Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers (AMCTO)

Last site update: July 29, 2009

WELCOME Welcome to Ontario's Municipal PSAB/Asset Management Website. Beginning with fiscal year 2009, municipalities must report on their tangible capital assets and move from modified to full accrual accounting. The Municipal Finance Officers' Association (MFOA) and the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO) have forged a strategic partnership to assist municipal staff implementing the changes. The website is designed to serve as an information clearing house. What's New?

Newly released - two short monographs on Asset Management (July 2010) and on Long Term Planning.

Budgeting Newsletter Released (July 21, 2009): Newsletter no. 49 explains the provincial legislation governing how municipal budgets should be prepared with the move to full accrual accounting.

2009 Webinars Announced (July 14, 2009): Registration is now open for the MFOA/AMCTO 2009 online learning series. There will be six webinars starting on August 4 and running through the fall. Topics include the new financial reporting model, budgeting & financial reporting, standards of recommended practice, preparing for your TCA audit, leveraging PSAB work for asset management and changes to the FIR.

Spring Seminar Materials Now Available (June 29, 2009): The learning materials used at the spring 2009 seminars on how to prepare budgets and financial statements under PSAB rules have now been posted on the website.

Two New Newsletters Released (June 26, 2009): Newsletters explaining the case for and against fund accounting and the concepts and objectives behind government financial accounting are now available on our website.

Legislation/Regulations Announced for Budgeting under PSAB (Mar. 1, 2009): The Ontario Government has released draft regulations to be issued under the 2009 Budget Measures Act to clarify the legal framework for municipal budgeting under the new accounting rules.

Financial Statement Training Announced (Mar. 23, 2009): This spring, AMCTO and MFOA are presenting a full-day seminar on how prepare financial statements under PSAB rules. Locations include Grand Bend, Richmond Hill, Brantford, Timmins, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Kingston.

TCA Budgeting - Capital Leasing (Mar. 11, 2009): Our Check out Newsletter No. 48 to find out what's different with budgeting for capital leases.

Updated Deflator Indices Now Available (Feb. 25, 2008): In March 2008 MFOA and AMCTO released a Deflator Study to help municipalities estimate original costs as part of the exercise to comply with PS 3150. The report was accompanied by a spreadsheet to facilitate dealing with a large number of assets. The spreadsheet has been updated to 2009.

Q&A Hotline Service Updated (Feb. 9, 2009): Since its launch in fall 2007, the online PSAB Q&A Email HOTLINE Service has fielded hundreds of questions. The latest updates of the most commonly posted questions have now been posted on the website.

TCA Budgeting - Further Topics (Feb.1, 2009): Our PSAB budgeting seriies continues with newsletters nos. 46 and 47, which deal with disposals/writedowns and treatment of inventory respectively.

TCA Budgeting - Donated/Transferred Assets (Jan. 26, 2009): Newsletter No. 45 explains the intricacies of the accounting treatment under the new rules of assets donated or transferred to or from the municipality, suggesting that the assets should be budgeted for in the same manner as they are accounted for.

TCA Budgeting - Constructed Assets (Jan. 14, 2009): Our series of newsletters on budgeting under PSAB now zeroes in on assets that municipalities construct or develop from scratch - the bulk of the infrastructure stock.

TCA Budgeting - Purchases (Jan. 8, 2009): Continuing the discussion of budgeting in a PS 3150 world, Newsletter No. 43 looks at how purchases of tangible capital assets should be dealt with.

Newletters Explain Budgeting in a PSAB World (Dec. 16, 2008): Newsletters No. 41 and 42 lay out the options for municipal treasurers in preparing their 2009 budgets.

Answers for Questions about "Burning" Issues (Nov. 24, 2008): Newsletter No. 40 tackles questions that raised over the last year about unusual situations that can arise when deciding whether a particular item is a tangible capital asset.

Q&A Hotline Service Updates (Nov. 21, 2008): Since its launch in fall 2007, the online PSAB Q&A Email HOTLINE Service has fielded hundreds of questions. The answers to the most common questions have been posted on the website. The latest update is as of September 30.

Webinar Training Materials Posted (Nov. 15, 2008): The training materials for all six webinars that MFOA and AMCTO presented in 2008 to help municipal staff who missed the "in-class" seminars are now available on our website.

Sustainable Communities Asset Management (Oct. 2, 2008): The Ontario Water Works Association (OWWA) and the Water Environment Association of Ontario (WEAO) are offering a workshop on building sustainable communities through comprehensive asset management on November 13 in Concord. Click here to register.

Accrual Accounting 101 (Sept. 22, 2008): Cash accounting, modified accrual accounting and accrual accounting - accountants use these terms, but what do they really mean? Municipalities are being forced to move to full accrual accounting. How is this different from current practice? Our newsletter no. 39 explains it all for non-accountants.

Asset Amortization vs. Sustainability (Sept. 14, 2008): Does tangible capital asset accounting as mandated by PSAB by itself ensure proper capital financing? As explained in our latest newsletter, No. 38, the answer is no, but the new rules will trigger a major shift in thinking.

Calling All TCA Policies (Aug. 18, 2008): We are currently collecting examples of municipal capital asset policies for sharing on this website (on the relevant Webinar page - click here). Click here to contribute your municipality's policy.

Making the Transition to TCA Accounting (Aug. 1, 2008): Our latest newsletter, No. 37, explains what Public Sector Guideline 7 (PSG-7) means for the presentation of tangible capital assets in a municipality's financial statements, including those for 2008.

Deflator Study vs. BVC (July 23, 2008): When historical records are lacking, current values must be discounted to come up with estimates for the opening balances of tangible capital asset accounts. The MFOA/AMCTO Deflator Study and the Book Value Calculator are two tools available. Newsletter No. 36 compares them.

Q&A Hotline Service Updated (July 19, 2008): Since its launch in fall 2007, the online PSAB Q&A Email HOTLINE Service has fielded hundreds of questions. The answers to the most common questions have been posted on the website. The latest summary is June 30.

Asset Pools on an Ongoing Basis (July 18, 2008): Newsletter No. 35 explains this concept, using the municipal library's book collection as an example.

How to Work with Your Auditor (July 12, 2008): Your 2009 financial statements will be different from any you have prepared before. There will be modifications to existing statements plus two new statements – the Statement of Changes in Net Debt/Financial Assets and the Statement of Operations. How will you get your auditor to give you an unqualified audit opinion? Newsletter No. 34 provides suggestions.

Benchmarks & Standard Values (July 7, 2008): What are these exactiy and how can they help in describing, classifying and valuing assets for your initial asset inventories? This newsletter provides answers.

PSAB Budgeting Training Complete (June 27, 2008): The in-class training to help the municipal sector prepare for accounting and municipal budgeting in a PSAB world is complete. The training took place in six centres across Ontario - London, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Kingston, Richmond Hill and Timmins. The presentation material has been posted for those not able to attend.

Important TCA Announcements (May 23, 2008): PSAB has issued a draft of a new Statement of Recommended Practice on the Assessment of Tangible Capital Assets. PWGSC has launched Phase 2 of the Book Value Calculator. Our latest newsletter has the details.

Newsletter Explains Segmentation (May 20, 2008): As of the current year, 2008, Ontario municipalities must "segment" - break down by organizational or functional area - their financial reporting. The latest MFOA/AMCTO newsletter lays out the why's and how's.

Two New Newsletters Released (May 5, 2008): Our latest newsletters answer two key questions in the mind of every municipal finance practitioner. How do you account for assets transferred to or from other governmental entitities? And what exactly do I have to have done by December 31, 2008?

TCA Accounting Software Newsletter Released (Apr. 16, 2008): What accounting software will you need to store your TCA data, maintain current records and report accurately in a timely fashion? This newsletter explains that there is no simple answer, and certainly no magic bullet. It doesn't examine or assess specific packages, but explores some of the generic issues that municipal finance practioners face when selecting accounting tools.

Spring Seminar Registration Opens (Apr. 9, 2008): MFOA and AMCTO have announced the details of five in-class seminars that will be held in May and June to further assist municipal treasurers with the shift to full accrual counting. The seminars will focus on PSAB accounting and municipal budgeting. Click here to register now!

Municipal Drains Newsletter Released (Apr. 8, 2008): The question of municipal drains should be dealt with in the inventory of tangible capital asset has been raised in the email hotline and in the training sessions. Are municipal drains municipal assets? Newsletter No. 17 provides an answer to this question.

Webinar Registration Opens (Apr. 4, 2008): As previously announced, MFOA and AMCTO will be offering online webinars from spring to fall 2008 designed to meet the training needs of municipalities that are not yet fully into the PS 3150 implementation process or are looking for a refresher of TCA fundamentals. Click here to register now!

Feds Release Book Value Calculator (Mar. 19, 2008): The federal government is making the Book Value Calculator (BVC), a software program orginally developed to facilitate putting federal tangible capital assets on the books, available for municipal use. The BVC incorporates deflation indices and betterment rates to produce estimates of current gross book value based on historic cost, as well as current net book values, asset betterments, amortization and remaining asset life. It can produce estimates where historical records are lacking. In the wake of a request from MFOA and AMCTO last fall, Public Works & Government Services Canada has posted an updated BVC at www.bookvaluecalculator.com. A fee will be charged for using it. The BVC and other such tools (e.g., the Deflator Index Report) may be useful to municipalities as they and their auditors consider appropriate.

2008 Support Program (Mar. 17, 2008): The associations have announced the shape of the 2008 support program. This will include continuation of the newsletters and online Hotline as well as online webinars targeted to municipalities not yet fully into the process plus in-class seminars dealing with "advanced" topics in the spring and fall.

Revised Deflator Report (Mar. 16, 2008): MFOA and AMCTO recently released a Deflator Study to help municipalities estimate original costs as part of the exercise to comply with PS 3150. The report has been updated and a few wording problems, corrected. The tables in Appendices B and C are now different. Please discard the original report in favour of the revised version. The report is now accompanied by a spreadsheet to facilitate dealing with a large number of assets.

Flora & Fauna Newsletter (Feb. 25, 2008): The subject of the latest PSAB newsletter is “Flora & Fauna — What about Trees and Polar Bears?"

PSAB Readiness Survey (Feb. 20, 2008): The results of the the recent survey to determine how ready Ontario municipalities are for the move to accounting for tangible capital assets are in. Close to half of Ontario’s municipal treasurers participated. 93% of respondents said they are at least somewhat familiar with the new rules (up from 64% in a May 2006 survey), while 59% said that their municipality is somewhat prepared for the conversion (up from 10% in the previous survey).