Preliminary copies of the 2017 Equal Employment Opportunity Report (FPP F.016) will be sent to agencies and institutions of higher education via electronic file transfer on Nov 1. The files will be available with the agency’s regular daily downloads.
Nov. 8 – Preliminary Equal Employment Opportunity Report Acknowledgement Form due
Nov. 14 – Data corrections due
Data corrections entered or submitted after Nov. 14 will not be reflected on the final report issued on Nov. 16.
Final copies of the fiscal 2017 Annual Report (Statewide Hiring Practices) will be sent to each state agency and institution of higher education via electronic file transfer on Nov. 3.
For more information, including HRIS, SPRS and USPS contacts, see Annual Report (Statewide Hiring Practices for the Fiscal Year) (FPP F.005).
Entering procurement and travel card transactions into USAS or CAPPS Financials requires special considerations for the timely reconciliation of payments.
Agencies should double-check the procedures for entering credit card information into USAS and CAPPS invoice number fields as detailed in the CBA and CLIBA Numbers section of USAS and CAPPS Financials Invoice Number Field Requirements (FPP E.023).
For more information, see Processing Third-Party Transactions in USAS for Payment/Travel Cards, Direct Bill Payments and Reimbursements (FPP A.043) (login required) or phone or email your agency’s Purchase and Travel contact.
The prenotification (prenote) period for direct deposits has been reduced from six to three banking days, effective Oct. 27.
As a result, statewide accounting systems can issue direct deposit payments as soon as three banking days after the setups/changes to the prenote process is complete and the account information becomes active in TINS.
See the Prenotification (Prenote) Period page on TexPayment Resource for more information. For questions, contact Payment Services.
State agencies that permit eligible employees to level their benefit replacement pay (BRP) must update their payroll/personnel systems for December payrolls paid in calendar year 2018.
Read more about Benefit Replacement Pay (BRP) Leveling Election (FPP F.035).
State agency officials have until Nov. 8 to nominate candidates for the 2018 Texas Fiscal Officers’ Academy (TFOA), a professional development program for state agency fiscal officers. Candidates must be nominated by their executive directors or chief fiscal officers.
The 2018 TFOA curriculum is divided into three topics:
See the TFOA website for details on the three-week course and the nomination process, instructions and form.
The effective start date for budget T-codes 001, 003, 006, 009, 012, 015, 018, 021, 036, 039, 040, 041, 042 and 043 will be changed to “09012017” at 7 a.m. on Nov. 2.
Fiscal Management’s Financial Reporting section verifies general revenue information submitted by state agencies and needs to ensure that agencies cannot backdate entries, which would change the agency’s general revenue amount.
The general revenue reconciliation certification is due on Nov. 1. If you have questions about these changes, contact your financial reporting analyst.
Final copies of the fiscal 2017 Annual Report (Statewide Hiring Practices) will be sent to each state agency and institution of higher education via electronic file transfer on Nov. 3.
For more information, including HRIS, SPRS and USPS contacts, see Annual Report (Statewide Hiring Practices for the Fiscal Year) (FPP F.005).
State agencies and institutions of higher education are required to ensure benefit cost payments are proportional to the agency or institution’s Method of Finance, unless another legal provision prohibits proportionality.
Benefits Proportional by Method of Finance Reports and related adjustments are due Nov. 19.
Read more about Benefits Proportional by Method of Finance (APS 011) (FPP A.010).
The accounting policy statement Sources of Revenue Required to Pay Benefit Cost (APS 001) (FPP A.021) has been updated through acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session. For questions on APS 001, please contact your appropriation control officer.
Per Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019), state agencies and institutions of higher education must submit the online Annual Certification by Oct. 30.
An automatic lapse program will run in USAS as early as the Nov. 1 nightly cycle.
State agencies that permit eligible employees to level their benefit replacement pay (BRP) must update their payroll/personnel systems for December payrolls paid in calendar year 2018.
Learn more about Benefit Replacement Pay (BRP) Leveling Election (FPP F.035).
Instructions for deleting non-posted and posted transactions in the USAS Internal Transaction File have been updated. See USAS Internal Transaction File Maintenance and Super Security Delete Process (FPP Q.001) for the updated instructions and latest contact information.
An exception to open records requests is available for employees who would be under substantial threat of physical harm if information such as work location were to be made public. See Personal Safety Exception in Confidential Employee Information for Open Records Requests Requiring Agency Input (FPP L.004).
If your agency has employees who may qualify for the personal safety exception, contact Ruth Soucy in Open Records at (512) 475-0411 or Ruth.Soucy@cpa.texas.gov.
By Oct. 30 each year, state agencies and institutions of higher education must lapse appropriation balances that exceed the level necessary to satisfy any outstanding binding encumbrances and/or payables.
All agencies must submit the online Annual Certification by Oct. 30.
The Comptroller’s office is statutorily required to lapse all unencumbered nonconstruction appropriation balances for all prior appropriation years on Nov. 1 of each fiscal year. To facilitate this, an automatic lapse program will run in USAS as early as the Nov. 1 nightly cycle.
For full details, see Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018).
Security coordinators are required to certify that their records are up to date through a semiannual security verification process that is concurrent for all Fiscal Management applications.
Review the instructions for the Semiannual Verification of Users’ Security Access Levels (FPP K.009) (login required). If you have questions, email sfs.security@cpa.texas.gov.
Reviews must be completed in accordance with FPP K.009 and the Texas Administrative Code. Please complete and return the Attestation form (73-326) to the Comptroller's office by Oct. 31. Delinquent submissions will be escalated through your agency’s and CPA’s Fiscal Management chain of command.
The Restricted Expenditures and Contracts tabs were updated to reflect legislative changes.
To learn more, see Latest Updates on eXpendit.
Several substantive changes have been made to the Texas Comptroller Manual of Accounts (FPP Q.009). The Manual of Accounts provides current information on state agencies, appropriated funds, accounts and object codes used in properly recording accounting transactions.
The latest changes include routine maintenance and edits, and also reflect legislation passed by the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, and 85th Legislature, Regular Session, that took effect Sept. 1.
The transaction entry screens in USAS and CAPPS allow state agencies and institutions of higher education to enter payment-related information in the invoice number and description fields.
Under no circumstances should agencies and institutions enter confidential or sensitive information such as complete or partial Social Security numbers or information covered by the Protected Health Information Prohibition.
For complete information and to review procedures for compliance with field requirements, see USAS and CAPPS Financials Invoice Number Field Requirements (FPP E.023).
State agency officials have until Nov. 8 to nominate candidates for the 2018 Texas Fiscal Officers’ Academy (TFOA), a professional development program for state agency fiscal officers. Candidates must be nominated by their executive directors or chief fiscal officers.
The 2018 TFOA curriculum is divided into three topics:
See the TFOA website for details on the three-week course and the nomination process, instructions and form.