============================================================================= Run Date: APR 28, 2003 Designation: PRC*5.1*67 Package : PRC - IFCAP Priority: Mandatory Version : 5.1 SEQ #53 Status: Released Compliance Date: MAY 29, 2003 ============================================================================= Subject: REMOVE SCHEDULING OF ACCRUAL (MONTHLY) Category: - Informational Description: ============ ************************************************************************** * * * This informational patch requires action to be taken prior to * * April 30, 2003 * * * ************************************************************************** In an effort to reduce the possibility that the automatic running of the Accrual (Monthly) [PRCB MONTHLY ACCRUAL] option by TaskMan could result in a recompiling of the report data, it is required that the scheduling of this option be removed from TaskMan before midnight April 30, 2003. After the option has been removed from scheduling, it will be necessary for each site to run the option manually each month. Manually running the option should be done with enough time left in the month to allow for corrections to be made before the report must be submitted. Effective January 31, 2003, all end of month reporting to FMS must be completed by 8:00 P.M. Central Time on the last workday of the month. There is a one day overlap period for purposes of correction and resubmission. Effective October 31, 2003 there will no longer be a one day overlap and the submission time will remain 8:00 P.M. Central Time on the last workday of the month. Personnel in the finance offices will shortly be receiving an informational/instructional memo from VACO with text that is very similar to the text provided below. The actual text of the VACO memo is likely to be different in its final form; however, the information contained in the memo should be consistent with what is provided here. It is included in this patch to provide another source from which this information can be procured. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- An informational IFCAP patch has been released to your local IRM staff that removes the tasked procedure to compile your Monthly Purchase Card Accrual. In the past, this task was scheduled to run at 1:00 A.M. the first workday of the month. Due to the change to a one-day overlap period in our current environment, and no overlap effective October 31, 2003, the automated compiling of this report is no longer the most efficient way to begin the purchase card accrual process. As you know, the PC accrual process is a three-step procedure. The first step is the compiling and printing of the report, the second step is the editing of the report, and the final step is the creation of the code sheets based on the edited report. In the past, step one was automated. Your printed report was likely sitting on your accounting technician's printer when he/she came to work the first workday of the month. You now must go to your Accrual menu to Compile/Print your report. A sample of the menu tree is captured below: Select Funds Distribution & Accounting Menu Option: Funds Distribution Program Menu Select Funds Distribution Program Menu Option: Transaction Menu Select Transaction Menu Option: Accrual (Monthly) For Accrual Month/Year: 04/03// Fiscal Month/Year: 07/2003 Select one of the following: 1 Compile/Print Monthly Accrual 2 Edit Monthly Accrual 3 Generate/Rebuild FMS SV-Document Select Number: 1 One size no longer fits all. Your sites' purchase card volume will likely dictate when you will compile this report to meet the new month-end timelines. The suggestion to have Austin hold purchase card payments from being processed in FMS and transferred to IFCAP for one or two days at month-end, (similar to the present year-end process), was considered. Although it had merit, the disruption of the normal business flow on a monthly basis seems to outweigh the benefits of holding the payment processing. Austin will continue the procedure of holding payments at year-end. It should be recognized that due to the fact that payment information will be hitting our records after we have compiled, edited and generated our accrual, the accrual will not be 100% accurate. The impact of that inaccuracy should be minimal due to the fact that the entries will be reversed the next day. It should also be recognized that even in the days of the four-day overlap the accrual was likely less than 100% accurate due to the fact that cardholders could be reconciling transactions in the period between when the report was originally compiled and when the code sheets were generated to Austin. Routine Information: ==================== ============================================================================= User Information: Entered By : ANDERSON,DOUGLAS W Date Entered : APR 09, 2003 Completed By: ROBBINS,BRADLEY Date Completed: APR 25, 2003 Released By : COOPER,SAMANTHA Date Released : APR 28, 2003 ============================================================================= Packman Mail Message: ===================== No routines included