Sharpest Tool in the Shed - Accounting Concepts for Managing the Collections Budget

Abstract

This segment of Sharpest Tool in the Shed provides an overview of acquisitions accounting principles and how these concepts can help acquisitions staff and budget managers monitor, track, and project the collections budget to prevent overspending or underspending. Focusing primarily on encumbrances, this article will review the basic accounting equation for library funds, identify common encumbrance problems and pitfalls, and briefly discuss the impact of library system migrations on encumbrances and fund data.