed. Map any new accounts as they are opened, not at year end.
What to hand the auditor
- The mapping file: every account, its CACOA fund, function, and object, and how it was mapped (series, title, or judgment).
- The release number used, so the crosswalk can be reproduced exactly.
- The step 5 comparison: last year's filed report beside the report produced from the mapped ledger, with differences explained.
A summary for your governing body
You can adapt this paragraph for a staff report:
The finance department proposes to align the agency's accounts with the California Agency Chart of Accounts, a free, openly published standard. Each account will carry a standard code that already maps to the reports the agency files with the State Controller. The change does not alter budget authority or fund balances. It reduces the time spent preparing state reports each year, makes the agency's figures comparable with other California agencies, and documents how each type of transaction is recorded.
Questions agencies ask
Does this change our budget or fund structure? No. Funds keep their legal purposes; the chart gives each a standard code and a place on the reports.
What if our system cannot hold four segments? Use the Map path. The CACOA code lives in a crosswalk table, not in the account string.
What if the chart is missing something we need? Add it in a reserved local range. If it would help every agency, suggest it for the next release; the changelog shows how suggestions become codes.
Who maintains it? GovGlider publishes each release, with the full source tables, tests, and change history. Releases are numbered and dated, and codes in an adopted release keep their meaning.