ALCOAST 082/24 - FEB 2024 FINANCIAL POLICY FOR RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE OF GOODS AND SERVICES

R 151206Z FEB 24    MID600117193830U
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 082/24
SSIC 7100
SUBJ: FINANCIAL POLICY FOR RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE OF GOODS
AND SERVICES
A. Prompt Payment; 5 C.F.R. 1315
B. Contract Financing; 48 C.F.R. 32.905
C. Simplified Acquisition Procedures; 48 C.F.R. 13.404
D. Fast Payment Procedure; 48 C.F.R. 52.213-1
E. Department of Homeland Security Financial Management Policy
Manual (DHS FMPM)
F. Financial Resource Management Manual (FRMM),
COMDTINST M7100.3 (series)
G. Financial Resource Management Manual - Procedures (FRMM-P),
COMDTINST M7100.4 (series)
1. Purpose: This message announces the promulgation of Interim
Financial Policy for Receipt and Acceptance of goods and services
by Coast Guard personnel. This message also announces the release
of a Receipting Matrix to provide guidance by document style and
the establishment of a Common Core central repository of receipting
job aids and trainings for end users. Proper receipting is critical
to support timely and accurate payments for commercial vendors,
interagency partners, and Coast Guard personnel. Receipting also
provides stewardship of unit funds and increases readiness through
validation of product quality and quantity or validation of services
delivered. Proper receipting also reduces errors and eliminates
significant manual rework. Developing the Receipting Matrix involved
collaboration amongst 40 stakeholders across the Service. As part of
this effort, it was clear the Coast Guard has significant process
variability which contributes to receipting errors. The Financial
System Modernization Solution (FSMS) iTeam, in conjunction with
other stakeholders, will continue to drive process standardization
to reduce these errors. As the Coast Guard works with DHS to mature
FSMS and improve both functionality and user experience, it is
likely updates may be required to the transaction matrix. Finally,
a new Receipting Dashboard is forthcoming to improve leadership
awareness to increase transparency and accountability.
2. Receipting Interim Policy: Federal regulations require what is
known as a three-way match prior to authorizing the U.S. Treasury
to make payments to vendors. A three-way match consists of a valid
obligation, a proper invoice submitted by the vendor, and a
certification of receipt of goods or services by government
personnel. Receipting is a control to prevent fraud, waste, abuse,
and mismanagement and is a key step in initiating an accounting
entry to record an Accounts Payable transaction in the financial
records. Receipting is a long-standing requirement per REFs (A)
through (E) as well as federal generally accepted accounting
practices (GAAP). Coast Guard receipting occurs when goods or
services are received and accepted by the individual or
organizational element that initiated the procurement action.
With the implementation of FSMS the Coast Guard gained the ability
to receipt and accept within the financial system. However, this
is a major cultural shift for the budget, finance, and procurement
communities within the Coast Guard. This interim policy addresses
the requirements to support the acceptance/receipting portion of
the three-way match and provides the tools to determine where and
when the receipting action is required.
3. Receipting Matrix: The preferred method of receipting is a
three-way match in FSMS, however there are a host of reasons a
receipting action is better done in an existing repository outside
of FSMS. The Receipting Matrix provides an exhaustive list of when
receipting is required, where receipting activities should be done
(within FSMS or another designated repository) and what FSMS
obligation line receipt type should be used based on transaction
the type. In some cases, where risk of fraud, waste, abuse, and
mismanagement is particularly low, exceptions to receipting are
allowable. These require only a valid obligation and a proper
invoice to make a payment to a vendor. These instances require
additional controls (i.e., substantive testing, etc.) and authority
from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Coast Guard
will establish a risk-based approach to cover internal control
requirements.
4. Accountability: COMDT (CG-84) will establish a regular and
recurring reporting mechanism to identify overaged and priority
receipting actions by organization and individual personnel that
require immediate action. These reports will be communicated to the
respective Areas, Districts, DCMS units, and Resource Management
Offices for resolution.
5. Priorities: The Coast Guard is incurring service reputational
risk by not paying private businesses within the timeframe
contractually agreed upon, which negatively impacts their ability
to pay their employees and bills - and their desire to contract
with the Coast Guard in the future. Due to the count of outstanding
receipting activity across all transaction types and the impact to
vendor payments, field receipting activity should first focus on
commercial vendor Contract/Purchase Order transactions. To aid in
this effort, non-PRESS Purchase Card transactions for FY2023 and
prior are currently exempt from field receipting, verification,
and approval.
6. Outstanding FSMS Issues and Timely Receipting: Receipting within
FSMS is an accounting entry that directly impacts the USCG financial
statements. For this reason, receipting can only occur for a date
selected within the current accounting period (the current month).
Receipting in FSMS also directly triggers the interest payment
calculation, and when receipting is delayed beyond the invoice due
date, vendor interest payments are negatively impacted. Currently,
FINCEN performs a manual review and when required a manual extra
payment to account for interest payments impacted by a delay in
timely receipting. While the Coast Guard works to establish a
process to enable posting of a receipt date outside the current
month, users are instructed to receipt timely and accurately, and
when delayed, select the first day of the current month.
7. Common Core Receipting Page:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/CGCC/SitePages/Finance-CG8
-Receipting.aspx

8. Job Aids:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/CGCC/Content%20Library/Forms
/AllItems.aspx

9. Receipting Matrix:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/:x:/r/sites/CGCC/_layouts/15/Doc.
aspx?sourcedoc=%7BCD2679C3-B9CE-48F2-B08F-91C3E41DFE9B%7D&file=
Receipt%20Document%20Support%20Matrix_as%20of%2001FEB2024.xlsx

10. Receipting Dashboard:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/CGCC/PerformanceAndAnalytics
/SitePages/The%20FMPS%20Worklist.aspx

11. The Receipt and Acceptance interim policy will remain in effect
until incorporated into REFs (F) and (G), which will be released
within the next year. COMDT (CG-84) will establish a process to
make periodic updates to the Receipting Matrix. A copy of the
Receipt and Acceptance interim policy is available here:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/cg84/cg843/Lists/interim
Policies_CG843/Attachments/40/Receipt%20%20Acceptance%20Interim
%20Policy-signed.pdf

12. This message will be cancelled on 14 FEB 2025.
13. For questions regarding this interim policy or the receipting
matrix, please contact COMDT (CG-843), Ms. Christine Cho,
christine.y.cho@uscg.mil or Ms. Ditas Kaag, Ditas.v.kaag@uscg.mil.
For questions on FSMS Job Aids or any Coast Guard Common Core
(CGCC) Tools (PRESS, FORT, etc.), please use the CGCC Virtual
Communications Center. Link:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

https://forms.osi.apps.mil/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=1aCbNssCL02U
_ZISzCS3jLKsOYvZD0xCpgxjTw8X1l9UQ0JOUlc0NjdBR1I0Q0EwMThTRURVQldMOC
QlQCN0PWcu

14. RDML Matthew W. Lake, Assistant Commandant for Resources & Chief
Financial Officer (CG-8), sends.
15. Internet release is authorized.