Presentation:
"GAO's Initiatives to Improve Performance, Transparency, and Accountability in the Federal Government" by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, at a senior level coordination meeting between GAO and the Congressional Research Service, in Washington.
GAO-07-569CG, March 2.
[slides]http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d07569cg.pdf
Testimony:
Federal Financial Management:
Critical Accountability and Fiscal Stewardship Challenges Facing Our Nation, by David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, before the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
GAO-07-542T, March 1.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-542T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07542thigh.pdf
Showing posts with label CRS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CRS. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
OMB: Financial system consolidation already tested
In response to a report recommending that the Bush administration test the consolidation of agency financial management systems before making the moves permanent, the Office of Management and Budget released a statement arguing that the testing phase has already occurred.
The "pilot" or "proof of concept" for the financial management "line of business" took place over the past decade as seven large agencies and 79 smaller agencies moved to a government or commercial shared service center for hosting their core financial management systems, OMB stated.
According to OMB, the financial management line of business project, which is part of the President's Management Agenda, represents a continuation of these ongoing efforts to improve the cost, quality and performance of financial management systems.
A recent Congressional Research Service report by CRS analyst Garrett L. Hatch said the OMB effort to streamline financial management systems by moving them into shared service centers would stand a greater chance of success if tested using pilot projects. Hatch, who used to work in OMB's Office of Federal Financial Management, could not be reached for comment.
Karen Evans, OMB administrator of e-government and information technology, initially said in response to the suggestion that government pilot projects "never go away" and agencies should work testing, along with associated costs, into the initial implementation.
OMB also stated that the notion agency officials are fearful of investing funds into shared service center migrations because of the potential for failure is misguided, because the centers have all shown they are capable of performing well.
As for the concern raised by critics that transitions to shared service centers should not occur until potential risks are addressed, OMB said migration planning guidance urges agencies to consider the financial management line of business as part of their long-term planning process and take into account performance gaps, business case analysis and budget requests.
- Daniel Pulliam, GovExec.com
The "pilot" or "proof of concept" for the financial management "line of business" took place over the past decade as seven large agencies and 79 smaller agencies moved to a government or commercial shared service center for hosting their core financial management systems, OMB stated.
According to OMB, the financial management line of business project, which is part of the President's Management Agenda, represents a continuation of these ongoing efforts to improve the cost, quality and performance of financial management systems.
A recent Congressional Research Service report by CRS analyst Garrett L. Hatch said the OMB effort to streamline financial management systems by moving them into shared service centers would stand a greater chance of success if tested using pilot projects. Hatch, who used to work in OMB's Office of Federal Financial Management, could not be reached for comment.
Karen Evans, OMB administrator of e-government and information technology, initially said in response to the suggestion that government pilot projects "never go away" and agencies should work testing, along with associated costs, into the initial implementation.
OMB also stated that the notion agency officials are fearful of investing funds into shared service center migrations because of the potential for failure is misguided, because the centers have all shown they are capable of performing well.
As for the concern raised by critics that transitions to shared service centers should not occur until potential risks are addressed, OMB said migration planning guidance urges agencies to consider the financial management line of business as part of their long-term planning process and take into account performance gaps, business case analysis and budget requests.
- Daniel Pulliam, GovExec.com
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Research service suggests test runs for financial system consolidation
The Bush administration's plan to consolidate agency financial management systems into shared service centers might enjoy a greater chance of success if first tested using pilot projects, the Congressional Research Service recommended in a recent report.
The report, written by CRS analyst Garrett L. Hatch, stated that the debate over financial management streamlining focuses on when, not if, the consolidation should take place. As part of the so-called lines of business effort, the Office of Management and Budget is requiring agencies to move to one of several centralized financial systems run by the government and the private sector, once their existing systems need upgrades. But critics argue that these transitions should not happen until risks are adequately addressed, the report stated.
Hatch, who works in the Government Organization and Management section of the CRS' Government and Finance division, suggested that agencies address this by undertaking pilot projects before making transitions to shared service providers. This would allow officials to analyze and discuss the results of a potential move in a controlled environment.
But Karen Evans, OMB administrator of e-government and information technology, said the problem with pilot projects in government is that they "never go away."
All agencies are scheduled to move to shared financial management service providers by 2015, and OMB officials have said consolidating financial management and human resources systems will save $5 billion over 10 years.
Despite the concerns cited by Hatch that given the scope and complexity of financial management systems, the project is moving forward too quickly, the administration has not shown signs of slowing the drive toward consolidation.
The CRS report stated surveys have shown that agency officials' greatest fears are investing millions of dollars into moving to a shared service provider, only to have the provider fail to furnish the promised services. In several cases, OMB-designated shared service providers have failed to comply with financial regulations, the report stated.
A lack of regulations governing the agency-run centers have caused some to doubt that any large agency will successfully allow another shop to run its financial management systems. Several smaller agencies have moved to shared service providers. The available agency-run centers are the Bureau of Public Debt, the Interior Department's National Business Center, the Transportation Department and the General Services Administration.
In November, the Office of Personnel Management's much touted effort to move its back-end financial management operations to the Bureau of Public Debt's Administrative Resource Center collapsed. OPM officials have said they will conduct a public-private competition in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 to determine who will host their financial systems.
The CRS report also suggested that plans to develop performance metrics for financial management, standardize business processes across agencies and establish a governmentwide accounting code could provide the earliest opportunity to realize the benefits of improved agency financial management.
OMB has sent signals that may indicate it is backing away from the concept of consolidating agencies' IT systems around shared centers.
The agency is pursuing the adoption of uniform governmentwide standards rather than shared centers in three of the newest areas in which it is hoping for streamlining: budget formulation and evaluation systems, geospatial information systems and IT infrastructure.
-Daniel Pulliam, GovExec.com
READ MORE...
The report, written by CRS analyst Garrett L. Hatch, stated that the debate over financial management streamlining focuses on when, not if, the consolidation should take place. As part of the so-called lines of business effort, the Office of Management and Budget is requiring agencies to move to one of several centralized financial systems run by the government and the private sector, once their existing systems need upgrades. But critics argue that these transitions should not happen until risks are adequately addressed, the report stated.
Hatch, who works in the Government Organization and Management section of the CRS' Government and Finance division, suggested that agencies address this by undertaking pilot projects before making transitions to shared service providers. This would allow officials to analyze and discuss the results of a potential move in a controlled environment.
But Karen Evans, OMB administrator of e-government and information technology, said the problem with pilot projects in government is that they "never go away."
All agencies are scheduled to move to shared financial management service providers by 2015, and OMB officials have said consolidating financial management and human resources systems will save $5 billion over 10 years.
Despite the concerns cited by Hatch that given the scope and complexity of financial management systems, the project is moving forward too quickly, the administration has not shown signs of slowing the drive toward consolidation.
The CRS report stated surveys have shown that agency officials' greatest fears are investing millions of dollars into moving to a shared service provider, only to have the provider fail to furnish the promised services. In several cases, OMB-designated shared service providers have failed to comply with financial regulations, the report stated.
A lack of regulations governing the agency-run centers have caused some to doubt that any large agency will successfully allow another shop to run its financial management systems. Several smaller agencies have moved to shared service providers. The available agency-run centers are the Bureau of Public Debt, the Interior Department's National Business Center, the Transportation Department and the General Services Administration.
In November, the Office of Personnel Management's much touted effort to move its back-end financial management operations to the Bureau of Public Debt's Administrative Resource Center collapsed. OPM officials have said they will conduct a public-private competition in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 to determine who will host their financial systems.
The CRS report also suggested that plans to develop performance metrics for financial management, standardize business processes across agencies and establish a governmentwide accounting code could provide the earliest opportunity to realize the benefits of improved agency financial management.
OMB has sent signals that may indicate it is backing away from the concept of consolidating agencies' IT systems around shared centers.
The agency is pursuing the adoption of uniform governmentwide standards rather than shared centers in three of the newest areas in which it is hoping for streamlining: budget formulation and evaluation systems, geospatial information systems and IT infrastructure.
-Daniel Pulliam, GovExec.com
READ MORE...
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