Budget, CIP, and rate analysis only hold together when they all speak the same account structure — and too often they don't, so numbers that should reconcile don't. The Chart of Accounts gives you a Public (GASB) or Private (GAAP) spine — Department, Fund, Cost Center, Object Code — that anchors Budget, CIP, and Cost of Service to the way you already report to boards, auditors, and the state.
Every module talks to every other. Start small, grow into the rest.