Federal Financial Management System - FASAB

Federal Financial Management System Requirements

FFMSR-8 February 1998

Table of Contents

Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i I. Overview of System Requirements for Managerial Cost Accounting--------------- I-1

Summary of Information Requirements--------------------------------------------------- I-2 Summary of Functional Requirements----------------------------------------------------- I-3 Summary of Integration Requirements---------------------------------------------------- I-3 II. Information Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------ II-1 Financial Information Classification Structure----------------------------------------- II-2 Operations Information Classification Structure -------------------------------------- II-4 Program Information Classification Structure------------------------------------------ II-5 III. Functional Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------ III-1 System Administration----------------------------------------------------------------------- III-1 Data Capture ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III-3 Cost Assignment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III-5 Cost Classification----------------------------------------------------------------------------- III-7 Cost Monitoring ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III-9 Appendix A. Laws and Policies Affecting Managerial Cost Accounting Systems -- A-1 Appendix B. Contributors ----------------------------------------------------------------------- B-1

Introduction

The JFMIP System Requirements for Managerial Cost Accounting document is one of a series of JFMIP publications on federal financial management system requirements. All of these documents should be considered together when determining how best to use information technology and supporting services to meet a federal agency's financial management needs. The Framework for Federal Financial Management Systems describes the basic elements of a model for integrated financial management systems, the relationships between the model elements, and specific considerations in developing and implementing integrated financial management systems. Each of the other documents in the series, beginning with Core Financial System Requirements, describes the functional requirements for a particular type of system. This particular document is called System Requirements for Managerial Cost Accounting, rather than Managerial Cost Accounting System Requirements,because cost accounting functions may be supported by many types of systems, such as the core financial system, inventory and fixed asset systems, programmatic systems, and others, in addition to systems dedicated to cost accounting. This System Requirements for Managerial Cost Accounting document is intended for systems analysts, systems accountants, and systems developers as well as program managers and other users who are defining requirements that software supporting managerial cost accounting functions in their organizations must meet. This document builds upon, and provides a means to implement, requirements related to cost accounting set forth in the Chief Financial Officers Act (CFO Act), Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars, and other sources. It accomplishes this by specifying information and functional processing requirements for accumulating and analyzing cost data consistent with governmentwide guidance. Laws and policies affecting systems for managerial cost accounting are identified in Appendix A. Glossaries of terms relating to managerial cost accounting may be found in SFFAS Number 4, Managerial Cost Accounting Concepts and Standards for the Federal Government, and the Managerial Cost Accounting Implementation Guide prepared by the Governmentwide Cost Accounting Committee of the Chief Financial Officers Council. As shown in Illustration 1, standards and system requirements assist agencies in selecting effective and efficient systems. The requirements in this document are intended to facilitate the acquisition, development, and enhancement of systems that provide information useful in managing and controlling the cost of government. The document establishes the standard, governmentwide system requirements that an agency should consider for systems supporting managerial cost accounting functions, but also allows flexibility to address agency-specific requirements, such as those associated with the choice of costing methodology (e.g., activity-based costing).

i

Introduction

JFMIP does not expect the requirements provided herein to be sufficient by themselves to enable an agency to make an informed decision regarding a system's ability to meet the agency's needs for managerial cost accounting, but rather to provide a starting point for such an analysis by identifying applicable governmentwide policies and standards. Each agency should integrate its unique information, functional, and technical requirements with the requirements provided in this document to determine the complete set of system requirements for managerial cost accounting in its particular environment.

Illustration 1

Financial System Improvement Projects

Standards/ Requirements

Agency Implementation

! Standard Reporting Requirements

! U.S. Government Standard General Ledger

! Core Financial System Requirements

! Rersonnel/Payroll Requirements

!

Travel System Requirements

!

Seized/Forfeited Asset System Requirements

! Direct Loan System Requirements

! Guaranteed Loan System Requirements

! Inventory System Requirements

! Managerial Cost Accounting System Requirements

! Other Standards

! Additional Agency Functional Requirements

! Additional Agency Technical Requirements

! Integration Strategy

! Software/ Hardware Evaluation

! Software Selection

! Adaptation ! Procedures ! Training ! Documentation ! Conversion ! Maintenance

Subject of this report

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