GTAS ... What’s New! November, 2013

Volume 3, Issue 3

Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Governmentwide Accounting

Continued GTAS Testing in FY 2014

Useful Resources

To help agencies 

transition into GTAS, 

Fiscal Service has 

opened a web based 

testing environment for 

agencies to continue 

testing throughout FY 

2014. The testing region 

can be found at the 

following site: 

https://qa.gtas.fms.treas.

gov/

If you would like to 

participate in the 

testing, please send an 

email to 

GTAS@fms.treas.gov

containing the current 

GTAS User ID of the 

individuals that will test 

so the proper SMAF will 

be available in the test 

region.

The tentative reporting 

window schedule for the 

test region will be the 

following:

1) December through 

February – Testing Q4

September FY 2013 data

2) March through May –

Testing Q1 December FY 

2014 data

3) June through 

September – Testing Q2 

March FY 2014 data

As a reminder, for 

agencies not reporting 

fully into GTAS 

beginning in January

basic GTAS transition 

plan outlines were due 

September 1st. Full 

Transition Plans are due 

to OMB and Treasury by 

January 31, 2014. Please 

submit full Transition 

Plans to 

GTAS@fms.treas.gov.

 

Process for BEA 

Category Code 

Discrepancies

http://www.fms.treas.gov/gt

as

FY2014 GTAS Reporting 

Window 

http://www.fms.treas.gov/gt

as/reporting_schedule.html

GTAS Contacts:

http://www.fms.treas.gov/gt

as/contacts.html

Bulk File Format, Edits 

and Validations: 

http://www.fms.treas.gov/us

sgl/tfm_releases/13-

02/fiscalyear-2014/part2/part2_current.html

GTAS Enrollment 

Process:

http://www.fms.treas.gov/

gtas/forms.html

In This Issue:

• FY 2014 Agency 

Testing

• Useful Resources

• Intragovernmental 

Module Availability

• FY 2014 Budgetary 

Reporting 

Expectations

• Authoritative 

Sources

• FACTS II Data in 

GTAS

Individual Highlights

Agency Testing 1

Useful Websites 1

Intragovernmental Module 2

Reporting Expectations 2

Authoritative Sources 3

FACTS II/GTAS data 4
2 TYPE TITLE HERE

Intragovernmental Module Unavailable 

in GTAS during FY 2014

FY 2014 Budgetary Reporting 

Expectations

The Intragovernmental 

Module of GTAS will not 

be available for agency 

use throughout FY 2014. 

Due to the government 

shutdown and additional 

testing results, we have 

decided to postpone the 

release of the 

Intragovernmental 

Module in order to allow 

for further development, 

refinement, and testing of 

the application. This will 

ensure completeness and 

optimum functionality for 

reporting agencies. 

The advantage to this 

postponement is that all 

agencies will be migrated 

to GTAS by FY 2015 when 

the full benefits of the 

intragovernmental module 

can be realized. Click on 

the following link for 

details on the process for 

Intragovernmental 

Reporting during FY 2014: 

http://www.fms.treas.gov/cl

osingpackage/reports.html.

The FY 2014 November 

budgetary reporting 

window slated for 

December has been 

canceled. 

Agencies will be required 

to use either GTAS or 

FACTS II on January 7, 

2014, which is the opening 

date for first quarter

(December 31, 2013) 

reporting.

Agencies who are 

planning to report fully 

into GTAS will report 

complete trial balance 

data during the reporting 

period. For agencies 

transitioning fully into 

GTAS later in FY 2014, 

budgetary reporting can

continue via FACTS II. 

During FY 2014, agencies 

can split TAS 

submissions between 

GTAS and FACTS II. 

However, please do not

submit trial balance 

information to both 

GTAS and FACTS II for 

the same TAS.

FY 2014 certified FACTS 

II trial balance data will 

be migrated to GTAS 

after the reporting 

window closes for each 

reporting period. 

GTAS will be the system 

of record for agency trial 

balance information and 

agencies will need to 

certify that the data in 

GTAS corresponds with 

the FACTS II 

submission.

For planning 

purposes, please 

reach out to your 

Fiscal Service GTAS 

Point of Contact and 

let them know your 

reporting intentions 

for GTAS “Go Live” 

beginning January 

7th for the December 

FY 2014 reporting.
3

Confirming with Authoritative Sources in 

FY 2014

 

The Intragovernmental 

Fiduciary Confirmation 

System (IFCS) was 

decommissioned after the 

completion of Q4 FY 2013 

reporting. 

GTAS will replace IFCS 

as the means for 

confirming with fiduciary 

authoritative sources; 

however, not entirely. As 

previously mentioned, 

Intragovernmental 

reporting in GTAS will be 

delayed for FY 2014 – to 

allow further 

development, refinement, 

and testing of the 

application to ensure 

completeness and 

optimum functionality for 

the reporting agencies. 

The delay also impacts the 

availability of Department 

of Labor (DOL) and the 

Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) 

authoritative source data.

So, what will be available 

in GTAS? The Investment 

and Borrowing balances 

from Fiscal Service and 

the Federal Financing 

Bank (FFB) will be 

available at the beginning 

of each quarterly 

reporting window in 

GTAS. 

Currently, there are 

proposed analytical (nonfatal) edits that will run 

against each bulk file 

submission. Fiscal 

Service investments and 

borrowings edits are 56, 

57, 58, 59, 60, & 61 and 

the FFB borrowings edits 

are 62, 63, & 64. Details 

for these edits can be 

found at the USSGL site: 

http://www.fms.treas.gov/

ussgl/tfm_releases/13-

02/fiscalyear-2014/part2/part2_current.html. 

Agencies are encouraged 

to evaluate the proposed 

analytical edits to verify 

if/when they are out of 

balance with these 

authoritative sources. If 

an agency would like to 

see these balances prior 

to submitting a bulk file 

there is a report available 

called the “SMAF 

Fiduciary Report” and it 

is available under the 

Run Reports area of 

GTAS. This report can 

be run by FR Entity or by 

individual TAS. It will 

return the information 

submitted by Fiscal 

Service and FFB for each 

quarter.

Authoritative source 

balances for DOL and 

OPM will be posted to the 

Fiscal Service website: 

http://www.fms.treas.gov/

closingpackage/reports.ht

ml each quarter on or 

around the fifth workday. 

These reports will be at 

the same level of detail 

(Department) as they 

were in IFCS. Agencies 

can download the reports 

and confirm balances 

with the authoritative 

sources accordingly.

Are any explanations 

required when an agency 

is out of balance with the 

authoritative source? No. 

Explanations are no 

longer formally required 

in writing; however, 

verifying agencies that 

receive a quarterly IGT 

Scorecard will still be 

subject to the same 

thresholds and asked to 

explain out of balance 

conditions accordingly.

Look for the FY 2014 

TFM 2-4700 

Appendix 7 bulletin 

publication coming

this December. This 

bulletin contains 

GTAS guidance and 

reporting 

requirements

including the use of 

the “Z” domain value 

for nonreciprocating federal 

activity. Proposed 

updates will be 

presented at the IRC 

meeting scheduled 

for December 5th.
4 TYPE TITLE HERE

Certified FACTS II data in GTAS

 Happy Thanksgiving

As part of the go-live 

setup of GTAS, Certified 

FY2013 Q4 FACTS II data 

will be loaded into GTAS. 

This post-revision window 

data will be used in the 

editing of submitted trial 

balance data. 

In particular, Edit 21: 

Closing Edit GTAS Year 1 

uses this information as 

the prior year comparison 

to the beginning balances 

reported on the agency 

trial balance.

Due to TAS format 

changes and updates to 

the USSGL guidance, data 

from FACTS II may 

appear different in GTAS. 

Noted items of difference 

include the 

transformation of the TAS 

from a 2-digit 

department code to a 3-

digit agency identifier, as 

well as the expansion of 

period of availability to 

three distinct fields, 

which utilize a 4-digit 

year for both the 

beginning and ending 

period of availability. 

The USSGL account is 

expanded to 6-digits; two 

zeros are added to the 

end of the reported 

USSGL account. Other 

fields adjusted for length 

include: 

• Trading Partner 

Agency 

Identifier (3-

digits)

• Apportionment 

Category B (4-

digits)

• Credit Cohort 

Year (4-digits)

The Advance Flag 

attribute will not be 

supported under USSGL 

guidance for GTAS 

reporting; the Authority 

Type Code attribute 

includes domain values 

pertaining to Advance 

Funding, and will reflect 

the Advance Flag domain 

value reported in FACTS 

II. 

These differences will 

also be important 

because GTAS will be the 

system of record for 

agency trial balance 

information and as stated 

before agencies 

submitting data to both 

FACTS II and GTAS will 

need to certify that the 

data in GTAS 

corresponds with the 

FACTS II submission

each reporting period.