The Background
Fort Worth Independent School District (ISD) in Texas consists of 144 individual schools and serves around 72,000 students. The district faced a significant turning point in 2022 with the implementation of the GASB 87 lease accounting standard.
Maria Chavez, who had just taken on the role of Comptroller, found herself in a difficult position. There had been no groundwork laid for GASB 87 compliance, leaving Maria and her team scrambling to catch up. At their auditors' recommendation, DebtBook was identified as a potential solution to guide the district through this transition.
The Challenge
Upon her arrival, Maria encountered an inefficent system for managing leases at Fort Worth ISD. The district had no established framework for complying with GASB 87, and with the fiscal year-end fast approaching, the pressure was immense. Maria described the situation as "panic mode," as she had to quickly become familiar with the complex requirements of the new standard.
Her task was daunting: reviewing over 200 contracts to identify those that qualified under GASB 87, all within a tight timeframe.
The Solution
DebtBook provided extensive support during implementation, including the meticulous review and organization of over 200 contracts, significantly easing Maria's workload.
"DebtBook helped me keep my job. They explained everything I needed to do and worked through a timeline to have everything up and running."
Despite a delayed start due to awaiting the district’s sign off, DebtBook's team swiftly reviewed all contracts, identifying only seven that qualified under GASB 87—an immense relief for the district. With DebtBook, Fort Worth ISD established a centralized repository for all of its lease agreements, enabling Maria’s team to have quick and easy access to all of their contracts and supporting documents.
Now with DebtBook, when audit time arrived, Maria used the year-end reporting features including automated audit notes and comprehensive journal entries to prepare her necessary year-end reports. Then she simply granted access to Fort Worth ISD’s profile, allowing auditors to log in and find everything they needed, saving significant time and reducing manual efforts.
DebtBook’s continuous updates and new features, including general ledger code enhancements and aggregate journal entries, further streamlined financial processes at Fort Worth ISD. The Duplicate Agreement option enabled Maria and her team to effortlessly create new leases and maintain ongoing compliance. Following the exceptional review and preparation for GASB 87, Maria felt confident tackling GASB 96. The transition proved equally smooth, providing an easy, streamlined process for managing the district’s subscriptions.
"I don't usually directly handle leases, but with DebtBook, I was able to meet my deadlines and manage everything myself."
The intuitive training videos also proved invaluable, quickly bringing new employees up to speed. Maria was delighted that all information was just one click away in DebtBook.
“Our new hire learned everything through DebtBook’s training videos. It was incredibly helpful and saved us so much valuable time in training."
The Impact
With DebtBook, Fort Worth ISD transformed its accounting and compliance processes. The platform eliminated the need for extensive document requests and streamlined communication across multiple internal and external teams. "DebtBook held my hand through the entire experience and ensured I met all of the GASB requirements," said Maria.
DebtBook's ongoing support and customer-driven updates have been invaluable.
"Every year, they work on whatever features customers request. It’s been so great using DebtBook, I haven’t needed additional help."
By partnering with DebtBook, Fort Worth ISD consolidated its leases and subscriptions into a single source of truth, enhancing compliance, efficiency, and stakeholder confidence. After such an impressive experience managing their leases and subscriptions, Maria and the team are excited for their next venture with DebtBook–debt management.
