Special Disbursement Instructions for Payments Processed by Treasury During the 2009 Holiday Season

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Financial Management Service, has announced the Kansas City Financial Center’s 2009 holiday processing schedule. Any manual same-day or foreign payment that must be processed by the holiday dates listed below should be received by the Controller Operations Division’s Administrative Certification personnel via fax at 303 205 3435, according to the following schedule:

December 29 is the last disbursement cycle which will carry a payment date in calendar year 2009 (used for 1099 purposes). Please direct questions to the following:

Click here to view the Kansas City Financial Center’s 2009 holiday processing schedule.

Tier 1 Customer Resolution Center Online Help Desk Now Available

The Tier 1 Customer Resolution Center (CRC) Online Help Desk is now available. Until November 18, Help Desk technicians will be available from 6:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday to assist agency Functional Administrators (FA) with the resolution of FFIS, FMMI, CPAIS, or other system-related issues. After November 18, core support hours will be 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. (CT). Requests for assistance can be submitted online, via e-mail, phone, or fax. Click here to visit the new CRC Online Help Desk, or click the link in Quick Picks on the left-hand menu.

Attention Departmental Administration and Staff Offices

Under FFIS, DASO agencies shared a common Agency Location Code (ALC). Under FMMI, DASO agencies will utilize individual ALCs for IPAC transactions. This change is effective immediately. Click here for more detailed information and a list of the new agency ALCs.

Revised - 2009 Annual Close Guide

Sections 9.3.7, 17.11, and 17.13 of the 2009 Annual Close Guide have been revised and the revised guide is available and is located in Quick Picks on the Publications page. Click here for a shortcut to the guide.

What’s the Word? FMMI

For the latest on the Financial Management Modernization Initiative (FMMI), including news, training, implementation, and contact information, visit the FMMI Web site at http://info.fmmi.usda.gov. For purposes of sharing information, questions generated during Deployment 1 training classes that are not immediately answered are being posted to the site. USDA leadership is reviewing these questions to provide appropriate answers. To view these questions and answers, click on Training in the FMMI Topics menu on the left-hand side and scroll down to Deployment 1 Parking Lot Questions. Monitoring these questions and answers will help enhance your FMMI training experience.

2009 Fiscal Year and Year-End Financial Timeline

2009 fiscal year and year-end financial timeline for processing FFIS data is available online. Click on one of the following links:

• FY 2009 Financial Timeline Transmittal
• Financial Management Calendars
• FY 2009 Financial Management Key Milestones and Due Dates-Fourth Quarter
• Joint-Integrated FFIS - FMMI Cycle Processing Master Schedule
• FY 2009 Year-End Procedures
• Annual Close Guide Fiscal Year 2009
• Critical Points of Contact

Attention FFIS Users: Critical FY 2009 Annual Close Information

Because of the intricacies involved in this FY 2009 annual close, particularly with regard to FMMI implementation, it is critical to ensure that no events, activities, or tasks be overlooked or omitted. In preparation for this critical period, the Joint-Integrated FFIS-FMMI Cycle Processing Master Schedule is available and must be used in conjunction with the September and October 2009 processing calendars available from the right-hand menu. This schedule provides a detailed checklist for use from September 18 through October 5, 2009. Click here to access the schedule.

Suspense “F” Account Discontinuance and Waiver Policy

OCFO issued its position on the Financial Management Service, Treasury Financial Manual Bulletin No. 2007 07, Suspense “F” Account Discontinuance and Waiver Policy, in a memorandum to agency chief financial officers dated July 20, 2009. Click here to view the memorandum.

2008 RIT Processing

COD is ready to accept and process all 2008 Relocation Income Tax (RIT) vouchers. Please submit all RIT vouchers to:

Controller Operations Division
Attention: Travel Section
P.O. Box 60000
New Orleans, LA 70160

If submitting by Federal Express, send to:

Controller Operations Division
Attention: Travel Section
13800 Old Gentilly Road
New Orleans, LA 70129

Questions concerning processing of RIT vouchers should be directed to the Travel Inquiry Section at nfc.travel@usda.gov, or 800-421-0323 or 504-426-6515.

Transfer of Tier One Help Desk and Agency Advocate Duties to COD

Effective July 1, 2009, Financial System Tier One Help Desk and Agency Advocate duties will transfer from the Associate Chief Financial Officer for Financial Systems Planning and Management (ACFO-FSPM), Customer Service Division (CSD), to the Associate Chief Financial Officer for Financial Operations (ACFO-FO), Controller Operations Division (COD).  COD looks forward to assisting its customers in transitioning to USDA’s new financial management system, Financial Management Modernization Initiative (FMMI). 

For more details, click here to view the memorandum from Michael Clanton, ACFO‑FSPM, which includes a listing of your new COD Agency Advocates.

2009 FMT Presentations Now Available

Presentations from the 2009 Financial Management Training held in Washington, D.C. May 6-8, are now available for viewing. Click here to go to the 2009 presentations, or click the link under Presentations on the left-hand menu. Presenter biographies are available as well by clicking on the presenter’s name.

COD Wins A-76 Competition

The Controller Operations Division, Administrative Payments Branch (COD/APB), located in New Orleans, Louisiana, processes telephone and utility payments for the entire Department of Agriculture. COD/APB has been selected as the Most Efficient Organization (MEO) under OMB Circular A-76, Performance of Commercial Activities, to provide utility and telecommunications invoice processing services. COD/APB has partnered with US Bank to modernize and improve these payment processes by:

• Providing web-based transaction visibility and transparency to USDA and agency stakeholders,


• Tracking payments to recover/eliminate overcharges for improper late penalties, and


• Leveraging business intelligence reporting to provide value added services and achieve efficiencies and agency cost savings.

USDA webTA Initiative

The Controller Operations Division, Customer Liaison and Training Branch (COD/CLTB), is pleased to announce a partnership with the National Finance Center (NFC) and Departmental Administration (DA) to support the coordination of the implementation and training of the Department-wide Time and Attendance (webTA) system. Click here to view the e-mail announcing this partnership sent to the USDA financial community on October 15, 2008.

Be assured that COD is fully supportive of this initiative, and in our continuing effort to keep you informed of the status, we will post periodic updates on the COD Web site. Please click on the link below to view the update.

COD Customer webTA Initiative Update as of February 26, 2009

Visit the USDA webTA Implementation Web site at http://www.da.usda.gov/webTA for detailed information, including agency roll-out schedules, guides, tutorials, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Please contact COD at ocfo.priorityrequest@usda.gov, or call (504) 426-5471, for additional information or assistance. You may also contact your COD Customer Relations Specialist, who is available to assist you with coordinating unique agency issues with the NFC and DA webTA team. A list of COD Customer Relations Specialists, by agency, is available from the link under Spotlights, below, or from the Contact Info tab.

Questions About Establishing Account Numbers in TUMS?

The Administrative Payments Branch has prepared guidelines that are sure to be of assistance. Click here to view.

The guidelines are also available on the Publications tab under Quick Picks.