In this Issue

Features

Question of the Day Travelers Corner
Where Do I Find

Internal Control Reviews

The Federal Manager’s Financial Integrity Act of 1982 is the impetus for achieving reasonable assurances that internal controls are effectively implemented in program operations. An Internal Control Review (ICR) is a management tool that evaluates an organization’s policies and procedures. ICRs are opportunities to verify compliance with established guidance and procedures, analyze the level of performance in an organization, and protect an organization from inefficient, wasteful or potentially fraudulent uses of resources. Another objective of ICRs is to explore and implement best practices to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of financial and management procedures. ICRs take an in-depth look at documented policies and procedures implemented in an organization. They identify policy and/or procedural areas that can be strengthened and produce recommendations to achieve specific functional goals and objectives.

Everyone in ITA has a role in internal controls. Senior management and senior executives set the tone for integrity, ethics, and competence to establish a positive control environment. Office directors and program leaders are responsible for internal control oversight within their units and all managers and supervisors are responsible for the practical application of policies and procedures in their specific units. Finally, individuals within a unit are responsible for knowing the proper internal control procedures associated with their specific position responsibilities. If you have any questions or would like assistance conducting an ICR, contact Liz Barnaby (202) 482-0482 or via e-mail: elizabeth.barnaby@mail.doc.gov

Commerce Learning Center

All new Commerce Learning Center (CLC) accounts automatically receive a "Welcome" e-mail from CLCSupport@learn.com listing the username and a temporary password when the training account is generated in the Learning Center. Typically, the username is the employee’s complete government e-mail address. But the ITA Training Office is finding as they enroll employees in courses not all employees have an account.

If you have not used the Commerce Learning Center since it went 'Live' on June 1, 2007, and you are a Federal employee paid by the National Finance Center, please review your WebT&A Locator Information screen to ensure your e-mail address:

entered in the e-mail address field,
a valid government address, and
spelled correctly and completely (i.e., firstname.lastname@mail.doc.gov OR firstname_lastname@ita.doc.gov).

If you are a contractor or non-federal field employee (PSC/PSA/FSN), please review the ITA White Pages to confirm your White Pages account is created and ensure your e-mail address:

entered in the e-mail address field,
a valid government address, and
spelled correctly and completely (i.e., firstname.lastname@mail.doc.gov OR firstname_lastname@ita.doc.gov).

If there are any errors or omissions, please correct them immediately. For assistance with your WebT&A account, please contact your timekeeper. For assistance with the ITA White Pages, please contact your User Assistance Help Desk. When your Commerce Learning Center account is created and you receive the "Welcome" e-mail, please notify Diane Evans at (202) 482- in the ITA Training Office so they can complete your enrollments. For any CLC questions, please contact CLCSupport@mail.doc.gov.

FY 2009 Budget

On February 4, 2008 the FY 2009 President’s Budget was presented to the Congress. The ITA budget, summarized below, represents an increase of about $8.5 million over the amount provided in the FY 2008 budget signed by the President on December 26, 2007

Program	FY 2008 Budget (K)	FY 2009 Budget (K)
Manufacturing & Services	$40,692	$48,592
Market Access & Compliance	$45,572	$42,332
Import Administration	$62,784	$66,357
Trade Promotion and US&FCS	$237,538	$237,739
Executive Direction / Administration	$25,209	$25,411
Total Direct Budget	$411,795	$420,431

The Import Administration FY 2009 budget includes a requested increase of $4,214 (K) and 25 FTE to meet the increased workload associated with applying countervailing duty law to China and other non-market economies. The Congressional hearing process on the Department of Commerce’s FY 2009 budget gets underway on March 6, 2008 when the Secretary testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee. You may view the ITA FY 2009 budget on the Department of Commerce's Office of Budget Web site: http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/default.htm. If you have questions contact Michael House at (202) 482-5739.

FY 2009 Budget Hearing Preparation

An important aspect of Congressional budget hearings is preparation prior to the hearing and responsiveness to Congressional questions during and after the hearing. Below is an abbreviated list of the topics that ITA will be preparing to address as the hearing approaches:

Free Trade Agreements	Number, Compliance with terms and pending FTAs
AD / CVD Enforcement	Number, Growth of the China portfolio
China’s Compliance Overall	Recent negotiations, Status of China CVD cases
Intellectual Property Rights	Status of Commerce efforts to halt IPR infractions
Doha Round	Status of current negotiations
Foreign Direct Investment	Status of efforts to increase FDI
IT Security	Protection of Personally Identifiable Information

Over the course of the next month the office of Financial Management will be working with your Resource Coordinators to collect and refine briefing papers on the above topics. If you have questions contact Michael House at (202) 482-5739.

CBS Sunflower Training in Johannesburg

From January 30 to February 1, 2008, twenty-one Foreign Service Nationals from thirteen overseas posts attended the Commerce Business Systems (CBS) Accounting and Sunflower Property training in Johannesburg, South Africa. During the sessions, they exchanged working experience and shared knowledge. Everyone was eager to learn the new accounting and property systems. This group of talented and dedicated Foreign Service Nationals was anxious to go back to their posts to practice their newly acquired skills. We are grateful to Craig Allen, Senior Foreign Commercial Officer, and his staff for their warm welcome. They provided excellent logistics support and delicious refreshments. FCS efforts truly contributed to the great success of the training. During the time Headquarters Staff were in Johannesburg, daily power outages were experienced. Fortunately, only one power outage was experienced during the training sessions. If you have questions contact Cathy Roberts at (202) 482-3153.

Commercial Service staff assemble in Johannesburg, South Africa for training on ITA's New Accounting and Property Systems.

Question of The Day

Can you answer the trivia question? Be featured in our bi-weekly Newsletter by answering or providing trivia questions. Questions and answers may be submitted to Nina Harris via email Nina.Harris@mail.doc.gov.

Trivia Question:

Answer to Last Issue's Question: What should a traveler do when a gift of cash or a check is offered for travel expenses by an outside source? Under no circumstances may a traveler accept cash. Checks should be made payable to the Department of Commerce and not the traveler. However, in the event that a traveler receives a check made out to him/her, the check must immediately be endorsed over to the Department and sent directly to the lockbox contractor. Please be reminded that you must obtain advance approval to accept a gift of travel expenses from an outside source. If you have questions, call your travel contact or Sharon Russell at (202) 482-3267.

Traveler's Corner

Question: When does a traveler’s per diem or actual expense entitlement start/stop?

Answer: A traveler's per diem or actual expense entitlement starts on the day he/she departs from home, office or other authorized point and ends on the day he/she returns to home, office or other authorized point. Federal employees are only eligible for 75 percent of the total M&IE rate for the location to which they are traveling on the first and last day of travel. No per diem is authorized for trips that are less than 12 hours. If you have questions, please call your travel contact or Sharon Russell at (202) 482-3267.

Where Do I Find.... Thrift Savings Plan and Roth IRAs?
View the latest TSP Highlight article (January/February 2008) at http://www.tsp.gov/forms/highlights/high08a.pdf. If you have any questions, please contact Karen Brown at (202) 482-8065 or via e-mail at Karen.Brown@mail.doc.gov.