Financial Management Systems Framework
When USAID implemented Phoenix in Washington in December
2000, it became the Agency’s core accounting system
and the cornerstone of its integrated financial management
system. During 2001, USAID interfaced Phoenix with significant
legacy and third party systems that provide transaction processing
services. In June 2006, USAID completed its financial systems
modernization with the worldwide deployment of Phoenix, the
Agency’s new core accounting system. The overseas deployment
of Phoenix, the web-based and integrated financial management
system, provides a common Agency-wide system for budget execution,
accounting, and financial management. Using e-business technologies
provides a tool for Agency personnel to manage financial transactions
and program performance.
Based on the recommendations from a joint Department of State-USAID
study, USAID and the Department of State have completed their
financial systems collaboration and are now jointly operating
from a common platform in Charleston, South Carolina. The
major USAID financial systems and their relationships are
discussed below.
Phoenix: Phoenix is the Agency’s core
financial system, replacing MACS overseas. As of June 2006,
100% of all USAID financial transactions are processed through
Phoenix. The Phoenix application modules include accounts
payable, accounts receivable, automated disbursements, budget
execution, cost allocation, general ledger, business planning,
project cost accounting, and purchasing.
New Management System (NMS): The NMS was
originally an integrated suite of custom-built financial and
mixed-financial applications. The implementation of Phoenix
enabled USAID to suspend three of the four NMS applications.
The Acquisition and Assistance (A&A) application continues
to support procurement operations until the new acquisition
and assistance applications are rolled out and interfaced
with Phoenix.
Mission Accounting and Control System (MACS): MACS was an
over 20-year old custom-built system for overseas financial
operations. MACS was officially retired in June 2006 with
the successful implementation of Phoenix in all overseas Controller
Missions.
Business Support Services: Many chief business
support applications in the Agency’s financial management
systems inventory relate to travel management, property management,
and training:
- Travel Manager: The GELCO commercial
software product, Travel Manager, is currently used in Washington
and in Missions to provide travel management support. It
is used either as a standalone application or operating
as a shared application over a local area network. Travel
Manager does not have an electronic interface with any Agency
financial systems. In the future, Travel Manager will be
replaced with a standard e-travel application, named E2.
In response to the President’s Management Agenda,
E-Travel is designed to improve the internal efficiency
and effectiveness of the federal government. Still in the
planning stages, E2 will integrate budgeting, procurement,
and payment of travel services within Phoenix.
- Non-Expendable Property (NXP): The NXP
program is USAID’s custom-developed property management
system. It is currently in use at many Missions around the
world, but is planned for replacement. It was implemented
in 1989 and is not compliant with current federal requirements
for a property management system. NXP does not have an electronic
interface with any Agency financial system.
- BAR/SCAN: USAID currently uses the commercial
software product, BAR/SCAN, for property management of nonexpendable
property in Washington. BAR/SCAN is being implemented at
field Missions. BAR/SCAN does not have an electronic interface
with any Agency financial systems.
- Training Results and Information Network (TraiNet):
TraiNet is the Agency-wide database training management
system. It is used to document all USAID participants and
their accompanying dependents for U.S. training. Sponsoring
units and implementers must also enter third country and
in-country participant training data in TraiNet.
Third-Party Service Providers: As part of
its long-term information management strategy, USAID has cross-serviced
with other Government agencies or outsourced to commercial
organizations some of its financial transaction processing
requirements. This reflects an overall strategy of the Agency
and is consistent with OMB guidance. The chief third-party
service providers include:
- Department of Agriculture National Finance Center
(NFC): USAID has a cross-serving agreement with
NFC for personnel and payroll processes for US direct hire
(USDH) employees. USAID accesses the NFC systems to maintain
personnel records, process employee time and attendance
data, and transact payroll services. The NFC payroll system
is manually interfaced with Phoenix.
- Midland Loan Services: USAID has outsourced
standard credit reform transactions to Midland (formerly
Riggs National Bank). The Loan Management System provides
services to the Agency for collections, disbursements, claims,
and year-end accruals. The system has an automated interface
to Phoenix.
- Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS):
USAID has cross-serviced its letter of credit (LOC) processing
of grantee advances and liquidations to the DHHS Payment
Management System. The DHHS system has an automated interface
to Phoenix.
Other Baseline Financial Management Systems:
- Mission Personal Services Contractor (PSC) Personnel
and Payroll Systems: USAID Missions currently use
a variety of systems to manage and pay PSC personnel. These
systems range from spread-sheets to custom-built applications,
and databases to commercial off-the-shelf packages. Typically,
U.S. citizen PSC employees and Foreign Service National
(FSN) PSC employees are managed and paid through different
systems. Some Missions obtain FSN payroll services from
the U.S. Department of State’s Financial Service Center
(FSC) in Charleston, South Carolina.
- Mission Procurement Information Collection System
(MPICS): Pending the implementation of an Agency-wide
procurement system, a manual procurement process is used
in the Missions. MPICS is the data entry mechanism for USAID
field Missions to enter their past and current award data
into a single Washington database for reporting purposes.
- ProDoc and RegSearch: These procurement
support systems have been deployed in Washington and the
Missions to generate solicitations and awards as well as
improve procurement reporting.
- Ariba: USAID piloted a third-party software
product for e-procurement called Ariba in four of its offices.
The pilot was very successful and now awaits funding for
implementation Agency-wide. Ariba is currently in production
and has processed thousands of small purchase transactions.
It is fully integrated with Phoenix.
- FS-AID: The Field Support system automates
the field support process by linking the data in the field
support database to USAID’s Phoenix accounting system.
As the FS-AID system goes through iterative releases, there
are important improvements over the current process: (1)
the data for commitments is electronically moved from the
field support database to Phoenix, thus relieving the regional
bureaus from having to manually re-enter the same data twice
and (2) the manual reconciliation of Phoenix commitments
to the field support database can be eliminated.
- Accruals Reporting System (ARS): As of
the fourth quarter in FY2006, ARS was integrated into Phoenix.
Users no longer access ARS separately during the quarterly
accruals cycle.
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