The purpose of this newsletter is to provide a high level summary of the
activities within the Financial Management Line of Business (FMLoB)
through September 2007.

**COMMON GOVERNMENT-WIDE ACCOUNTING CLASSIFICATION (CGAC) STRUCTURE: THE
[CGAC IS PUBLISHED!]{.underline}**

We are pleased to announce the publication of the Common Government-wide
Accounting Classification (CGAC) Structure issued by the Financial
System Integration Office (FSIO). As the first standardization document
issued under the Financial Management Line of Business (FMLoB) this
document represents a major achievement in the alignment of financial
management standards across the Federal government.

The CGAC Structure serves as the definitive accounting classification
document government-wide. It is also a living document and some minor
updates can be expected in the future as work continues to define
standard business processes and align codes across financial management
processes. The standard definition process will also require
modifications to central agency reporting systems. This document has
been carefully researched, reviewed, and agreed upon. Agencies are
encouraged at this time to begin the analysis steps to determine the gap
between existing accounting classifications and the CGAC. The actual
implementation of the structure should begin once an overall sequence
strategy has been released by FSIO in conjunction with the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB).

This standard represents an extensive analysis of current classification
approaches and the development of an improved classification structure.
This accomplishment could not be achieved without the high degree of
collaboration among central agencies, program agencies, shared service
providers, and the vendor community. We can all be proud of this
significant achievement made possible by the dedication of many
professionals throughout the Federal financial management community.

Copies of the CGAC Structure are available on the Financial Systems
Integration Office website, [www.fsio.gov](http://www.fsio.gov/).

**GOVERNMENT-WIDE INTERFACE STANDARDS FOR CHARGE CARDS**

## 

The newest of projects under the Financial Management Line of Business
is the development of a government-wide data element definitions
standard for the General Services Administration (GSA) SmartPay® 2
Charge Cards. There are three types of charge cards: procurement, travel
and fleet. This project is pivotal in assisting Federal agencies
implement standardized data requirements for each type of card, which in
turn, will benefit both the Federal government and the private sector by
saving time and resources. A short time frame to change over to the new
contract adds to the complexity and challenge of the project. The
project needs to be completed by November 2007 so agencies can
transition to the SmartPay® 2 charge cards by the November 2008
deadline.

Over 70 participants from major Federal agencies attended the project's
kickoff meeting on July 12, 2007. Agency representatives compared their
data elements with those on the GSA SmartPay® 2 master contract and
identified additional elements needed for the government-wide interface
standards. In the coming weeks, agency representatives will continue
their efforts, working to achieve the principal objective in determining
the common government-wide charge card interface standards. Stay
tuned---we anticipate the group's first work product, a draft charge
card interface document, will be ready in late September 2007.

For more information, contact Doris Chew, at 202.219-0528 or email
<doris.chew@gsa.gov>.

**FEDERAL SHARED SERVICE PROVIDER (SSP) BUILDS CUSTOMER CONFIDENCE AND
SATISFACTION**

The nearly 4,000 users, representing 21-client agencies of the
Department of Transportation's Enterprise Service Center's (ESC) Delphi
financial management system, barely missed a keystroke when a major
system upgrade was accomplished on May 9, 2007.

*"This upgrade was one of the smoothest in our organization's history,"*
said ESC Deputy Director Mike Upton. *"Although it appeared to happen
overnight, upgrading to Version 11.5.10 involved a year of planning and
9,600 labor hours."* The successful and smooth transition is attributed
to an unprecedented level of collaboration among the core ESC upgrade
team, customer representatives, Delphi system users and other ESC
professionals. A structured test process, with ESC's functional and
technical staff working alongside customer representatives during all
stages of the process, proved to be a critical component, reinforcing
the collaborative environment and maintaining open avenues of
communication between departments. Further, while others outsource the
upgrade process and day-to-day operations, the ESC relied on the
experience of their in-house team to execute the upgrade.

Users played a critical role in the upgrade and were actively involved
throughout the testing process. Together with the ESC team, users
provided input on the "go/no go" decision to put the upgrade into
production. Indicative of the thorough planning process, ESC focused on
user education prior to the upgrade, offering nine webinars and six
on-site training sessions prior to the upgrade. Over 1,000 participants
comprising 25% of the user community took advantage of these sessions.
Bi-monthly newsletters and daily teleconferences were also utilized to
communicate proposed changes and present solutions. The ESC offers
commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software with core financial
functionality needed by government entities. Thorough planning, strong
collaboration and training and in-house expertise were the keys to
providing Agency customers a financial management system at reduced
costs with reduced risk, tailored to the needs of the Federal
government---the ESC welcomes the challenge and stands ready to handle
forthcoming upgrades.

# FUNDS CONTROL MOVES FORWARD

The Funds Control standard business process is making significant
headway to address two critical success criteria:

a)  Ensuring Federal dollars are monitored and managed properly in
    day-to-day operations

b)  Providing an acceptable level of accountability (in adherence with
    the Anti-Deficiency Act and OMB Circular A-11).

To advance the consensus process initiated by the FMLoB, the Funds
Control Standard Business Process Exposure Draft was released for public
comment in April 2007. Over 550 comments were received from various
groups within the financial management community which included 15
Federal agencies, 2 financial system vendors and members of the Budget
Formulation and Execution Line of Business (BFELoB).

To adequately address the number and diversity of comments received, a
Funds Control Working Group was established in May 2007, comprised of
both financial management and budget execution professionals who meet
weekly to review, analyze and incorporate the comments. The release of
the completed Funds Control Standard Business Process is targeted for
the end of September 2007. This will mark a major accomplishment for the
FMLoB, serving as the basis for improving the management and
accountability of Federal funding government-wide.

**FMLOB SERVICE MEASURES DRIVE PERFORMANCE**

With only the initial months of the FMLoB service metrics data
collected, agency representatives are already identifying early
benefits, thereby proving the old axiom, "measures drive performance."
Dr. John Sholhead, Director, Resources and Program Operations,
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, HHS, states it
well*, "We are now collecting a significantly greater amount of
information that we believe will ultimately provide more valuable data
for tracking and analysis. Once we track this information over time, we
expect it will provide valuable insights for core financial processes
and system improvements."*

Some agencies reported the need for additional process improvements and
standardization on the methods for collection and comparison of the
established metrics (e.g. help desk resolution, number of general ledger
transactions, and provision of account access.) In response, the
Performance Measures Working Group is analyzing the full body of
collected data for best practices in order to establish standardization
of data collection among agencies. Across the Federal government,
financial managers agree that these efforts have validated the important
objective of providing an agency with a way to review, manage, and
improve its performance activities and compare them with others.

**RECEIVABLE MANAGEMENT STANDARDIZATION IS UNDERWAY!**

Standardizing Receivable Management processes across the Federal
government constitutes yet another initiative in which the FMLoB is
working to achieve consensus to streamline, modernize and align
financial management practices. Analysis will encompass all key steps in
the receivable management processes---from establishment of a receivable
to the collection of receivable balances. A multi-agency Focus Group
created to conduct the comprehensive analysis, similar to the Payments
Workstream, is exploring best practices in an electronic environment,
sound internal controls, and compliance with the 2006 Core Financial
System Requirements (CFSR). The project scope includes the following
core financial system processes:

-   Establish Account Receivable

-   Bill

-   Collection

-   Dunning

-   Allowance for Loss on Account Receivable

-   Write-off

-   Account Receivable Analysis

For information or if you are interested in participating in the Focus
Group, please contact Dale Miller at <dale.miller@gsa.gov>.

**QUESTIONS?**

If you have any questions regarding the FMLoB or information in this
newsletter, please contact Karen de Guise at 202-219-1753 or at
<karen.deguise@gsa.gov>.