THE USE OF ARKAS APPLICATION: A Discourse on Solutions to Achieve Transparency and Accountability in The Management of School Operational Assistance Funds

: School Operational Assistance funds are one form of education financing from the government. School Operational Assistance funds require transparent and accountable management. This study seeks to analysis the application of the school activity and budget plan to the accountability and transparency of school operational assistance funds management at SMA N 4 Lhokseumawe. This study employs a qualitative approach with a descriptive survey design. Using the ARKAS application, it is intended to evaluate the effectiveness, accountability, and transparency of school operational assistance fund administration at SMA N 4 Lhokseumawe. Observation, interviews, and documentation were used to collect data. The results of this study show that the effectiveness of school accountability is achieved through a series of stages, including strategic planning through the results of deliberations; implementation refers to priority programs based on the school vision; monitoring and reporting openly to the program coordinator. In addition, school operational assistance financial accountability was achieved through the synergy of information disclosure and community cooperation. The effectiveness of the distribution funds was also achieved by referring to the needs of students and guided by the national education standards.


INTRODUCTION
Financial management is crucial in school institution because it ensures the institution's efficient operation (Pannen et al., 2019).If an educational institution's finances are well-managed, educational programs will be simple to implement.If an educational institution lacks sound financial administration, it will be difficult to implement previously developed programs.There are numerous tasks necessary for effective financial management.(Segah & Kaharap, 2022).financial records to ensure the prudent use of funds (Rinawati, 2014;Saifrizal & Yusuf, 2023).
The financial manager is responsible for determining how much money to invest in various investments and where the funds will come from (Mulyanti, 2017).SMAN 4 Lhokseumawe is one of the schools that have implemented technological advances in the management of school operational funds or School Operational Assistance, where the management becomes more effective and efficient and aids the staff in the performance process.Therefore, the author is interested in analyzing SMAN 4 Lhokseumwe's implementation of the RKAS application for financial management.
One of the factors that determines the achievement of objectives is the manner in which the activity is conducted, specifically by management or management.(Wahinun, 2019) (Adnyani, 2023;Marota & Sadiah, 2022;Rohmat et al., 2022).Different from this research, which focuses on the discourse of using this application as a solution to create accountability and transparency in the management of school operational assistance funds.

METHOD
The  In preparing the RKAS, all components of SMA N 4 Lhokseumawe are responsible for preparing the programmes that will be implemented in the RKAS for one year, so that the required budget can be determined.Thus, SMA N 4 Lhokseumawe gives attention not only to the institution's needs, but also to the income and expenditure of school operational assistance funds, so that school operational assistance funds are optimally managed.
Moreover, the roles of the principal, school committee, and treasurer are equally as essential as that of the teacher coordinator.This is due to the fact that the school principal must authorize the school operational assistance spending policy.
In preparing the RKAS, all components of SMA N 4 Lhokseumawe are responsible for preparing the programmes that will be implemented in the RKAS for one year, so that the required budget can be determined.Thus, SMA N 4 Lhokseumawe gives attention not only to the institution's needs, but also to the income and expenditure of school operational assistance funds, so that school operational assistance funds are optimally managed.
Moreover, the roles of the principal, school committee, and treasurer are equally as essential as that of the teacher coordinator.
This is due to the fact that the school principal must authorize the school operational assistances pending policy.

Transparency of school operational assistance Fund Management
Transparency is an increasingly significant notion as the need to establish excellent practice in schools, good governance in schools, and transparency in education's general organization rises.(Mujiono, 2017).
The School Budget Work Plan Application research employed a qualitative, descriptive method.The investigation utilized SMA N 4 Negeri Lhokseumwe.The source was the school's treasurer.data on the implementation of accountability and transparency in the administration of school operational assistance funds at SMA N 4 Negeri Lhokseumawe in the RKAS and comparing it to the application's usage.Using the ARKAS application, this study will determine the effectiveness, accountability, and transparency of the administration of school operational assistance funds at SMA N 4 Negeri Lhokseumawe.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: Research Design and Scheme

(
ARKAS) is an application that provides all school parties with transparent information on the administration of school operational assistance funding.(Yanti, 2021).Schools are required to use (ARKAS) as a guide in the management of school operational assistance money in order for school operational assistance funds to be managed with accountability and transparency and to assist school management.(Ridho et al., 2021).The School Budget Work Plan (ARKAS) application was not successfully applied, resulting in poor school administration.As a result, the existing school operational assistance funds posed issues for schools in terms of transparently administering the school operational assistance money in accordance with school needs.A supportive method or application, such as the use of the school budget work plan (ARKAS) to improve school management, is required to ensure the seamless implementation of school management.The problems faced by school administration began when the school management team failed to correctly prepare the School Budget Work Plan Application (ARKAS).Consequently, the extant school operational assistance funds were intended to be used by the school administration to alleviate parents' financial responsibility for their children's education.However, the school operational assistance funds were used for purposes that were not consistent with their intended purpose.With the School Budget Work Plan Application (ARKAS) at SMA N 4 Lhokseumawe, school school operational assistance funds will be on target and transparently managed, with the goal of making school school operational assistance funds more effective and efficient.In order for school operational assistance funds to be accountable and transparent, school management must be able to implement the school budget work plan application (ARKAS) in the administration of school operational assistance funds.Transparency at SMA N 4 Negeri Lhokseumawe starts with the preparation of school operational assistance funding, where the amount received corresponds to the registered pupils.Transparency of school operational assistance money is implemented by preparing data on school operating needs in one year, which includes non-permanent teacher payroll, been observed in SMA N 4 Negeri Lhokseumawe.This is because the reporting of school operational assistance funds is addressed not only to the donor of funds, but also to the recipients of funds.Following the principle of accountability, SMA N 4 Negeri Lhokseumawe disclosed information openly and involved the community in the planning process.In addition, the funds were utilized in accordance with the National Education Standards and the participation of the community in the management process was a guiding principle of openness.