This subpart implements provisions of the standard RUS loan documents with respect to the accounting system accounts to be maintained by telecommunications borrowers of the Rural Utilities Service.

(a) Each RUS borrower subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or a State regulatory body shall maintain its accounts and records in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by that regulatory body.

(b) Each RUS borrower not subject to regulatory control as specified in § 1770.11(a) shall maintain its accounts and records in accordance with the FCC Uniform System of Accounts as set forth in part 32 of the Commission's Rules and Regulations.

(1) RUS borrowers maintaining the accounts prescribed in 47 CFR part 32 for Class A companies as of June 15, 2005, shall continue to do so. RUS suspends implementation of the reduced number of Class A and B accounts, until the Federal-State Joint Conference has reviewed them.

(2) New borrowers under the RUS telecommunications program shall maintain the accounts prescribed in 47 CFR part 32 for Class A companies.

(3) RUS borrowers maintaining the accounts prescribed for Class B companies may adopt the Class A accounts if they desire more detailed and sophisticated accounting records.

(a) All borrowers shall maintain the supplementary accounts set forth in § 1770.15. These accounts conform in number and title with accounts prescribed in the FCC Uniform System of Accounts. In those instances in which a State regulatory body having jurisdiction over an RUS borrower has prescribed a system of accounts differing from that of the FCC, the account titles prescribed by RUS in § 1770.15 shall remain unchanged; however, the supplementary account numbers shall be changed to conform with the State's accounting system.

(b) In addition to the accounts set forth in § 1770.15, cooperative or other nonprofit borrowers shall maintain the supplementary accounts set forth in § 1770.16.

(c) Borrowers are permitted to deviate from the specific subaccount numbers detailed in §§ 1770.15 and 1770.16 provided that the primary account numbers and account descriptions conform with those prescribed.

(a) Each borrower shall maintain its books of accounts on the accrual basis of accounting. All transactions shall be recorded in the period in which they occur and reconciled monthly. The books of accounts shall be closed at the end of each fiscal year and financial statements shall be prepared for the period and audited in accordance with the provisions of 7 CFR part 1773.

(b) All books of accounts, records, and memoranda shall be maintained in such a manner as to fully support the journal entries to which they relate. The books and records referred to herein shall include records of a nontechnical nature such as minute books, stock and membership records, reports, correspondence, and memoranda.

(c) Interpretations of Federal or State requirements shall be referred to the applicable commission exercising jurisdiction over the borrower.

(d) Interpretations of RUS accounting requirements shall be referred to the Assistant Administrator, Program Accounting and Regulatory Analysis, Rural Utilities Service.

Each borrower shall maintain continuing property records which detail the date of placement, location, description of property, and the original cost of the property record units. The continuing property record and other underlying records of construction costs shall be maintained so that upon retirement of one or more retirement units or of minor items without replacement when not included in the costs of retirement units, the actual cost of the plant retired can be determined.

Accounts prescribed in the Stockholders' Equity and Patronage Capital section shall be maintained by stock companies and cooperatives as appropriate.

The expense accounts shall be maintained by the following subsidiary record categories, as appropriate to each account. Such subsidiary record categories shall be reported as required by 47 CFR part 43.

(a) Salaries and wages. This subsidiary record category shall include compensation to employees, such as wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, incentive awards, and termination payments.

(b) Benefits. This subsidiary record category shall include payroll related benefits on behalf of employees such as the following:

(1) Pensions;

(2) Savings plan contributions (company portion);

(3) Worker's compensation required by law;

(4) Life, hospital, medical, dental, and vision plan insurance, and

(5) Social Security and other payroll taxes.

(c) Rents. (1) This subsidiary record category shall include amounts paid for the use of real and personal operating property. Amounts paid for real property shall be included in Account 6121, Land and Buildings Expense. This category includes payments for operating leases but does not include payments for capital leases.

(2) This subsidiary record category is applicable only to the Plant Specific Operations Expense accounts. Incidental rents, e.g., short-term rental car expense, shall be categorized as Other Expenses (see paragraph (d) of this section) under the account which reflects the function for which the incidental rent was incurred.

(d) Other expenses. This subsidiary record category shall include costs which cannot be classified to the other subsidiary record categories. Included are material and supplies, including provisioning (note also Account 6512, Provisioning Expense); contracted services; accident and damage payments, insurance premiums; traveling expenses and other miscellaneous costs.

(e) Clearances. This subsidiary record category shall include amounts transferred to Construction accounts (see 47 CFR 32.2000(c)(2)(iii)), other Plant Specific Operations Expense accounts and/or Account 3100, Accumulated Depreciation (cost of removal; see 47 CFR 32.2000(g)(1)(iii)), as appropriate, from Accounts 6112, Motor Vehicles Expense, 6114, Tools and Other Work Equipment Expense, 6534, Plant Operations and Administration Expense, and 6535, Engineering Expense. There shall also be transfers to Construction or other Plant Specific Operations Expense accounts, as appropriate, from Account 6512, Provisioning Expense. With respect to these expenses, companies may establish such clearing accounts as they deem necessary to accomplish substantially the same results, provided that within thirty (30) days of the opening of such accounts, companies shall notify the FCC of the nature and purpose thereof. Additional clearing accounts affecting other expense areas may be established with prior approval of the FCC. Should companies elect, the initial incurred subsidiary record category identification may be carried through to the final accounts without FCC approval.

Extraordinary items, prior period adjustments and contingent liabilities shall be submitted to RUS for review before being recorded in the company's books of account. The materiality of corrections of errors in prior periods shall be measured in relation to the summary account level used for reporting purposes for Class A companies, or in relation to total operating revenues or total operating expenses for Class B companies. For Class A companies, no correction in excess of one percent of the aggregate summary account dollars or one million dollars, whichever is higher, may be recorded in current operating accounts without prior approval. For Class B companies, no correction which exceeds one percent of total operating revenues or one percent of total operating expenses, depending on the nature of the item, may be recorded in current operating accounts without prior approval.