CFO-ADMIN NEWS YOU CAN USE

A Monthly Newsletter from the

Office of the Chief Financial Officer and

 Director of Administration

 

October 7, 2010

 

In this issue of CFO-Admin News You Can Use, we focus on the following: 

• Purchase Card Security

• Paperwork Reduction Act

• FY 2011 Budget

• Budgeting in the Environment

• Hiring Reform

• ITA Comings and Goings

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Purchase Card Security

 

As we begin another fiscal year, the Office of Management and Operations wants to remind all purchase cardholders of the need to take appropriate precautions to protect their purchase card and account information.  

 

Purchase cards and account information should always be kept in a secure environment (locked up) to prevent access by unauthorized personnel.  Cardholders shall not carry their purchase card on their person at any time unless they are conducting an active “over the counter” transaction.  Account information should be given only to vendors when completing a purchase.  Cardholders who do not adequately protect their card run the risk of losing their purchasing privileges and may be held personally responsible for card and account misuse. 

 

If you have questions, please contact Robin Carpenter via email at Robin.Carpenter@trade.gov.

 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)

 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 requires Federal Government agencies to seek and obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prior to obtaining or soliciting identical information from ten or more persons, or continuing an information collection for which the OMB control number has expired. Methods of collection include written report forms, application forms, schedules, questionnaires, focus groups, on-line questionnaires and surveys. Information collected orally, via telephone or at meetings requires OMB approval as well. OMB approval is required whether the Federal agency collects the information itself or uses an outside agent or contractor.  If your program has a mandate to collect information from the public, please contact Jacqueline Harris, ITA’s Information Collection Officer, in the Office of Management and Operations at 202-482-4011 or via email at Jacqueline.Harris@trade.gov for further information and guidance. 

 

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FY 2011 Budget

 

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 began on October 1, 2010, with a continuing resolution (CR) that will run through December 3, 2010.  CRs differ slightly from year to year, but regardless of the differences they all have one thing in common and that is that new programs cannot be initiated until the regular appropriation is passed by Congress and signed by the President.

 

As part of our ongoing effort to keep you abreast of ITA’s budget situation, I am providing you with information on what it means to operate under a Continuing Resolution.

In order to avoid agency closures during the absence of enacted full-year appropriations, Congress enacts short-term CRs to maintain on-going Government operations. These short-term appropriations provide funds for only the period specified by the CR or until a full-year appropriation is enacted, whichever is sooner.

It has become common practice for ITA to start the Fiscal Year (FY) under a CR.  CRs can be enacted to run for as few as one day and as long as 365 days – both extremes have occurred.

How Does ITA Know How Much Money it Has During a CR?

Normally, the amount ITA receives during a CR is based on the lower of the amount which would be available to ITA under the House or Senate passed version of the FY 2011 appropriation or the amount spent by ITA during the prior year (FY 2010) for the same period of time.

To date, neither house of Congress has passed a version of the FY 2011 appropriation, so the amount available to ITA for now will be approximate to the amount spent during FY 2010 for the same period of time.  The Department’s Budget Office has calculated the amount available to ITA under this CR.

Program Impact

CRs, by their very nature, provide for programs to continue operations at a minimum level until a regular appropriation is passed.  Operating under a CR means that programs scheduled to start or stop in the new fiscal year will have their schedule frozen until a regular appropriation is passed.  

Employee Perspective:

A.  Pay and benefits are unaffected.

B.  Hiring and travel will continue at a CR supportable level as determined by the Assistant Secretary of each business unit, to include the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer.

C.  Any single action which would create an obligation of $100,000 or more must be approved by the ITA Budget Officer (Michael House). This includes contracts and interagency agreements. 

For current information on the status of the ITA appropriation follow call Doug Allis at 482-9151 or Michael House at 482-5739

Budgeting in the ITA Environment

 

During fall 2010, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer will be conducting training on the complete ITA budget process with an emphasis on how ITA employees can increase their awareness of the financial decision-making process within ITA.  The purpose of the one-hour course is not to make a budget analyst out of ITA staff, but rather to provide more transparency into the budget process and enable ITA staff to fully participate when called upon to respond to an inquiry about their program in a budget context.

 

This course will outline the complete cradle-to-grave calendar of the budget and accounting cycle, identify the critical times when your involvement may be called upon, and show how you can find the status of up-to-the-minute budget activity on-line. 

 

For information about the upcoming in-house course contact Doug Allis at Doug.Allis@Trade.gov .

 

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"Other News"

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Hiring Reform

 

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) received Hiring Reform Action Plans from all Federal agencies on August 1, 2010.  The Department of Commerce listed seven action plans in response to President Obama’s Memorandum:

1. Conduct action planning

2. Notify applicants about their status

3. Allow individuals to apply with resume and cover letters

4. Eliminate written essay-style questions (KSAs)

5. Use category rating

6. Ensure manager responsibility and accountability for hiring

7. Improve the quality and speed of hiring

 

Desired outcomes from these action plans are to:

• Shorten the number of days in the hiring process by following the End-to-End 80 days hiring model and the Managers Satisfaction Survey

• Use the results of the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) Council Management Satisfaction Survey to add the involvement and satisfaction of the management and applicants

• Allow initial applicant assessment through the online submission of resumes and cover letters  

• It provides plain language applications and reliable applicant assessment tools to Hiring Managers and Utilize Category Rating throughout Commerce

• The use of the Management Satisfaction Survey and accountability audits increases Hiring Manager involvement

 

The primary action planning team is being led by Commerce Reform Hiring Chair, Gay Shrum.  All changes resulting from the action plans will be funded within existing resources. Depending on progress, the action plans may be developed with OMB and OPM. To see the full version of the action plans submitted, go to http://www.opm.gov/HiringReform/HiringReformRequirements/ImplementationPlan/index.aspx

 

ITA Comings and Goings

 

Arrivals - WELCOME!

 

CFO/ADMIN:  OUS:  Colleen Fisher; David McCormack; IA:  David Crespo; MAS:  Cecily David; Patrick Thomson; Kathryn Mellor.

 

Departures

 

CIO:  Kevin Chuang; Ada Huang; CFO/ADMIN:  Sanford Booth II; Sierra Hadley; Dominique Magee; Renela Rucker; Olive Sanu;

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