Office of Shared Accountability → Auditing → Yearbook
Guidelines For Yearbook Financial Management
The collaboration of the school's principal, financial staff and the sponsor in each step is important. The school benefits from considering the process as a partnership opportunity to provide students and staff with a quality yearbook at a reasonable price.
- Joint review by principal, financial office, and sponsor of cost composition of yearbook contract proposal is needed to identify possible cost reductions.
- The financial office and the sponsor must review the cost plan for the yearbook with the principal and commit to work within the cost plan. The team should commit to revenues, costs, and expected profit. Price charged to student needs to be determined in line with cost of producing the yearbook. When considering sales price, remember that retail sales tax must be paid on yearbook sales.
- Keep yearbook prices in line with costs, which should be reviewed at least monthly. Such review will help in constraining costs without impacting upon quality of product.
- Meet with vendor representative regularly (aim for every three/four weeks or more if necessary) for cost plan updates and timeline accomplishment. Ask vendor for itemized budget for each fiscal year. A copy of this budget should be filed in financial assistant's yearbook file and compared to final invoice from vendor.
- Be aware of avoidable costs such as late fees and monitor the schedule for delivery of items to the publisher. Remember, you don't want delays to result in students graduating before yearbooks are received.
- Advise principal of any decisions that may impact upon costs or that will delay delivery of required items to the publisher (items 4 & 5 above).
- Evaluate the number of books to be distributed free and include these when determining sales price. Ask the question whether everyone on the list should get a free book.
- Concentrate on pre-sales. Tie the number of books and dollars realized into financial records. Each day’s receipts and books sold should be matched. Account for all books and various prices at which they are sold at year-end and reconcile to recorded receipts. Differences should be investigated and reviewed by the administration. Complete MCPS 281-25, Yearbook Analysis at end of sales and turn in to financial assistant.
- Be conscious of the need for security from time of receipt of books through their distribution. Books should be counted when received and the count compared to the invoice to ensure all books ordered have been received.
- Seek to achieve a profit from operations to help with equipment upgrades and meet other necessary expenses.
- Seek income from businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and vanity advertisements to help improve overall profit.
- Consider each year as another opportunity to improve yearbook production and control costs.
