Utah Courts
UCJA Rule 3-407 (Code of Judicial Administration)
UCJA Rule 3-407 (Code of Judicial Administration)
Rule 3-407. Accounting.
Intent:
To establish uniform procedures for the processing, tracking, and reporting of accounts receivable and trust accounts.
Applicability:
This rule applies to the judiciary.
Statement of the Rule:
(1) Manual of procedures.
(1)(A) Manual of procedures. The Administrative Office will develop a manual of procedures (Utah JudiciaryAccounting Manual) to governall accounting matters, includingaccounts receivable, accounts payable, trust accounts,cash receipts,disbursements, separation ofduties, and all relevant proceduresneeded to comply with generally acceptedaccounting principles(GAAP) and generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). The Utah Judiciary Accounting Manual will apply to personnel in Courts of Record and Courts not of Record, andwill, at a minimum, conform to the requirements of this Code and state law. Unless otherwise directed by the Council, the Utah Judiciary Accounting Manual will be approved by a majority vote of the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee.
(1)(B) Utah JudiciaryAccounting Manual Review Committee. There is establisheda Utah Judiciary Accounting Manual Review Committee (Accounting Committee) responsible for making and reviewing proposals to promulgate, repeal, and amend accounting policies and procedures. The Accounting Committee will consist of the following members:
(1)(B)(i) the finance director, who will serve as chair;
(1)(B)(ii) four support services coordinators;
(1)(B)(iii) two accountants or clerks with accounting responsibilities from each of the trial Courts of Record;
(1)(B)(iv) a Court Executive;
(1)(B)(v) a court clerk;
(1)(B)(vi) a clerk with accounting responsibilities from an appellate court;
(1)(B)(vii) two members of the Justice Court Education Committee (JCEC);
(1)(B)(viii) the audit director or designee; and
(1)(B)(ix) the director of the Utah Division of Finance or designee.
(1)(C) Member appointments.The JCEC members will be appointed by the Board of Justice Court Judges.Unless designated by office, all other members of the Accounting Committee will be appointed by the state court administrator, or designee. The finance department will provide necessary support to the committee.
(1)(D) Terms and voting. Accounting Committee members not designated by office will serve three-year terms. Additional terms must be approved by the state court administrator, or designee. The finance director will vote only in the event of a tie. The audit director and the director of the Utah Division of Finance are nonvoting members.
(1)(E) Court executives and court clerks. New and amended policies and procedures recommended by a majority vote of the Accounting Committee will be reviewed and approved by the Court Executives and court clerks of all Courts of Record and the JCEC. The Court Executives, court clerks, and JCEC may endorse or amend the draft policies and procedures or return them to the Accounting Committee for further consideration.
Once approved by the Court Executives, court clerks, and the JCEC, the new and amended policies and procedures will be submitted to the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee for approval.
(2) Revenue accounts.
(2)(A) Deposits, transfers, and withdrawals.All courts will make deposits with a depository deemed qualified by the Administrative Office, with the Utah State Treasurer, or with the treasurer of the appropriate local government entity. The Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, State Law Library, Administrative Office, district court primary locations, and juvenile courts will deposit every business day whenever practicable, but at least once every threebusinessdays. The deposit will consist of all court collections. District court contract sites and justice courts having funds due to the state or any political subdivision of the state will, on or before the 10th day of each month,remit all funds receipted in the preceding monthto the appropriate public treasurer. The courts will make no withdrawals from depository accounts.
(2)(B) Periodic revenue report. Under the supervision of the Court Executive, the court clerk or designee will prepare and submit a revenue report that identifies the amount and source of the funds received during the reporting period and the state or local government entity entitled to the funds.
(2)(B)(i)Juvenile courts and primary locations of the district courts will submit the report weekly to the Administrative Office.
(2)(B)(ii)District court contract sites will submit the report at least monthly, together with a check for the state portion of revenue, to the Administrative Office.
(2)(B)(iii) Justice courts will submit the report monthly, together with a check for the state revenue collected, to the Utah State Treasurer.
(2)(C) Monthly reconciliation of bank statements. The Administrative Office will reconcile the revenue account upon receipt of the monthly bank statements and weekly revenue reports from the district and juvenile courts. The justice court administrator or designee will reconcile the monthly bank statements for justice courts with a revenue bank account. For all other justice courts, the local government will reconcile the bank statements to the general ledger.
(3) Trust accounts.
(3)(A) Definition. Trust accounts are accounts established by the courts for the benefit of third parties. Examples of funds which are held in trust accounts include restitution, attorney fees, and monetary bail amounts.
(3)(B) Accounts required; duties of a fiduciary. District court primary locations and juvenile courts will maintain a trust account in which to deposit monies held in trust for the benefit of the trustor or some other beneficiary. Under the supervision of the Court Executive, the court clerk will be the custodian of the account and will have the duties of a trustee as established by law. All Courts not of Record may maintain a trust account in accordance with the provisions of this rule. Justice courts may deposit trust funds through the local government into a revenue or trust bank account. Justice courts may also deposit trust funds directly into a trust bank account maintained by the court.
(3)(C) Monthly reconciliation of bank statements. Each court will reconcile its ledgers upon receipt of the monthly bank statement.
(3)(C)(i) Courts of Record.Courts of Record will submit reconciliations to the Administrative Office.
(3)(C)(ii) Courts not of Record.Justice courts that deposit trust funds into a court trust bank account will submit reconciliations to a person in the local jurisdiction who is independent of court operations. For justice courts depositing trust funds with the local government treasurer, the local government will reconcile monthly bank statements to the general ledger and CORIS trust account reports.
(3)(D) Accounting to trustor.Courts will establish a method of accounting that will trace the debits and credits attributable to each trustor.
(3)(E) Monetary bail forfeitures and other withdrawals.Transfers from trust accounts to a revenue account may be made upon an order of forfeiture of monetary bail or other order of the court. Other withdrawals from trust accounts will be made upon the order of the court after a finding of entitlement.
(3)(F) Interest bearing. All trust accounts will be interest bearing. The disposition of interest is governed by Rule 4-301.
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