Fiscal Operations

Fiscal operations encompasses most activities undertaken by agencies to manage, account for, collect, and expend funds.  Records Disposition Authorizations for this section are subdivided into five functional areas as follows:

  • Fiscal Administration
  • Purchasing/Claims and Payments
  • Revenue and Collections
  • Accounting Reports (New York State Accounting System)
  • Bank Transactions.

Records related to budget preparation or payroll are covered in other sections of this schedule.

Control Agencies:  The State Comptroller is the chief fiscal officer for New York State government and heads the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC).  OSC audits agencies, oversees the State Finance Law, and prescribes methods of bookkeeping, filing, and rendering accounts.  The Division of the Budget (DOB) oversees agency budget preparation and must preapprove the expenditure of allocated funds by agencies.  The Office of General Services (OGS) operates a centralized contracting service for purchases of common goods and services by agencies.

Records Not Covered:

  • Records created or maintained by control agencies (e.g., OSC, DOB, or OGS) that are used to carry out or document government-wide approval, control, audit, or oversight responsibilities.
  • General ledgers, general journals, and “books of original entry.”  The retention periods for these records will vary from agency to agency depending on the nature of the accounts documented in the records.  In addition, some records may contain information of long-term value on accounts and expenditures.  These records should be evaluated by the State Archives prior to destruction.
  • Records related to capital construction.  These records may have longer retention periods than other fiscal records.  For example, contracts and related records which document the design and construction of a structure generally should be maintained for the life of the structure plus 3 years to protect an agency against tort claims.
  • Records related to the acquisition or sale of real property.  Contracts and related records involving the state's rights in or title to real property, the rents or profits therefrom, or a citizen's real property claims by virtue of Letter Patent or a grant from the state, have a statute of limitations on a claim against such a contract of twenty years after expiration (CPLR, sec. 211 (c) and (d)).  This statute of limitation exceeds the "6 years after expiration of contract" statute of limitation applied to most other contracts.  Moreover, some fiscal records related to the acquisition or sale of real property may contain information of long-term value for research purposes.  These records must be scheduled separately and should be evaluated by the State Archives before destruction.
  • Records that document the receipt, management, and/or expenditure of federal funds and which are subject to specific federal retention requirements longer than the retention periods authorized in this schedule.  These records must be scheduled separately to meet federal retention requirements.

Fiscal Administration 

Fiscal administration includes agency fiscal policy development and implementation, ensuring compliance with state fiscal policies and procedures, reporting financial status and activities, reconciling accounts, and responding to audits.

90100  General Subject and Correspondence Files 
Records used to support general agency fiscal management (usually arranged alphabetically by subject), including correspondence, memoranda, and reports pertaining to budget preparation, purchasing, general fiscal matters, and internal fiscal policies and procedures.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 3 fiscal years after creation.

Justification:  This retention ensures that any supporting material for audits is retained and allows weeding of obsolete and superseded records on a 3-year cycle.  Agencies may wish to keep certain records in this series longer than the legal minimum.

Note:  Agencies should not use this item for records which are covered by separate authorizations in this schedule.

90101  State Fiscal Policies and Procedures Records
Memoranda, rules, orders, procedural instructions, regulations, bulletins, notices, and any other instructions issued by OSC, DOB, OGS, or other control agencies which are directive in nature or explain policies or procedures relating to the fiscal and administrative responsibilities of an agency's fiscal office.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy after superseded or obsolete.

Justification:  DOB, OSC, OGS, and other control agencies maintain the record copy of these records for an extended retention period.  Once a policy or procedure is superseded or obsolete it has no value to an agency.

Records Not Covered:  Record copies of policies and procedures maintained by DOB, OSC, OGS, or other control agency.

90102  Budget Certificates of Approval   
Certificates issued by DOB authorizing the expenditure of allocated funds.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 2 fiscal years after lapse of funds.

Justification: These records are actively referenced in the agency budget unit for up to 2 years after the lapse of funds.

90103  Routine Internal Status and Activity Reports 
Internal statistical and narrative reports created by an agency on the routine operations and functions of a fiscal office, including weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports used for operations, management analysis, and planning. 

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy after report is updated, superseded, or obsolete.

Justification:  Most reports have limited value after they are superseded or updated.  Agencies may choose to retain selected summary reports longer to track operational trends or for planning.

Records Not Covered:  All audit reports, reports generated by the New York State Accounting System, and reports created outside the agency.

90104  Nonroutine Financial Reports and Studies 
Reports and studies created for fiscal, accounting, and administrative review or analysis by the agency, another state agency, a federal agency, or an external party, including equity and escrow reports, fringe benefit studies, facility usage reports, cost comparison studies, sales reports, investment practice studies, and other special reports or studies.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 3 fiscal years after creation.

Justification:  Records are maintained for audit purposes, as well as for budget and long-range financial planning.  Some reports have reference value beyond the 3-year retention period and may be retained longer.

Records Not Covered:  This item does not cover audit reports or New York State Accounting System reports.

*90105  Audit Reports, Responses and Work Papers 
Agency copies of audit reports created by OSC, agency internal auditors, and other state, federal, or private agencies that monitor, examine and verify the accounts and fiscal affairs of an agency, and agency responses.  Also includes work papers for agency internal audits.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy reports and responses 3 fiscal years after the issuance of the report.  Destroy work papers 1 year after completion of report.

Justification:  After 3 years, audit reports normally become obsolete for administrative purposes.  Agencies may want to keep audit reports for longer than the minimum retention period for reference and administrative purposes.  Work papers can be used for reference for 1 year following completion of report.

Records Not Covered:  Official copies created by OSC or other control agencies in performing their auditing function.  Also does not cover audit reports and responses which are subject to longer retention requirements of federal or other funding agencies.  Agencies should submit separate disposition requests for any records subject to longer retention requirements.

90106  Reconciliation Work Papers 
Intermediate fiscal records of receipts and disbursements used to reconcile accounts, including spreadsheets, proof sheets or trial balance worksheets, abstracts of receipts, disbursements, or claims, and other supporting documents.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 3 fiscal years after creation.

Justification:  These records are retained for audit purposes.

Purchasing/Claims and Payments

This section covers all contract and non-contract records related to purchases of goods and services or payment of claims, except for records of contracts related to capital construction or land purchases.

*90126  Purchase/Accounts Payable Records Related to Agency-Let Contracts 
Records related to the purchase of goods and services which require a contract, including purchase requisitions and justifications, vendor solicitations, requests for proposal, price quotations, contracts, leases, bonds, bid proposals, specifications, procurement and procurement contact records, purchase orders, receipts and other payment history records, invoice requests, merchandise receipts, vendor invoices, agency vouchers, service reports, and other supporting documentation.  Also includes records used by an agency accounts payable/claims office to track and monitor the claims and payment process on a daily basis, including manual and automated logs, registers, listings, and related records.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 6 years after expiration of related contract or final payment, whichever is later.

Justification:  An agency's record copy of an agency-let contract file, including supporting documentation, must be maintained for 6 years after expiration of the contract to satisfy the statute of limitations on litigation involving a contract (Civil Practice Law and Rules, Article 2-213) and to satisfy OSC's audit requirements.  OSC also maintains copies of contracts for 6 years and copies of contract-related invoices and vouchers for a minimum of 10 years.  However, important supporting documentation is only maintained by agencies.
 
Records Not Covered:  Requisitions, receipts and related purchase and payment history records for purchases which do not require agency-let contracts are covered by item #90127.  Also, OSC copies of contracts, OGS-let term (centralized) contracts, real property acquisitions or sales contracts, and capital construction contracts are not included in this item and are not covered by this schedule.  Agencies should schedule real property acquisitions and sales and capital construction records separately.

Note:  Before disposing of these records, agencies must ensure that no legal actions have been initiated which might require access to them.  If a case-by-case review of files is impractical, the Office of the Attorney General advises retaining the records an additional 3 months beyond the minimum retention period.

*90127  Purchase/Accounts Payable Records Not Related to Agency-Let Contracts 
Records related to the purchase of goods and services which do not require a contract, including purchase requisitions and justifications, vendor solicitations, requests for proposal, price quotations, procurement record checklists, purchase orders, receipts and other payment history records, invoice requests, merchandise receipts, vendor invoices, agency vouchers, service reports, purchase order logs, requisition logs, reports showing encumbrance of funds, and other supporting documentation. Also includes records used by an agency accounts payable/claims office to track and monitor the claims and payment process on a daily basis, including manual and automated logs, registers, listings, and related records.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 3 fiscal years after completion of purchase, including delivery of goods and services and payment.

Justification:  Purchase requisitions and orders are used for up to 3 fiscal years to develop new purchases, to track purchasing trends, for agency internal audits and to satisfy OSC's audit requirements.

Records Not Covered:  Requisitions, orders, and related purchase and payment history records for purchases which require agency-let contracts are covered by item #90126.

*90376  Vendor and State Contracts Reference Files 
Information on supplies, equipment, computer hardware and software, and other products and their vendors, including price lists, vendor evaluations and related records.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy after records are no longer needed for reference.

Justification These records have no value once they are no longer needed for reference purposes.

Records Not Covered:  Master copies of state contracts are retained by OGS.

*90367  Cancelled Bids File 
Agency records pertaining to bids for goods or services which were cancelled without an award being made.  Records include purchase requisitions and justifications, vendor solicitations, requests for proposals (RFPs), price quotations and related records.

Minimum Retention and Disposition: Destroy 1 year after award of contract for subsequent procurement of the same goods or services, or 1 year after agency decision to not purchase such goods or services.

Justification:  Records have no administrative value after retention period.

Records Not Covered:  Records of bids (successful and unsuccessful) for which awards were made should be disposed based on items #90126 and #90127.

*90119  Employee Travel Payment Files 
Records of employees' requests for reimbursement or payment of expenses for state-related travel, including encumbrance records, requests for travel advance, travel vouchers, justifications, and various supporting records.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 3 fiscal years after payment or overpayments are returned by the employee, whichever is later.

Justification: This series is kept 3 years after payment to meet OSC's audit requirements and the statute of limitations for actions involving nonpayment of money collected on execution (Civil Practice Law and Rules, Article 2-214).  OSC maintains the record copy of the vouchers in this series for 6 years.

Note:  Before disposing of these records, agencies must ensure that no legal actions have been initiated which might require access to them.  If a case-by-case review of files is impractical, the Office of the Attorney General advises retaining the records an additional 3 months beyond the minimum retention period.

Revenue and Collections

This section covers records related to billing, receipt of funds, and management/disposition of funds received by an agency.

90120  Revenue Accounting (Billing and Accounts Receivable) Records
Revenue accounting records of billing, receipt, and subsequent disposition of monies, including bills, invoices, cash receipts records, cash disbursement records, cashier's reports, refunds of appropriations, reports of monies received, reports of revenue transfers, transmittals, master control records, journal vouchers, and other related records.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 3 fiscal years after receipt of funds.

Justification: Revenue accounting records are retained by an agency 3 years to satisfy OSC's audit requirements.  OSC maintains "reports of revenue" for 5 years.

Records Not Covered:  This records series is not applicable to agencies established as collection agencies or engaged in revenue/collection activities as a significant part of their function (e.g., Department of Taxation & Finance, Division of the Lottery, and certain operations of Department of Motor Vehicles).  Bank account records are covered by items #90124 and #90125.

Accounting Reports (New York State Accounting System)

OSC operates a centralized system to account for all receipts and expenditures of agency funds.  This system regularly generates reports to provide agencies with information about the status of their fiscal accounts.

*90121  Accounting/Fiscal Status Reports 
Accounting and fiscal reports generated from OSC's New York State Accounting System reflecting the status of appropriations/segregations, expenditures, disbursements, and receipts of an agency.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy after report is superseded or becomes obsolete.

Justification:  Reports have minimal administrative value after they are updated or superseded by the latest report.  The New York State Accounting System User Procedure Manual instructs agencies to “retain the most recent copy of all accounting reports received from the Central Accounting System” and to “retain all other reports at your discretion, ensuring that accounting data is available for budget preparation, financial analysis, and audit of Federal and other grants.”

Records Not Covered:  End of fiscal year status reports and daily journal reports (see items #90122 and #90123).  This item should not be used for records of public benefit corporations and public authorities that are not part of OSC’s New York State Accounting System.

*90122  End of Fiscal Year Status Reports
Includes five end-of-year status reports generated from the New York State Accounting System as follows:

BUD 049  Appropriation/Segregation Accounts Including Lapse
BUD 060  Cost Center Status by Segregation
CTL 470  Expenditure Analysis
LED 010  Appropriation/Segregation Ledger Abstract 
LED 040  Fund/Subfund Ledger.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 3 fiscal years after year covered by report.

Justification:  The New York State Accounting System User Procedure Manual instructs agencies to "Retain the fiscal year-end copies of the following reports (BUD049, BUD060, CTL470, LED010, and LED040) for three years for post-audit purposes."

Records Not Covered:  Records of public benefit corporations and public authorities that are not part of OSC’s New York State Accounting System.

*90123 Daily Journal Reports 
Includes eight journal reports generated from the New York State Accounting System as follows:

JRN 010  Revenue Journal
JRN 020   Appropriation Journal
JRN 030   Segregation Journal
JRN 040   Refund of Appropriation Expenditure Journal
JRN 050   Encumbrance Journal
JRN 060   Expenditure Journal
JRN 070   Expenditure Adjustment Journal
JRN 080   Disbursement Journal.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 6 months after receipt of report.

Justification:  The New York State Accounting System User Procedure Manual instructs agencies to "Retain daily journals (JRN010 through JRN080) for six months to provide an audit trail (with the LED010 and LED040) to accounting transactions and source documents."

Records Not Covered:  Records of public benefit corporations and public authorities that are not part of OSC’s New York State Accounting System.

Bank Transations

Many agencies hold separate accounts with banks and other financial institutions to manage funds outside of the New York State Accounting System.

90124  Revenue Bank Account Files 
Records of bank transactions for revenue or income accounts, including bank statements, deposit slips, summaries of the status of accounts, uncollectable checks, balances of funds over a specified period, and other records related to the routine revenue or collected monies of an agency.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 3 years after the end of the fiscal year.

Justification:  Records are retained for 3 years to satisfy OSC audit requirements.

Note:  Agencies should maintain documentation on uncollected obligations, including copies of uncollected checks, as part of item #90120, Revenue Accounting (Billing and Accounts Receivable) Records.

90125  Payment Bank Account Files 
Records of bank transactions for payments, including bank statements, listings of deposits, cancelled checks, cancellations of payment, bank reconciliations, check stubs, bad check advices, schedules of outstanding checks, other back-up statements and documents, and other records reflecting the status of an agency's accounts relating to petty cash, travel expenses, and escrow payments.

Minimum Retention and Disposition:  Destroy 3 fiscal years after payment, except schedules of outstanding checks should not be destroyed until those checks are written off to the general fund and relevant identifying information is submitted to the Office of the State Comptroller.

Justification:  Records are maintained for 3 fiscal years after payment to satisfy OSC audit requirements.  Outstanding checks are written off to the general fund pursuant to Section 102 of State Finance Law.