May 30, 2024
Budget Systems Newsletter
For users of the Appropriation Maintenance Application (AMA) and Budget Planning and Analysis System (BPAS).
Contents
Dan Hintz and Jessica Helmers recently joined the MMB Budget Planning and Operations Team in the Budget Division.
Dan joined MMB in January 2024 as Budget Development Coordinator. He brings 11 years of experience in the state enterprise focused on budgeting, finance, and statewide budget systems. Dan helps centralize the state’s biennial and supplemental budget preparation by coordinating the financial, technical, and policy aspects of state budget process.
Jessica joined in May 2024 as a Systems Communications and Training Specialist. Jessica comes to the Budget Operations team with a varied background from public, private, and nonprofit sectors and is excited to bring her experience in systems training, project management, technical communication, and reporting to this role. As a former government systems consultant and adjunct faculty member in History, Jessica will work to ensure agencies have the support, understanding, and resources necessary to successfully use MMB budget systems.
The revised Statewide Operating Procedure Number 0301-01.5 and forms (Request for New Cash Flow Assistance Form 0301-01-05A and Request for Recurring Cash Flow Assistance Form 0301-01-05B) for requesting cash flow assistance for non-federal fund dedicated appropriations are finalized and published to the Statewide Financial Policies webpage. The revised procedure and forms incorporate the process change of requesting “G” budget authority through the Appropriation Maintenance Application (AMA). Please read the revised procedure and use the PDF forms for submitting cash flow assistance requests. Remember when requesting “G” budget authority for non-federal dedicated appropriations in AMA, a form must be attached to submit the transaction.
If you have questions about the revised procedure or forms, please contact us at budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us.
The Appropriation Maintenance Application (AMA) will be unavailable on Sunday, June 30, 2024, beginning at 6 p.m. for FY 2024 soft close. The system will become available Monday, July 1, 2024, once soft close is complete. A system notification email will be sent to users when the system becomes available.
At FY 2024 SWIFT hard close - the weekend of August 16, 2024 - the Budget Planning and Analysis System (BPAS) will be loaded with FY 2024 actual data and FY 2025 budget data. The FY 2025 SWIFT budget data that is loaded into BPAS, is the starting point for setting the 2026-27 base budgets.
Agencies can save time and effort preparing their budget for the 2026-27 biennium by completing time-sensitive, required tasks in the Statewide Integrated Financial Tools (SWIFT) system to close FY 2024 and establish FY 2025 budgets. For more detailed instructions, see the Annual Budget and Accounting Instructions on the MMB website.
Ensure FY 2024 actuals are accurate
In SWIFT prior to hard close, closely review FY 2024 appropriation type codes and close encumbrances, as appropriate. Only in rare cases where an error is discovered after fiscal year close that materially affects financial reporting, will agencies be allowed to revise their actual data after it’s loaded into BPAS.
Establish FY 2025 appropriations, revenue and expense budgets in SWIFT before hard close
FY 2025 data will be loaded from SWIFT into BPAS, then copied forward to estimated years FY 2026-27 and FY 2028-29 to begin the process of setting the agency base budget. The more complete an agency’s FY 2025 data in SWIFT at hard close, the less entry required in BPAS.
Contact budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us with questions about the Budget Planning and Analysis System (BPAS) load for FY 2024 actual and 2025 budget data.
Agency budget coordinators or directors will receive Budget Systems User Verification forms in early June. These forms are used to ensure agency staff have the correct Budget Systems and Budget Division Document Management SharePoint site access needed for the 2026-27 Biennial Budget process.
We ask that the verification forms be reviewed and returned as soon as possible to help your agency be prepared for the 2026-27 Biennial Budget process and so that agency staff receive timely notifications about training opportunities.
Cycle dropdown in Standard Reports
The Budget Planning and Analysis System (BPAS) has new functionality that allows the Cycle to be selected for some Standard Reports. This mean that users can run certain Standard Reports with Biennial Cycle data when the current budget cycle is Supplemental. Reports include the Entity Detail, Combined Transfers, and Change Item Detail.
Security and Data Reporting Changes
Enhancements to security will allow users to use BPAS data throughout the two-year budget cycle. Data access can now be permitted by User Role, Scenario, and Budget Period meaning that a user may have a different access level (e.g., Read, Write, No Access) for budget periods at the appropriation level. This allows MMB to have BPAS open for agency, legislative and MMB staff to view actual data and run reports, while limiting access to budget years during certain periods in the biennial and supplemental cycles.
The Appropriation – Budgeting screen now includes three access options for data security: Read, Write, and No Access. Greyed-out space on the Appropriation Budgeting screen signifies no access for those budget periods.
Standard Reports allow agency, legislative and MMB staff to run reports for data available in the system. Each standard report has access granted at the User Role level. Reports available for a user role are dependent on the data security granted for the budget period and scenario and are limited to certain reports. Budget Periods with No Access are filtered out of the Excel reports.
Consult field added to Change Item Entry Screen
The Change Item Entry screen has a new Yes/No field labeled “Consult.” Agencies can expect further direction as to when to use the Consult field in the 2026-27 Governor’s Budget Request instructions in August.
MMB Budget Operations has many resources available to assist agencies with using AMA and BPAS.
- A library of training videos is available on MMB's website that provide instruction on system functions and feature in-system demonstrations.
- The Systems’ User Guides, glossaries, and quick reference guides are excellent resources for new and experienced users. Linked in each system's help menu, the guides are also available on MMB's website.
- Previous newsletters are available on the Budget Systems Newsletters webpage.
- One-on-one assistance with AMA or BPAS is available by appointment. Email budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us to request a time.
Budget Systems are unavailable during the statewide systems maintenance window, every Sunday from 6:00 AM - 2:00 PM.
Have a question about or a suggestion for improving the budget systems? Email it to Budget Operations at budget.finance.mmb@state.mn.us, Subject: Budget Systems Newsletter.
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