Streamlining Financial
Reporting- FIRST
AGA-PDC, Nashville
June 26, 2006
David Burgman
Financial Statements
5 CFO Act Agency disclaimers last year.
Agency re-statements
10 straight disclaimers on the FR.
A general lack of confidence in federal
financial statements.
2
Financial Report of the United
States Government (FR)
Serious financial management problems at the
Department of Defense.
The federal government’s inability to adequately
account for and reconcile intragovernmental
activity and balances between federal agencies
The federal government’s ineffective process for
preparing the consolidated financial statements
3
Central Accounting and Reporting:
Successes
Monthly reporting that classifies disbursements
and collections within 3 work days: great
improvements in timeliness and accuracy
FACTS II: tremendous improvements in
consistency of budget execution reporting.
What makes them successful?
4
Central Accounting and Reporting: Not
So Successful
Financial Statements.
Reporting Inconsistencies.
Elimination differences, FBWT, Non-expenditure
transfers, USSGL.
16 years since the CFO Act became law.
5
What makes FACTS II (Budgetary
Reporting) Successful?
Collects USSGL-based trial balances.
Fulfills several needs of both Treasury and
OMB.
Uses a single data stream for multiple purposes.
Has tight edits to ensure consistent reporting.
Provides a feedback through edits and
validations
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FY2005 Priorities
CFO Sub-Council - Financial Statement Acceleration Committee
(Now - Central Reporting Transformation Team )
Intragovernmental Reconciliations
Consolidate and Streamline Agency Reporting
to Treasury and OMB
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Intragovernmental Reconciliations
Subcommittee
Three Subgroups
Buy/Sell
Transfers
Fiduciary (Investments)
Revised Business Rules for Intragovernmental
Transactions
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Financial Reporting Streamlining
Subcommittee – Current Issues
Agencies are required to prepare and submit financial
information to central agencies :
In a variety of formats and groupings,
At multiple dates throughout the year,
With varying levels of assurance
Using many stove-piped systems, each requiring separate
passwords and pins
The “corporate financial reporting process” is complex,
labor-intensive and time-consuming and not yielding the
desired results
Pre-existing requirements are seldom removed or
consolidated
New or modified requirements are added on an annual basis
without sufficient notification
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Specific Recommendations continued…
Specific consolidation or eliminating duplicative
processes
Streamline Budgetary reporting by using GWA data to populate FACTS
II earlier
Consolidate and enhance financial reporting systems to better support
intragovermental reconciliations
Either use FACTS I to populate the closing package or eliminate
duplicative reporting
Recommendations that can be implemented
immediately:
Develop consolidated governmentwide financial reporting calendar
Consolidate all central agency financial reporting requirements in one
place
Consolidate related certifications and assertions over financial
information submitted to central agencies
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We Still Have a Problem!
Lack of Standardization
Stove Pipe reporting systems
Lack of integration
Timing Differences
Variety of Formats and Groupings
Inconsistent Data From the Agencies
The “corporate financial reporting process” is complex,
labor-intensive and time-consuming and not yielding the
desired results
Bottom-line…………..
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What Can FMS Do?
Long Term Approach
Current Efforts Underway
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What is FIRST?
USSGL based
USSGL Database
- SID Reporting -ATB
Government Financial
Reporting System - GFRS
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SID
USSGL Accounts and Definitions
Account Number: 4119
Account Title: Other Appropriations Realized
Normal Balance: Debit
Definition: All other appropriations not classified above. Additionally, this
account may include the annualized
amount of appropriations for continuing resolutions.
Related Links:
Transactions
Attributes
Crosswalks
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SID
Transaction results for: Account Number 4119
Total Results Found: 7
A104 To record the enactment of appropriations.
A125 To record a reduction in authority for advance funding made
available in the previous yea... A155 To record an appropriation to
liquidate obligations initially incurred against the author...
A196 To record the annualized level of an appropriation provided
under a continuing resolution.
A199 To record an adjustment to the annualized level of an
appropriation when the enacted leve...
F108 To record the reduction of permanent indefinite resources
when a warrant is received.
F302 To record the consolidation of actual net-funded resources
and reductions for withdrawn f...
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GFRS
Re-class Module
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GFRS
Re-class Module
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FIRST- ATB
Streamlines central budgetary and
financial reporting
Will replace FACTS I and II, IFCS, IRAS,
and part of TROR.
Will provide a mechanism to implement
the tie-points on a government-wide scale.
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Must Have Integration!
USSGL based
USSGL Database
- SID Reporting -ATB
Government Financial
Reporting System - GFRS
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The Long Haul – Need
the Right Foundation
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USSGL - The Key to Consistency
Financial Budgetary
Accounting Accounting
UNITED STATES
STANDARD
GENERAL LEDGER
(USSGL)
Cash Intragovernmental
Accounting Accounting
Agency Accounting
Central Accounting 22
Current Central Accounting and
Reporting Systems
Agency Reporting
Stovepipe Systems
FACTS II
Budgetary Reporting
System
Accounting
GWAMP
Central
STAR/
Data
FACTS I
GFRS
Financial Reporting
Systems
TROR
IRAS/
IFCS
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How will FIRST Work?
One integrated Adjusted Trial Balance
(ATB) that includes both Proprietary and
Budgetary for each and every Treasury
Account Symbol (TAS).
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Level of Detail
FMS will collect quarterly trial balances,
beginning and ending, budgetary and
proprietary.
Treasury Account Symbol level.
This is the level at which receipts,
disbursements, warrants, NETs and other
transactions are posted in the central
accounting system.
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One Integrated Trial Balance
One trial balance for each unique occurrence.
Agency Identifier
Allocation Transfer Agency Identifier
Beginning Period of Availability
Ending Period of Availability
Availability Indicator
Main Account Code
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Edits, Validations and Feedback
FMS collects agency data through many
systems, and posts some transactions,
such as warrants and non-expenditure
transfers, directly.
All this data resides in the central
accounting system.
Wherever possible, FMS intends to use
this authoritative data to edit trial balances.
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FIRST
Financial Information and Reporting Standardization
GFRS
USSGL based Financial Report
USSGL
Agency Accounting Agency Financial database Reporting
of the
Statements
Systems
U. S. Government
STAR/
FIRST GWA
Feedback loop
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Expected Benefits
Streamlined reporting for the agencies
Consistent reporting to FMS regardless of
reporting mechanism.
Substantial reduction in intra-
governmental elimination differences
Dramatically improved Financial Report of
the U. S. Government.
Ease of use of the USSGL for agencies.
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…Expected Results continued
Full benefits of USSGL.
Improved quality of financial information.
Logical, long range approach that attacks
core problems.
Reduction in FMS and agency resources
required for maintenance and reporting
functions.
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Development Approach
Enhance Government off-the shelf (GOTS)
Collects detailed USSGL-based data each month from
all Treasury bureaus at fund symbol level.
Contains many consistency checks.
Used to produce their Agency Financial Statements
Used to create agency submissions for FI, FII, IRAS
and GFRS reporting.
Oracle database
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Phased Approach of FIRST
Phase 1: Put the USSGL in a database (In
progress)
Phase 2: Continue to enhance GFRS. (In
progress).
Phase 3: ATB Development
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Current Status … Next Steps
Timeline
Agency Involvement
List of areas to be reviewed
Interim Efforts (Use of Central Accounting Data)
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So What About ME?
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Another Treasury system……..
What do I need to do and when?
How is this going to help the agencies?
Do I really need to provide just one ATB?
Does it have to adhere to the USSGL?
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The Future…
Could there be more?
By the year 2011, FACTS I, FACTS II, IFCS, IRAS and
part of TROR will be replace by FIRST.
Quarterly USSGL trial balances with budgetary and
proprietary beginning and ending data for every TAS will
be reported to FMS.
Agency trial balance data will subject to a variety of of
SGL edits and validations, including checks for
consistency with the central accounting system.
Trial balance data will be compared to GFRS data for
consistency.
What about Audited Financial Statements and the
Closing Package? 35
Financial Reporting - Current
Processes
STAR/
STAR/
GWA
GWA
OMB GFRS
OMB Check- GFRS Check-
list list
Agency Financial Statements
Agency Financial Statements
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Financial Reporting - Possible
Future Process
Agency Financial Statements/Data
Standard FIRST
File /GFRS
Format Submission
OMB
STAR/
GWA
Feedback
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Questions???
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For More Information on FIRST
David Burgman, Project Director
202-874-8538
David.Burgman@fms.treas.gov
Jeff Hoge, Director
202-874-6179
Jeff.Hoge@fms.treas.gov
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Questions???
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