Civil Service Federal Employees Federal Employees Federal Employees

Retirement Group Life Health Benefits Retirement

System Insurance Program System

United States

Office of

Personnel Management

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency

Retirement and Insurance Service

 Financial Management Letter

 

Number: F-99-06 Date: August 20, 1999

Subject: Interdepartmental Eliminations

The Consolidated Financial Statements (CFS) of the U.S. includes a statement that because Federal agencies have

serious financial management problems, an unqualified audit opinion is precluded. One of the specific problems

identified concerns the accounting for intragovernmental transactions. According to the CFS, agencies cannot effectively

identify transactions with other (“partner”) agencies so they can be eliminated for governmentwide financial reporting

purposes.

Last year, as you know, we attempted to play a leadership role in this regard. Our Financial Management Letter 

Number F-98-09 required that you submit an Interdepartmental Account Balance Confirmation. Upon receiving it, we

attempted to match our revenues and receivables with the expenses and payables you reported on the Confirmation. We

were not entirely successful because of two principal issues. 

First, some agencies whose payroll operations are cross-serviced, did not report meaningful balances on their

Confirmation. We can assure you that the three large cross-servicing agencies do furnish to their client agencies the

information needed to meet all reporting requirements relating to Retirement, Health Benefits and Life Insurance

transactions. It is incumbent upon the client agencies to collect this information and use it appropriately to report

expenses and liabilities to Treasury via FACTS and to us on the Confirmation. If you should have any difficulty

obtaining the information you need for FACTS or the OPM Confirmation from one of the “big three” cross-servicers,

please contact the appropriate individual, as follows:

AGENCY CONTACT PHONE

National Finance Center Joseph Vitale (504) 255-5464

Department of the Interior Sandy Gregory (303) 969-7739

General Services Administration Mark Lutz (816) 926-5118

Second, agencies seem not to be clear about the intragovernmental accounts they need to report to Treasury via FACTS

and to us on the Confirmation. The only OPM-related intragovernmental accounts are those associated with employer

contributions and are designated as “G” accounts. Employee contributions, on the other hand, are governmental [“N”]

accounts and must not be reported as intragovernmental via FACTS or on the Confirmation. The applicable

interdepartmental account balances that must be eliminated on the Consolidated Financial Statement are:
EMPLOYING AGENCY ACCOUNT CORRESPONDING OPM ACCOUNT

2210G Accrued Funded Payroll and Benefits 1310G Employer Contributions Receivable

6400G Employer Contribution Expense 5400G Benefit Program Revenue

Please make special note of the fact that agencies must report expenses related to employer contributions for Retirement,

Health Benefits, and Life Insurance under standard general ledger account 6400G. Account 6100G is not acceptable for

1999.

We will again for Fiscal Year 1999 require a Confirmation of Intragovernmental Account Balances for Retirement,

Health Benefits and Life Insurance from all of our “trading partners”. The Confirmation is due to us no later than

January 1, 2000. The Confirmation is provided, for your convenience, as an attachment to this letter. 

We have worked closely with the Financial Management Service and have incorporated our intragovernmental account

reporting and elimination procedures in its Intragovernmental Fiduciary Transaction Accounting Guide. It is available at

www.fms.treas.gov/cfs/dev -- the OPM procedures are in Section V of the Guide.

All significant intragovernmental account differences MUST be reconciled in 1999. We believe it is extremely

important that this be accomplished prior to the reporting of the transactions to Treasury via FACTS. If, after receiving

FACTS reporting, significant intragovernmental account differences are disclosed, Treasury will insist that we and all

applicable employing agencies reconcile them within extremely stringent timeframes.

Please contact Mike Finucan, of this staff, on (202) 606-8083 if you experience problems or have questions regarding:

• Meeting the OPM Confirmation Report deadline;

• Accessing the Guide from the Internet;

• Understanding the OPM accounting transactions illustrated in the Guide; or

• Preparing the OPM Confirmation of Intragovernmental Account Balances.

Questions about the OPM portion of the Guide may also be emailed to finance@opm.gov. Thank you in advance for

your cooperation.

Robert A. Yuran, Chief

Financial Policy Staff

Retirement and Insurance Service

Attachment
U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Confirmation of Intragovernmental Account Balances

Fiscal Year 1999

General Information

1. Agency Pay Office or

Agency Name

 2. Contact Name 3. Phone

 4. E-Mail Address 5. Fax

 6. Mailing Address

Account Balances

7. Actual government contributions remitted to OPM for Retirement, Health Benefits, and Life Insurance during

fiscal year 1999 from RITS (2812 data). Report all cash transactions. Do not include accruals.................. .

$

8. SGL account 2210G balance at the end of the fiscal year 1999. Report the accrued amount due to OPM

for agency contributions at the end of the fiscal year........................................................................

$

9. SGL account 2210G balance at the beginning of the fiscal year 1999. Report the accrued amount due to

OPM for agency contributions at the end of the fiscal year........................ .................................... .. . $

10. Total of line 7 plus line 8 less line 9.......................................... ............................................. .. ...... $

11. SGL account 6400G balance at the end of the fiscal year 1999. The amount reported on this line should

equal the amount reported on line 10....................................................................................... ..

$

12. Difference between lines 10 and 11:....................................................................................... .. $

13. Explanation for amount reported on line 12. Use additional attachments if necessary.

Name and Signature of Preparer

14. Prepared by: Title:

15. I hereby certify that the amounts reported above agree with amounts to be reported for Fiscal Year 1999 FACTS I

 submission to Treasury.

16. Signature: Date:

Send the original completed form with signature by facsimile to:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Financial Policy Staff

Facsimile number (202) 606-7944

DUE DATE: January 1, 2000

 Or by mail to:

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Financial Policy Staff

1900 E Street, N.W.

Room 3H28

Washington, DC 20415-001

Telephone number: (202) 606-8083

Retain copy at agency and submit original to OPM