October, 2019
Review CBA and CLIBA Payment Procedures [posted 10/25/19]
Entering procurement and travel card transactions into USAS or CAPPS Financials requires special considerations for timely payment reconciliation.
Agencies should review the procedures for entering credit card information into USAS and CAPPS invoice number fields as detailed in the section on central bill account (CBA) and corporate liability individual bill account (CLIBA) numbers in USAS and CAPPS Financials Invoice Number Field Requirements (FPP E.023).
See Processing Third-Party Transactions in USAS for Payment/Travel Cards, Direct Bill Payments and Reimbursements (FPP A.043) (login required) for more information. Contact Expenditure Assistance with questions.
Fiscal 2019 Fourth Quarter Post-Payment Audit Reports Available [posted 10/25/19]
Fiscal 2019 fourth quarter post-payment audit reports are available for view, print and download. See the Audit page for forms, fiscal policies and procedures, and audit contact information.
Subscribe via govDelivery for quarterly email notifications of audit reports posted.
Reminder – Semiannual Verification of Users’ Security Access Levels Due Nov. 12 [posted 10/25/19]
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.
Email sfs.security@cpa.texas.gov with questions.
Reminder – Budget T-Codes Effective Date Changed [posted 10/25/19]
The effective start date for USAS budget T-codes 001, 003, 006, 009, 012, 015, 018, 021, 036, 039, 040, 041, 042 and 043 will be changed to “09012019” at 7 a.m. on Nov. 2.
Fiscal Management’s Financial Reporting section verifies general revenue (GR) information submitted by state agencies and needs to ensure that agencies cannot backdate entries, which would change the agency’s GR amount.
The GR Reconciliation Certification is due on Nov. 1. Contact your financial reporting analyst if you have questions about these changes.
Reminder – TFOA Now Accepting 2020 Nominations [posted 10/25/19]
State agency officials have until Nov. 8 to nominate candidates for the 2020 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 2020 TFOA curriculum is divided into three topics:
- Week of Feb. 24 – The Art of the Budget Process
- Week of March 23 – Fiscal Management
- Week of April 27 – Accountability and Transparency
See the TFOA website for details on the three-week course and the nomination process, instructions and form.
Final EEO Report Available Oct. 29 [posted 10/18/19]
Final copies of the 2019 Equal Employment Opportunity Report will arrive at each agency and institution of higher education via electronic file transfer on Oct. 29.
Oct. 25 is the deadline for making data corrections. Corrections entered or submitted after this date will not be reflected in the final report. The Comptroller’s office will send the final report to the Civil Rights Division of the Texas Workforce Commission on Oct. 29.
See Equal Employment Opportunity Report – Hiring Practices for the Fiscal Year for State Agencies and Institutions (FPP F.016) for more information.
Benefit Replacement Pay Leveling Election Due [posted 10/18/19]
State agencies that permit eligible employees to level their benefit replacement pay must update their payroll/personnel systems for December payrolls paid in calendar year 2020.
See Benefit Replacement Pay (BRP) Leveling Election (FPP F.035) for more information.
Reminder – Annual Encumbrance Certification and Automated Lapsing Due [posted 10/18/19]
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. (The recommended due date for simplified reporting agencies was Sept. 30.)
An automatic lapse program will run in USAS as early as the Nov. 1 nightly cycle.
Semiannual Verification of Users’ Security Access Levels Due Nov. 12 [posted 10/11/19]
Security coordinators must certify that their records are up to date through a semiannual security verification process that is concurrent for all Fiscal Management applications.
Email sfs.security@cpa.texas.gov with questions.
TINS Inactivation Process Now 18 Months [posted 10/11/19]
The TINS mail code inactivation process, also called the CLEANUP process, was reduced from 27 months to 18 months effective Sept. 30, 2019. After 18 months of no activity, mail codes will be inactivated. Since the implementation of ACR 60094, agencies can reactivate mail codes that are inactivated during the CLEANUP process.
Contact Payment Services for more information.
Reminder – Preliminary EEO Report Available Oct. 17 [posted 10/11/19]
Preliminary copies of the 2019 Equal Employment Opportunity Report (FPP F.016) will arrive at agencies and institutions of higher education via electronic file transfer on Oct. 17 with each agency’s regular daily downloads.
Deadlines:
- Oct. 24 – Preliminary Equal Employment Opportunity Report Acknowledgement Form due
- Oct. 25 – Data corrections due
Data corrections entered or submitted after Oct. 25 will not be reflected in the final report issued on Oct. 29.
Reminder – See Dates for Annual Encumbrance Certification and Automated Lapsing [posted 10/11/19]
By Oct. 30 each year, state agencies and institutions of higher education must lapse appropriation balances that exceed the level needed to satisfy outstanding binding encumbrances and/or payables. All agencies must also submit the online annual certification by Oct. 30. (Sept. 30 is the recommended due date for simplified reporting agencies to lapse appropriation balances and submit annual certifications.)
An automatic lapse program will run in USAS as early as the Nov. 1 nightly cycle to lapse all unencumbered nonconstruction appropriation balances for all prior appropriation years.
See Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019) for details.
Budget T-Codes Effective Date Changed [posted 10/04/19]
The effective start date for USAS budget T-codes 001, 003, 006, 009, 012, 015, 018, 021, 036, 039, 040, 041, 042 and 043 will be changed to “09012019” at 7 a.m. on Nov. 2.
Fiscal Management’s Financial Reporting section verifies general revenue (GR) information submitted by state agencies and needs to ensure that agencies cannot backdate entries, which would change the agency’s GR amount.
The GR Reconciliation Certification is due on Nov. 1. Contact your financial reporting analyst with questions.
Comply With USAS and CAPPS Invoice Number and Description Requirements [posted 10/04/19]
USAS and CAPPS transaction entry screens allow state agencies and institutions of higher education to enter payment-related information in the invoice number and description fields.
Agencies and institutions must never enter confidential or sensitive information such as complete or partial Social Security numbers or information covered by the Protected Health Information Prohibition.
See USAS and CAPPS Financials Invoice Number Field Requirements (FPP E.023) for more information and to review your agency’s procedures for compliance with field requirements.
eXpendit Updates From 86th Legislature [posted 10/04/19]
The General Provisions, Legal Proceedings, Contracts, Prompt Payment and Fiscal Matters tabs were updated to reflect legislative changes. See Changes in eXpendit to learn more.
Outside Legal Services Payment Due at 45 Days [posted 10/04/19]
Effective Sept. 1, 2019, a state agency’s payment for outside legal services is due on the 45th day after agency receipt of the invoice for legal services.
Agencies must use comptroller object 7258 to record the payment. See Retention or Employment of Attorneys and Prompt Payment.
TFOA Now Accepting 2020 Nominations [posted 10/04/19]
Nov. 8 is the deadline to nominate candidates for the 2020 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 2020 TFOA curriculum covers three topics:
- Week of Feb. 24 – The Art of the Budget Process
- Week of March 23 – Fiscal Management
- Week of April 27 – Accountability and Transparency
See the TFOA website for details on the three-week course and the nomination process, instructions and form.