ALCOAST 194/21 - MAY 2021 WARNING ORDER- FINANCIAL SYSTEM MODERNIZATION SOLUTION (FSMS) IMPLEMENTATION

R 212055Z MAY 21
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 194/21
SSIC 7000
SUBJ: WARNING ORDER- FINANCIAL SYSTEM MODERNIZATION SOLUTION (FSMS)
IMPLEMENTATION
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 192050Z OCT 20/ALCGFINANCE 047/20
1. This ALCOAST provides an update and status for the transition
to the new DHS financial management and procurement system called
the Financial System Modernization Solution (FSMS). It is scheduled
to go-live CG-wide on 01 October 21 (Q1 of FY22). This is the largest
financial system transition in Coast Guard history and it will affect
everyone in the Coast Guard. I have made continuity in military,
civilian, and retirement pay processing a priority to ensure no
pay disruptions. The 16,000 financial management, procurement,
and contracting professionals will experience the greatest impact
to their world of work so I acknowledge and thank them for their
efforts. In any system transition, risk is always a high factor
and regardless of any challenges the Coast Guard may face we will
continue to conduct operations and ensure our workforce gets the
resources they need for mission execution. I am asking for all
hands on deck to prepare and support this transition in the
coming months. The Coast Guard has already made substantial FSMS
preparations by establishing a communication cadence with the
finance community that will continue through and after the go-live.
The COMDTs (CG-1), (CG-6), (CG-8), and (CG-9) Executive Leadership
teams will continue to lead their respective areas of responsibility,
but I also ask for our field Commanders to lean forward to facilitate
a successful transition. The following information provides more
technical details.
2. Financial System of Record. The Core Accounting System Suite
(CAS) will be placed in a limited operating capability at the end
of FY21 to be used for research of active and closed transactions.
Following the cutover period, which includes migrating active CAS
master data and transactional data, FSMS will be used for all
financial and procurement activity that is currently processed
in CAS. There will be a significant change to our financial
operations and procurement including a new appropriations structure,
project and task methodology, document styles, invoice system and
procedures, execution of travel, and numerous other related impacts.
3. FSMS Training. There are over 40 FSMS training courses in
development by the DHS Joint Program Management Office (JPMO)
training team in close coordination with the Coast Guard training
working group. Training courses will generally be offered as either
Web Based Training (WBT) or Instructor-led Web Based Training (IWBT).
IWBT instructors will be JPMO funded contractors for some courses,
and led by Coast Guard train-the-trainer resources for others. The
first series of WBT courses will be available in the FSMS Knowledge
Center in late May. Courses will be assigned based on FSMS user
roles. Access to the Knowledge Center with assignment to specific
courses is being coordinated by the FMPS team. More information
will be provided separately in the coming weeks.
4. User Acceptance Testing (UAT). The Coast Guard is currently
participating in System Integration Testing (SIT) with the JPMO and
its integrator, IBM. SIT is scheduled to be completed on 11 June 21,
with defect resolution, regression testing, and performance testing
through 30 June 21. UAT is scheduled to occur from 06 July 21 through
03 September 21. Unlike SIT, UAT will be conducted by Coast Guard
system users. Process owners, Headquarters programs, FINCEN, the
procurement community, and field users will be identified to execute
various scenarios and scripts to test end-to-end system functionality
and interfaces.
5. Interfaces. FSMS will interface with numerous Coast Guard systems
including ALMIS, NESSS, FLS, MISLE, DPOMS, MOSIS, Direct Access,
AUXDATA, and ETS2. It will also connect with external applications
from the National Finance Center, Defense Logistics Agency, GSA, and
Treasury. Most of the interface development has been completed and
is subject to additional testing. Some systems have pending
development work that may not be completed until late in the testing
cycle. Potential alternative solutions for system limitations that
cannot be resolved will be identified and communicated prior to 01
October 21.
6. Cutover Period. Master data and transactional data must be
extracted from CAS at the end of FY21, migrated to FSMS, and fully
reconciled prior to operating in FSMS in FY22. This process is
estimated to take at least 30 calendar days, during which the Coast
Guard will be without an integrated financial and procurement system.
The year-end close process in CAS will be different than in typical
years. Program offices and stakeholders are working aggressively to
develop plans for tracking financial obligations and procurement
actions during the cutover period for business processes including
procurement requests, travel orders, contract awards, MILSTRIP
purchases, leases, utilities, and asset refueling. This guidance
will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. During the cutover period,
most transactions will be processed manually and will need to be
entered into FSMS either manually or with automated processing.
Financial and procurement activity should be limited to operational
requirements, similar to financial operations during the FY20 lapse
in appropriations. Without an integrated financial and procurement
system, FINCEN will be unable to make normal payments to vendors or
members for reimbursement. Communicating with critical vendors before
the transition and limiting financial and procurement transactions
during the cutover period are areas where end-users can help. Another
is in data accuracy. REF (A) provided guidance for entering
travel obligations in the financial system in FY21. There has been
substantial non-compliance with this guidance, which will cause
delays to member reimbursements for open obligations at the end of
FY21. Much more information will be published regarding cutover
activities and timelines over the next several months.
7. Information concerning FSMS and FMPS Key Updates, Resources,
Documents, Working Groups, Training Modules, and a list of your
units BPR Transition Status can be found on the Coast Guard Common
Core at: https://cg.portal.uscg.mil/communities/cgcc/SitePages/FMPS_
HOMEPAGE.aspx.
8. POCs.
    a. CAPT William Arritt, FMPS Deputy Director, 202-372-4674,
Email: William.L.Arritt@uscg.mil
    b. CAPT Adam Kerr, CG-9336 FMSII Team Lead, 202-475-3039,
Email: Adam.L.Kerr@uscg.mil
    c. CAPT Erich Klein, Deputy Director of Financial Operations/
Deputy Comptroller, 202-372-3652, Email: Erich.F.Klein@uscg.mil
9. ADM C. W. Ray, Vice Commandant (VCG), sends.
10. Internet release is authorized.