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FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

 

The Department maintains a FFMIA compliant financial management system, the Commerce Business Systems (CBS). CBS replaced non-compliant legacy financial management systems within the Department. Three bureaus that were previously on compliant systems continue to use those systems with one bureau, whose present system is no longer supported, converting to CBS in early FY 2008. The financial information from these systems and CBS is integrated in the Corporate Database (as discussed further below) for consolidated financial reporting, resulting in a single integrated financial system.

CBS provides reliable and timely information within a sophisticated security infrastructure. The system is capable of producing both financial and budget reports from information generated within the financial management system. CBS consists of a Core Financial System (CFS) including the Commerce Purchase Card System (CPCS) and the Budget and Execution Data Warehouse. CBS is integrated with the Commerce Standard Acquisition and Reporting System (CSTARS), the National Finance Center Payroll System, and the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP). As a result of the migration of CBS to Web-based technology, which will be promoted to production in FY 2008, the life expectancy of CBS is expected to be extended beyond 2012. The Department continued planning for the next stage of its financial management evolution in alignment with the PMA and the Financial Management Line of Business (FMLoB) goals of standardization, consolidation, and optimization.

The Corporate Database is a commercial off-the-shelf software package for consolidating financial data and producing financial reports. The Corporate Database is an integrated solution that provides financial statements and Adjusted Trial Balances reported at the Department, bureau, and Treasury Appropriation/Fund Group level. It also provides the ability to perform data analysis and produce the Department’s footnotes, financial analysis reports, and other additional information required for the government-wide financial statements.

During FY 2007, the Department accomplished the following initiatives:

  • Completed the migration of CBS to Web-based technology that will be promoted to production during FY 2008, thus extending the life of CBS beyond 2012.
  • Continued progress towards consolidation of the Department’s financial management servers (hardware and software) at the Census Data Center in Bowie, MD. Developed a consolidated bureau application migration project plan for the server consolidation for business systems support and completed the server consolidation infrastructure migration planning across bureaus.
  • Completed the Accounts Payable Business Process Re-engineering Review and developed recommendations for standardizing and optimizing the Department’s Accounts Payable approach and processes.
  • Continued the implementation of the conversion of the International Trade Administration (ITA) to the CBS, with conversion completion in October 2007. This will move ITA from its current system, which has become non-compliant, to a compliant system.
  • Implemented the initial phase of the Blueprint Modernization initiative, focused on developing a comprehensive inventory of programs, initiatives, and systems across the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration (CFO/ASA). The overall intent of this initiative is to document the as-is architecture and develop a target architecture with a consolidated transition plan (roadmap) for the administrative areas within the Department consistent with the Department Enterprise Architecture (EA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA).
  • Began planning for the next stage of the Department’s financial management evolution in alignment with the PMA and OMB’s FMLoB goals of standardization, consolidation, and optimization. Developed a timeline that included the required phases and activities for this transition, and participated in several FMLoB government-wide working groups aimed at standardizing financial management activities in the federal government.

In FY 2008 and beyond, the Department will continue its efforts to enhance its financial systems and to move toward a consolidated operating environment. The Department plans to accomplish the following:

  • Continue progress towards consolidation of the Department’s financial management servers (hardware and software) at the Census Data Center in Bowie, MD. Reduce the number of data centers running production, development, and testing of CBS business applications by four so that the applications are run at a single location.
  • Begin detailed planning to ready the Department for competing the financial management system among identified shared service providers, in alignment with the PMA and OMB’s FMLoB goals of standardization, consolidation, and optimization. Continue to participate in FMLoB government-wide working groups aimed at standardizing financial management activities in the federal government.
  • Begin implementation of standardized processes for identified accounting events and track and measure the Department’s bureau performance pursuant to defined performance metrics.
  • Complete implementation of the conversion of ITA to the CBS.
  • Finalize the initial phase of the Blueprint Modernization initiative by developing a comprehensive inventory of programs, initiatives, and systems across the CFO/ASA. Begin documentation of the as-is architecture and develop a target architecture with a consolidated transition plan (roadmap) for the administrative areas within the Department consistent with the Department EA and OMB FEA.
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