PDF Ebook Core Financial System Requirements
The citizens of the United States entrust the stewardship of Federal Government financial resources and assets to the legislative and executive branches of Government. Financial and program managers are accountable for program results and fiscally responsible for the resources entrusted to them. Managers must understand that their daily actions have financial implications for taxpayers and affect the amount of public debt the Federal Government must assume to support Government initiatives. Furthermore, managers must be able to provide information essential to monitor budgets, operations, and program performance.
The Federal Government recognizes the importance of having high quality financial systems to support improvement of Government operations and to provide financial and related information to program and financial managers. The CFO Act of 1990, the GPRA, the Government Management Reform Act (GMRA) of 1994, and FFMIA of 1996 mandate improved financial management, assign clearer responsibility for leadership to senior officials, and require new financial organizations, enhanced financial systems, and audited financial reporting.
Improving Federal financial management systems is critical to increasing the accountability of financial and program managers, providing better information for decision-making, and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of services provided by the Federal Government. Proper and reliable financial management systems must provide for:
Accountability. Inform taxpayers, Congress, and agency personnel in terms they can readily understand, on how the Nation’s tax dollars are spent, and how Federal assets are protected.
Efficiency and Effectiveness. Provide efficient and effective service to the Federal agency’s internal and external customers (e.g., individuals, contractors, partnerships, state and local governments, other Federal agencies/organizations, the military, and foreign governments).
Better Decision-Making. Provide to Congress, agency heads and program managers, timely reports linking financial results and program data so that financial and program results of policy and program decisions can be identified, tracked, and forecasted more accurately.
The OMB Circular No. A-127, Financial Management Systems, sets forth general policies for Federal financial management systems. Each agency is required to establish and maintain a single, integrated financial management system. To support this requirement, each agency must have an ongoing financial systems improvement planning process and perform periodic reviews of financial system capabilities. In addition, each agency must maintain financial management systems that comply with uniform Federal accounting concepts and standards promulgated by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) in its Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS), which constitute generally accepted accounting principles for the Federal Government.
System requirements for common systems have been prepared under JFMIP direction as a series of publications entitled Federal Financial Management System Requirements (FFMSR). The FFMIA statute codified the FFMSR as key requirements that agency systems must meet to be substantially in compliance with system requirements provisions under FFMIA. The Core Financial System Requirements document has been prepared as a continuation of the FFMSR series that began with the Core Financial Systems Requirements document first published in January 1988.
This document is intended for financial system analysts, systems accountants,systems developers, program managers, and others who design,develop, implement, operate or maintain financial management systems. It is also intended as guidance for reviews of system compliance with FMFIA requirements.
Information that applies to all financial management systems, such as internal controls, system security, training, documentation, and support are discussed in the JFMIP Framework for Federal Financial Management Systems document. The Framework document, published in January 1995, provides guidance in the design, implementation, and operation of financial management systems to support the increased emphasis being placed on improving Government operations. However, the internal controls and security considerations for Core financial systems are interspersed throughout this document.
This document is the basis for evaluating Core financial system software for compliance with JFMIP requirements, through a testing process that links test scenarios to the requirements presented in this document. JFMIP tests commercial software functionality against these requirements and qualifies the software as meeting mandatory requirements. JFMIP also uses this process to test Government agency software compliance for those agencies that provide accounting systems to other Government agencies on a cross-service arrangement. For cross-servicing agencies, this testing is voluntary. For further information on the JFMIP testing process and for the results of completed software qualification tests please see the JFMIP. Please note that the JFMIP web site also includes all JFMIP requirements documents, such as Human Resources & Payroll System, Travel System, etc.
The next chapters in this document set forth the framework for the establishment and maintenance of an integrated Federal financial management system. An overview of the Core financial system, including a summary of functions and technical requirements is provided in the System Overview chapter. Specific requirements are presented in detail in the functional and technical requirements chapters. Appendices provide References, a Glossary, a Summary of External Reporting Requirements, and a list of Contributors.
Contents
Introduction
Federal Financial Management Framework
- Integrated Financial Management Systems
Agency Financial Management Systems Architecture
Core Financial System Overview
- Background
- General Information
Policy
Management Controls
Summary of Functional Requirements
- Core Financial System Management
General Ledger Management
Funds Management
Payment Management
Receivable Management
Cost Management
Reporting
Summary of Technical Requirements
Functional Requirements
Core Financial System Management Function
- Accounting Classification Management Process
Transaction Control Process
General Ledger Management Function
- General Ledger Account Definition Process
Accruals, Closing and Consolidation Process
General Ledger Analysis and Reconciliation Process
Funds Management Function
- Budget Preparation Process
Budget Formulation Process
Funds Allocation Process
Budget Execution Process
Funds Control Process
Payment Management Function
- Payee Information Maintenance Process
Payment Warehousing Process
Payment Execution Process
Payment Confirmation and Follow-up Process
Receivable Management Function
- Customer Information Maintenance Process
Receivable Establishment Process
Debt Management Process
Collection Process
Cost Management Function
- Cost Setup and Accumulation Process
Cost Recognition Process
Cost Distribution Process
Working Capital and Revolving Fund Process
Reporting Function
- General Reporting Process
External Reporting
Internal Reporting
Ad Hoc Query
Technical Requirements
- General Design/Architecture
Infrastructure
User Interfaces
Interoperability
Workflow/Messaging
Document Management
Internet Access
Security
Operations and Computing Performance
Appendix A: References
Appendix B: Glossary
Appendix C: Summary of Standard External Reports from Core Financial Systems
Appendix D: Contributors
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