1 

What’s New in Financial and 

Budgetary Reporting! June, 2016 

Volume 1, Issue 2

 

The releases for this 

Fiscal Year End for 

both GTAS and GFRS 

highlight some 

significant changes to 

existing business 

processes and 

functionality required 

to produce the 

Financial Report of the 

United States 

Government (FR). 

Last year the FRB St. 

Louis and Fiscal 

Service worked 

together to produce a 

“roadmap” for combining 

functionality of GFRS and 

GTAS as a part of a larger 

project called the “FR 

System Consolidation 

Project”. The goal of this 

effort was to examine the 

different pieces of each 

application and see where 

efficiencies could be 

gained and redundant 

efforts eliminated where 

possible. 

The GTAS 2.8 release 

will feature the merging 

of some key functionality 

previously completed by 

agencies in GFRS into 

the GTAS application. 

The new functionality 

allows Significant 

Entities ATB data in 

GTAS to be used without 

manual entry in GFRS 

through modules GF001 

through GF004, and 

allows agencies 

certifying reclassified 

statements based on 

GTAS ATB submission 

plus any applicable 

manual adjustments in 

GTAS. 

Highlights of the GTAS 

2.8 release are as follows: 

Authorizing FR Entities 

for Manual Adjustments 

– A new mechanism to

allow Fiscal Service to

In This Issue:

 GTAS Version 2.8

 GFRS Version 7.2

 Process Changes in AIDs

 Agency FR to Closing

Package reconciliation

template

 Intragovernmental New

General Fund Reciprocal

Categories

 Intragovernmental GTAS

Updates

 TFM 2-4700 Update

 Financial Reporting

SFFAS

Individual Highlights 

What’s New Info 1 

Intragovernmental Info 4 

Financial Reporting Info 6 

What’s New (GTAS Version 2.8) 

What’s changing in GTAS and GFRS! 

provide authorization for 

Significant Entities, 

during Period 12, to 

manually adjust amounts 

on three Reclassified 

Statements. 

Providing and Certifying 

Manual Adjustments to 

Reclassified Statements – 

A new mechanism for 

Agencies to Prepare and 

Certify Manual 

Adjustments to their 

Reclassified Statements by 

FR entity during Period 12 

for a given Fiscal Year. 

° All three Reclassified 

Statements, by FR Entity, 

are to be provided for 

Manual Adjustments. 

° The Revision portion of 

Period 12’s Reporting 

Window will be utilized for 

Manual Adjustments and 

Authorizations. 

° Only Certified TAS 

information is utilized to 

form the basis of Manual 

Adjustments. 

Reconciliation Statement 

Report – This is a new 

report which allows an 

Agency to review their 

Adjusted GTAS 

Reclassified Statements 

alongside their audited 

Financials to ensure both 

are in agreement. 

° A Reconciliation 

Statement Report will be 

provided for each of the 

three Reclassified 

Statements. 

° The supporting 

USSGL(s) line detail that 

provides the Bulk 

File/TAS information will 

also be included. 

This year’s GTAS and GFRS 

release reflect the changes 

required for the initial phase 

of this multi-year effort to 

improve and streamline 

certain business processes 

and improve the FR. 
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2 TYPE TITLE HERE

What’s New (GTAS Version 2.8): 

Continued 

Modify GFRS Closing 

Package Line Amounts 

File to include Certified 

Adjusted Amounts – 

Update the Closing 

Package Line Amounts 

file to include certified 

Manual Adjustment 

amounts to assist in 

eliminating the need for 

GFRS Module 4 

(Trading Partner 

Assignment). 

Have General Questions or 

Need Help in GTAS or 

GFRS? (i.e. access issues, 

system requirements, 

feature questions) Contact 

the Treasury Support 

Center at: 

GTAS: 

Phone: 1-877-440-9476 

 Option 1, then Option 3 

Email: gtas@stls.frb.org 

GFRS: 

Phone: 1-877-440-9476 

 Option 1, then Option 4 

Email: gfrs@stls.frb.org 

° If an Agency cannot 

upload Bulk Files and is 

reliant on providing 

Manual Adjustments, 

that information will be 

sent to GFRS when the 

Manual Adjustments 

are certified. 

° If no Reclassification 

Statement Manual 

Adjustment amounts 

are present, GTAS data 

will be sent to GFRS as 

long as the TAS is 

certified. 

What’s New (GFRS Version 7.2)

The GFRS 7.2 release 

will feature the 

elimination of modules 1-

4 which will eliminate 

the requirements of 

Significant Entities 

having to enter their 

Financial Statement 

Template, Audited 

Financial Statement, 

Reclassification and 

Federal Trading Partner 

Note in GFRS for this 

fiscal year end. GTAS 

data will be used for both 

Significant and Other 

Entities for use in lieu of 

manual entry. All 

entities will review the 

GTAS Closing Package 

Lines Loaded Report for 

accuracy of data and to 

continue on to FR notes 

modules, Other Data 

module, and Completions 

and Approvals module in 

GFRS. 

Highlights of the GFRS 

7.2 release are as follows: 

Module GF005G-New 

GTAS Data Report – The 

system will provide a 

new module in GFRS for 

FR Entities to request 

the GTAS to GFRS Data 

Report. This report will 

contain attributes 

required for entities to be 

able to check on the 

accuracy and 

inclusiveness of the data 

being sent from GTAS to 

GFRS. 

Module GF006-FR Notes 

– This notes data for

Significant Entities will

now be populated using

GTAS data sent over to

GFRS and not from

Modules 1-4. Other

entity data will continue

to be populated using

GTAS data as in the

past.

Module GF008-Completions 

and Approvals – This 

module has been modified 

due to the elimination of 

modules 1-4. All connected 

reports for this module will 

be changed accordingly. 

Several modifications to the 

existing module are a part 

of the 7.2 release and 

include the following: 

° Removal of Agency 

Audited Financial 

Statements tab 

° Removal of 

Reclassification tab 

° Change the Trading 

Partner tab to “Certify 

GTAS Data tab” 

° Systematic undoing of 

completions in GF008 when 

the GTAS file causes an FR 

Note status to be changed 

to “in-progress” 
3 

 

 

Process Changes in Assigning Agency 

Identifier’s (AIDs) 

Many statutes require 

the Treasury Department 

and Office of 

Management and Budget 

(OMB) to collect and 

report on the finances of 

Federal agencies. Among 

these is 31 USC 3513. 

The fundamental 

building block for 

recording and reporting 

is the Treasury Account 

Symbol (TAS), which 

includes, among other 

things, a 3-digit code for 

Agency Identifier (AID). 

The Treasury Federal 

Account Symbols and 

Titles (FAST) II book 

includes a comprehensive 

list of the government’s 

AID and TAS codes. The 

Treasury Department 

has historically assigned 

AID codes to align with 

the organic, or initial, 

statute establishing the 

TAS. 

At the same time, OMB 

and Treasury publish 

financial reports that do 

not always align with the 

AID codes. For instance, 

the President’s Budget 

includes an agency, 

Other Defense-Civil 

Programs, that groups 

together agencies with 

different AID codes. In 

another example, the 

Treasury Department 

uses Financial Report 

(FR) entities that do not 

always align with 

existing AID codes. 

There are also instances 

when a single AID code 

corresponds to what are 

effectively different 

operating agencies. For 

example, the AID code 

for the Executive Office 

of the President (e.g. the 

White House and OMB) 

is also used for Peace 

Corps and the African 

Development 

Foundation. 

Requiring two or more 

discreet operating 

agencies to share the 

same AID code adds to 

the challenge of FR 

reporting, which now 

requires a crosswalk 

between AID and FR 

Entity (see Appendix 5 

of I TFM 2-4700). 

Having two or more 

operating agencies share 

the same AID code also 

adds to the challenge of 

reconciling 

intragovernmental 

transactions, which is a 

long-standing material 

weakness of the FR. In 

addition, in preparing 

for new reporting 

required by the Digital 

Accountability and 

Transparency Act, 

Treasury and OMB 

concur with comments 

by agencies that 

reporting will be easier 

if operating agencies 

have unique AID codes. 

Treasury and OMB will 

change the process used 

to assign AID codes in 

the future and will 

consult with agencies 

about changing existing 

AID codes. The changes 

will eliminate the need 

for a crosswalk between 

AID and FR Entity; 

reduce agency workload 

in reporting and 

reconciling intragovernmental 

transactions; and, 

facilitate improved 

transparency across the 

government. Treasury 

and OMB will follow two 

guiding principles in 

assigning AID codes. 

First and most 

important, AID codes 

will comport with 

statute whenever 

practical (This will cover 

the vast majority of 

cases). Second, when 

Treasury and OMB in 

consultation with the 

affected agency find that 

the use of alternate AID 

code facilitates 

governmentwide 

reporting or improves 

transparency, Treasury 

and OMB will assign a 

code to facilitate the 

reporting (In general, 

this will cover a small 

number of cases). 

If your agency has 

questions and/or 

concerns with this new 

reassignment 

designation, please 

contact Cheryl Dixon 

(Cheryl.dixon@fiscal.trea

sury.gov) or Luke 

Sheppard 

(luke.sheppard@fiscal.tr

easury.gov). 

For GTAS inquiries 

regarding accounting 

guidance and/or edit and 

validation issues, please 

contact the Fiscal Service 

Accountant assigned to 

your agency using the 

following list: 

http://www.fiscal.treasury.

gov/fsservices/gov/acctg/gt

as/contacts.htm 

For GFRS inquiries 

regarding general 

information or Financial 

Reporting, please contact 

the Fiscal Service 

Accountant assigned to 

your agency using the 

following list: 

http://www.fiscal.treasury.

gov/fsservices/gov/acctg/gf

rs/contacts.htm 

For Intragovernmental 

inquiries in GTAS, please 

contact the Fiscal Service 

Accountant assigned to 

your agency using the 

following list: 

http://www.fiscal.treasury.

gov/fsservices/gov/acctg/gt

as/intragovt_contacts.htm 

For USSGL Guidance, 

please visit the following 

web page at: 

http://www.fiscal.treasury.

gov/fsreports/ref/ussgl/ussg

l_home.htm 
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4 TYPE TITLE HERE

 

 

Have Feedback to provide?

* Newsletter Ideas

* Experience with GWA 

systems

* Improvement/Enhancement

Ideas 

Please reach out to the 

GTAS Team at the 

following email 

GTAS.Team@fiscal.treasury

.gov. 

----------------------------------- 

Stay informed of GTAS, 

GFRS, or USSGL website 

updates by subscribing to 

our E-Mail Notification 

Service: 

https://www.fms.treas.gov/f

msweb/EmailSubscribeActi

on.do

New Agency Financial Report to Closing 

Package reconciliation reporting template 

In conjunction with the 

recent webinar 

presented by Luke 

Sheppard during the 

month of June, 2016, 

“Improving the 

Financial Report of the 

U.S. Government – 2016 

Plans with GTAS and 

GFRS”, agencies are 

required to reconcile 

their Closing Package 

data, based on their 

GTAS ATB upload and 

Manual Adjustments, if 

any, to their General 

Purpose Financial 

Reports (GPFR). 

Fiscal Service has 

devised an Excel 

template for Agencies to 

tie their GPFR to GTAS 

data. The template may 

be found at the following 

locations along with 

instructions for use. 

Under Updates Section:

https://

fiscal.treasury.gov/

reports-statements/

financial-report/

Under Main Home Page: 

https://www.fiscal.treas

ury.gov/gtas/

Intragovernmental: 

New General Fund Reciprocal Categories 

Two new Reciprocal 

Categories (RCs) have 

been added to Appendix 

7 for fiscal year 2016 to 

facilitate better 

elimination pairings 

with the General Fund 

of the U.S. Government 

(General Fund). These 

changes can be seen in 

the newly published 

TFM 2-4700 located at 

http://tfm.fiscal.treasury

.gov/v1/p2/c470.html. 

RC37 “Other Financing 

Sources – General Fund” 

is TAS restricted and 

strictly reserved for 

reporting between the 

General Fund and the 

Bureau of the fiscal 

Service (Fiscal Service) 

Debt Accounting. The 

pairs of eliminating 

USSGLs included in 

RC37 are 579001 “Other 

Non-budgetary 

Financing Sources For 

Debt 

Accruals/Amortization” 

which Fiscal Service will 

report the General Fund 

as its trading partner, 

and 579010 “Other 

Financing Sources for 

the General Fund” 

which the General Fund 

will report with Fiscal 

Service as its trading 

partner. RC37 will be 

effective for Period 11 

FY 2016 reporting. 

RC38 “Expended 

Appropriations” includes 

USSGLs 570000 

“Expended 

Appropriations” which 

Federal program 

agencies will report 

with the General Fund 

as its trading partner 

and 570005 

“AppropriationsExpended” which the 

General Fund will 

report with other 

Federal agencies as its 

trading partner. It is 

important to note that 

these USSGLs were 

originally in RC39 

“Appropriations-Used”. 

They have been moved 

to the new RC38 in 

order to properly reflect 

the elimination. RC38 

will be effective for 

Period 9 FY 2016 

reporting. 
5 

 Intragovernmental: 

Intragovernmental GTAS Updates 

GTAS 2.7 was released 

in April, 2016. With this 

release, a Raw Data file 

became available for 

agencies to use as a 

research tool to evaluate 

intragovernmental 

differences. The Raw 

Data file includes the 

same data as in the 

Intragovernmental 

Module of GTAS, but in 

an Excel extract. The 

file can be found under 

the Intragovernmental 

Reports section of GTAS 

and is entitled "IGT Raw 

Data File”. Please note, 

users are only able to 

see the data they have 

access to in GTAS and 

that was certified. 

GTAS 2.8 will be 

released in the Fall of 

2016. 

With this release, just 

like each quarter, the 

year-end Material 

Difference Reports 

(MDRs) will be 

completed and certified 

in the 

Intragovernmental 

Module of GTAS. 

Agencies will also be 

able to make manual 

adjustments to their 

year-end data in GTAS. 

If a manual adjustment 

has been made, the 

amount in the 

Intragovernmental 

Module will be 

highlighted in yellow, 

and will show up on the 

MDRs and the 

Comparative Status of 

Disposition Report 

which will also be 

obtained from GTAS. 

Please note, if a manual 

adjustment does not 

exist for a particular RC 

29 financial statement 

line, then the MDR Part 

III should be explained 

and certified in GTAS 

per the usual process. If 

a manual adjustment is 

created for an RC 29 

financial statement line, 

agencies must provide 

the USSGL(s) affected 

as justification for the 

manual adjustment. 

Agencies will receive a 

manual MDR Part III to 

explain and certify if a 

manual adjustment 

impacts an RC 29 

financial statement line. 

Treasury Financial Manual (TFM) 2-4700 

Update

The TFM 2-4700 for 

Fiscal Year 2016 

was published in 

May, 2016. The link 

for this TFM can be 

found at 

http://tfm.fiscal.trea

sury.gov/v1/p2/c470.

html. 

Please review this TFM 

to ensure you are up to 

date on all reporting and 

intragovernmental 

changes. A second 

update publication will 

occur in July, 2016. 

Appendix 8 of TFM 2-

4700 is in revision and 

will be made available 

with the July 

publication. 
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6 TYPE TITLE HERE

 Financial Reporting: 

Statement of Federal Financial Accounting 

Standards (SFFAS)

The Bureau of the Fiscal 

Service will be 

implementing several 

new Statement of 

Federal Financial 

Accounting Standards 

(SFFAS) for fiscal year 

2017 and 2018 Financial 

Report of the U.S. 

Government. Below is a 

summary of these new 

standards and some of 

the new reporting 

requirements for the 

standards. Agencies 

should review the TFM 

2-4700 and specific

standards in an effort to

see all the reporting

requirements and

changes as a result of

these standards.

SFFAS No. 47, 

Reporting Entity 

establishes principles to 

identify organizations 

for which elected 

officials are accountable. 

The standard also 

guides preparers of 

general purpose federal 

financial reports in 

determining what 

organization to report 

upon, whether such 

organizations are 

considered 

“consolidation entities” 

or “disclosure entities” 

and what information 

should be presented 

about those 

organizations. The 

standard also requires 

information to be 

provided about related 

party relationships of 

such significance that it

would be misleading to 

exclude information. 

SFFAS No. 47 is 

effective for periods 

beginning after 

September 30, 2017 and 

early implementation is 

not permitted. In July 

2016 the working group 

will post additional 

questions, (1) who is 

considered a 

consolidated entity, (2) 

who is considered 

disclosure, (3) who is 

considered related 

party, (4) and who falls 

into the no reporting 

category. A 

governmentwide email 

will be sent once the 

Q&A has been updated 

on all websites. These 

determinations have 

been confirmed at the 

agency level; please use 

this data as a second 

review to confirm your 

agency agrees with how 

the SFFAS No. 47 

working group will 

classify the agency’s 

reporting in FY 2018. 

SFFAS No. 47 Q&A has 

been uploaded to the 

Fiscal Service website, 

Treasury Financial 

Manual website, and 

Max.gov to help assist 

agencies throughout the 

implementation process 

of the SFFAS No. 47. 

The SFFAS No. 47 

working group will be 

responsible for updating 

as more questions are 

received by agencies. 

For more information 

regarding SFFAS No. 47 

contact Janis Doak at 

304-480-6939.

Fiscal Service website link: 

https://fiscal.treasury.gov/

reports-statements/financialreport/

Treasury Financial Manual 

website link: 

https://tfm.fiscal.treasury.gov /

content/tfm/relatedresources.html#related_links

MAX.gov website link: 

https://community.max.gov/d

isplay/TREASExternal/Burea u

+of+the+Fiscal+Service+-

+Financial+Report+of+the+

United+States

SFFAS No. 48, Opening 

Balances for Inventory, 

Operating Materials and 

Supplies, and Stockpile 

Materials permits a 

reporting entity to apply an 

alternative valuation 

method in establishing 

opening balances. This 

method is permitted when 

presenting 

financial statements or one or 

more line items addressed in 

the standard. Thisstandard 

can be applied for the first 

time or after a period during 

which existing systems 

could not provide the 

information necessary for 

producing GAAP-based 

financial statements 

without use of the alternative 

valuation method. 
7 

Financial Reporting: 

Statement of Federal Financial Accounting 

Standards (SFFAS): Continued

This is intended to 

provide an alternative 

method to adoption of 

GAAP when historical 

records and systems do 

not provide a basis for 

valuation of opening 

balances in accordance 

with SFFAS No. 3, 

Accounting for Inventory 

and Related Property. 

A questionnaire was 

sent to all agencies to 

determine which 

agencies will be early 

implementing the new 

standard, based on the 

agencies responses there 

will not be an early 

implementation for this 

standard in FY 2016.