**Executive Summary**

**Customer Advisory Board Conference**

**Denver, Colorado**

August 23, 2006

*[Keynote Speaker]{.underline}*

Wanda Rogers

Ms. Rogers noted that the future for all Treasury and personal paper
checks will be

seal encoded. Fraudulent checks will be identified at point of sale and
at the bank teller stations. Commerce Bank will roll-out new validation
process in June 2007.

Agencies will hear more about the FMS Debit Card program in the future.

**Question:** What is the dollar amount of fraudulent Treasury checks?

**Answer:** In FY 2005 there were 2007 counterfeit checks worth \$4.4
million.

*[Disaster Recovery]{.underline}*

Bill Mehr

Meyer Persow

Randy Christopherson

Bill Mehr identified 6 disaster categories and provided statistics on
the Katrina disaster check volumes for New Orleans and Mississippi.

Meyer Persow spoke about how OPM was able to use the Treasury debit card
to disburse payments to the Katrina disaster victims. OPM is also
looking at the debit card for retirees. JP Morgan Chase debit card is
branded with the OPM and Mastercard logo.

Randy Christopherson spoke about the challenges SBA faced with providing
disaster relief payments to businesses shortly after the Katrina
disaster. The Debit Cards will not work for SBA because Chase Bank
restricts the dollar amount to \$2,500. SBA needs an electronic solution
for dollar amounts as high as \$40K. Other issues with the card for SBA
are having a branded or unbranded card, signature vs pins, ATM
limitation on withdrawals and advance payments to Chase Bank to cover
the disbursements. Also, SBA is seeking a solution for Fedwire payments
below the \$100K threshold and joint payee options.

**Question:** What is the cost associated with Fedwire payments?

**Answer:** The costs for Fedwire payments are two fold. The recipient
of the payment is charged anywhere from \$15 to \$45 depending on their
relationship with their financial institution. The costs to Treasury is
approximately \$6.50 each verses \$.45 for ACH. The Treasury costs are
associated with the manpower, dedicated equipment, secured space and
special handling required at the RFC locations.

**Question:** SBA asked the members for solutions or suggestions on how
to make high dollar electronic disaster payments.

**Answer:** It was suggested that maybe SBA should be given disbursing
authority for disaster payments.

**Action Item:** It was suggested that high dollar disaster payment
issues could be addressed by forming a CAB focus group.

**Action Taken:** Wanda Rogers communicated SBA's need for the high
dollar debit cards to Brett Smith, Project Manager, FMS. Brett will meet
with Master Card and Chase to discuss the issues. He then will meet with
Randy Christopherson to address the debit card obstacles for disaster
disbursements.

**Comments:** FMS will lead a panel discussion on disaster payments at
the 2006 International Colloquium in October to hear what other
countries are doing as far as electronic disaster payments. It was said
that the U.S. needs to move forward with electronic disaster payments in
the future.

*[Retirement and You]{.underline}*

Meyer Persow

**Remember:**

-   Health and Life insurance costs remain the same in retirement if
    your enrolled 5 years prior to your retirement date.

-   If you want military time credit you must make Social Security Tax
    deposits for the military time. If you want pre-federal employment
    credit, you must pay back any retirement funds withdrawals you made
    during the break in service.

-   Make changes to your survivor annuity for ex-spouse designations.

August 24, 2006

*[Treasury Check Information System (TCIS)]{.underline}*

Dawn Young Johns

**Action Item:** Nancy Thomas, Navajo & Hopi Relocation would like the
TCIS enrollment form.

**Action Taken:** SFC emailed Nancy the TCIS enrollment information and
help desk numbers.

*[The Challenges of City & County Government]{.underline}*

Dennis Gallagher

No action items to report.

*[Open Forum]{.underline}*

.

FMS shared the Claims Consolidation and Reorganization initiative with
the group.

*[Debt Management Service]{.underline}*

Horace Tate & Larry White

**Remember:** Debt Management Service conducts a weekly conference call
regarding the Integrated FedDebt project for Federal agencies. Please
contact your FMS agency liaison or the Debt Management Web site at:
<http://fms.treas.gov/debt>

*[Governmentwide Accounting (GWA)]{.underline}*

David Metler

**Remember:**

-   The Federal agency account statements are available on-line now.

-   The new 3 digit Treasury account symbol will be implemented in 18
    months.

-   Transition to the TAS/BETC reporting will begin in October 2006 thru
    early 2008.

-   The GWA IPAC pilot agencies are: FMS, IRS, GPO and BPD.

-   GWA will have 1,200 users to transition.

**Questions:**

-   Can GWA improve communications to the agencies regarding enrollment
    requirements?

    -   An agency partnership council is available for agencies to learn
        about the GWA requirements. Contact: Mike Norman, (202) 874-8788

-   Can FMS create a single password and ID logon for all our systems?

    -   GWA's goal is to provide a single logon site using a Web access
        portal

> called the TWAI.

*[Customer Service 101]{.underline}*

Breakout Sessions

1.  **Phenomenal Customer Service**

    a.  Help Desk (What makes a help desk successful?)

        i.  Knowledgeable

        ii. Person actually answers phone-not voice mail

        iii. Give estimated response time if can't solve immediately

        iv. Return call ASAP

        v.  Available when customers are open for business

        vi. Judgment to differentiate between routine and emergencies
            for escalation

        vii. Attitude and tone of voice

        viii. Mechanism to track calls, response time and who's calling

        ix. Help desk should have outgoing message with info on who to
            call

        x.  Use "Remedy System" (email based) email system vice
            telephone

        xi. Establish metrics e.g. speed of answers, responses

        xii. Feedback to customer on timing and disposition

    b.  Information Sharing (How do you share information w/customers?)

        i.  Use multiple methods

        ii. Emails, training, telephone training

        iii. Web pages

        iv. Customer working groups

        v.  Surveys

        vi. Paper

        vii. Regularly scheduled meetings

        viii. Weekly conference calls with customers

        ix. Memos, correspondence

        x.  CAB meetings, training

    c.  Customer Satisfaction (How do you measure?)

        i.  Sending out surveys

        ii. Contact customers and talk

        iii. Automated tools within phone system to track information

        iv. "Closed ticket" survey

        v.  Absence of complaints

        vi. Focus groups of different types of customers

        vii. Kudos received

    d.  Customer Feedback (How do you receive input from your
        customers?)

        i.  Phone calls and emails

        ii. Surveys

        iii. Customer site visits

        iv. When talking to customers-ask anything else we can do...

        v.  Compliments through phone calls

        vi. Phone tracking system -- data mine for like issues

        vii. Good/bad letters from customers

        viii. Website surveys (i.e. EE express generic or specific)

        ix. Provide one central point of contact -- group or section
            generic voicemail box

    e.  Phenomenal Customer Service (What would you do to provide this
        if there was unlimited budget, etc? How would you dazzle
        customers?)

        i.  Recognize your staff when they provide great service ( send
            to dinner, etc)

        ii. Great education program for your staff (need time for
            training)

        iii. Always able to answer the phone. Never leaving message or
             call back.

        iv. Well rounded expert person answers phone to provide
            immediate response (Help Desk)

        v.  Travel budget to visit field offices, provide training and
            help them out

        vi. Foreign Language skill

        vii. More frequent newsletters (email) quarterly

        viii. Follow-up calls to customers after problem has been
              resolved. Ensure it was resolved to their satisfaction

        ix. Sufficient staff to relieve help desk staff

        x.  24 hour availability of support

    f.  Internal Customers

        i.  Treat them the way we treat external customers

        ii. Communicate and pass on information

        iii. Contest to generate ideas

        iv. Don't provide just "lip service"

        v.  Provide opportunities for training and conferences and
            outreach

        vi. Surveys (feedback on good/bad)

        vii. Face to face sharing of information

        viii. Benchmarking with like companies

2.  **FMS Programs**

    a.  New Technologies and Products (What services/products would you
        like to see offered by SFC?)

        i.  Post CAB presentations on SFC website

        ii. NASA-I-view

    b.  SPS Enhancements (What improvements would you like to see made
        to the SPS payment process?)

        i.  Easier way to print all schedules after certified

        ii. Total schedules

        iii. Better response time

        iv. Single sing-on for all applications

        v.  Secure Key (PKI) could be smaller

        vi. Broadcast or email message when SPS events are going on

        vii. If CO doesn't sing off on something color code or call out

        viii. Break out Certified schedules by day

        ix. Drop down menu for agency ALCs and vendor information

    c.  Inter- Agency Networking (What networking events would benefit
        your agency?)

        i.  Group agencies by common issues/size for subgroup meetings
            or focus groups

        ii. Inter-Agency briefings/training

        iii. SFC to circulate information to other CAB members

        iv. Post of put CD together for CAB presentations (NASA-I-View)

        v.  Formalize agency reports at CAB meetings (example-What's an
            agency doing with cash payments?

        vi. CAB member as communication focal points for getting
            information to agencies

        vii. Cost sharing possibilities (see SFC Improvements)

        viii. SFC availability is outstanding

    d.  Implementing SFC Improvement (What thoughts can we explore to
        improve a current process at the SFC?)

        i.  RFC data posted next available business day (payments and
            check cancellations)

        ii. Internet/real-time updates to data available to agencies
            (SASHLINK II)

        iii. Payments posted to internet/real time data provided to
             agencies

        iv. GWA communications needs to be more specific/detailed and
            agency structure specific (for large, stove-piped
            organizations --e.g. and IT Ops)

        v.  Disaster recovery (SFC) cost Sharing

        vi. Connections to back up site (KFC) for agency payment summary
            schedules

3.  **Financial Management Service Challenges**

    a.  Government --wide Accounting (What can SFC do to help your
        agency prepare for changes to GWA?)

        i.  Need New communication at the management and agency level

        ii. Need TFMs

        iii. Define who at the agency should receive the TFM, etc

        iv. Need mailing list-POCs ( mgmt, policy group)

        v.  Decrease the number of ALC to ease management of ALCs

        vi. IPAC sorted by ALCs and should be by accounting point-field
            area office (ALC breakdown -- IHS)

        vii. Funds should be balance at ALC (HIS) level not at the
             highest level (HQ).

        viii. Need workshops/training on appropriations support to
              transition to GWA from existing systems

        ix. Lockbox-How to fit into GWA

    b.  Debt Collection (Are you using the Treasury Offset program to
        accomplish your agency collection objectives?)

        i.  Cross Servicing and TOP is used (Yes)

        ii. Recalled items in Cross Servicing are still in TOP --
            Timeliness

        iii. Over collections-submitted to Cross Servicing

        iv. File submitted to FED Debt via Batch-Files were rejected and
            agency wasn't notified until few month later (format
            problems)

        v.  Cross Servicing reports are needed

        vi. Access rights-change to Financial Supervisor

        vii. No TOP issues-Everyone love Horace)

        viii. Fed Debt Training locally

        ix. Fed Debt enrollment -- ITIM -- Need URL and instructions

        x.  TFM

        xi. Mailing list-update Cross Servicing

    c.  Vendor (Would your agency benefit from training on formatting
        addenda records?)

        i.  None

        ii. Training welcome

        iii. CTX training for offsets

        iv. ACH payments -- missing addenda information

4.  **Customer Advisory Board Future Projects**

    a.  New Ideas -Projects

        i.  Involvement with policy/system development

        ii. Position papers

        iii. Mid-term updates

        iv. SFC Newsletter Box (Semi-annual/quarterly

        v.  "Perfect Debit Cards

        vi. More sharing and coordination

    b.  CAB Role

        i.  Facilitate communication

            1.  Presenter updates

            2.  SFC Newsletter/Webpage

        ii. Continue to survey needs

        iii. CAB member presentations -- Agency showcase/updates

        iv. Site Selection Advance Trips (Feb/Aug)

        v.  Network/meet with other CABs

        vi. More?