What’s New? on FMX
USAS Archive

To make payment information available to the public promptly, the Comptroller’s office must be able to distinguish confidential and non-confidential payments. State agencies and institutions of higher education must ensure that confidential transactions are properly marked to protect payee confidentiality as specified in USAS and CAPPS Confidentiality Indicator (FPP E.045).

The agency or institution submitting a transaction is responsible for determining confidentiality. Transactions are legally considered public unless specifically excluded by the Public Information Act (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552).

An agency or institution that marks a transaction as confidential should be prepared to cite the law or attorney general opinion that excludes the payment from public disclosure.

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property by May 31, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR).

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division.

Payments of $600 or more to a non-corporate payee for services or interest during a calendar year must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service on Form 1099-Miscellaneous (MISC) or Form 1099-Interest Income (INT).

Jan. 30 is the last day to make adjustments in USAS to the 1099-reportable data and request 1099s.

For more information, see USAS Procedures for 1099 Reporting for Calendar Year 2018 (FPP E.001).

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Currently held property will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 31.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division.

Check the Forms page or appropriate topic page on FMX before submitting a form to ensure you submit the current version. Previously downloaded forms or stored links may be outdated.

The Forms page is available at the top of all FMX pages. Forms can be sorted alphabetically, numerically or by topic. Also, FMX topic pages such as Appropriations or Payment Services feature links to related forms.

If you need to submit a USAS or TINS batch file on a weekend or holiday, see the USAS/TINS Input Record File Submission Schedule.

If you need to submit a USAS or TINS batch file on a weekend or holiday, see the USAS/TINS Input Record File Submission Schedule.

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report payables and binding encumbrances for first quarter fiscal 2019 appropriations no later than Dec. 30 to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Quarterly certification must be entered in the online form.

For more information, see Important Dates in the Reporting Guidelines of Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019).

USPS will be unavailable all day Saturday, Dec. 15, for the calendar year-end (CYE) file split.

See the schedule in USPS Calendar Year-End Close Process (FPP R.014) and Splitting Files in the USPS Calendar Year-End Close Manual for more information.

Contact the USPS Help Desk at (512) 463-4008 or your assigned USPS representative for questions.

Agencies that reimburse employees for state-related hotel stays are due a refund for the associated hotel occupancy taxes. USAS automatically generates the refunds each quarter.

The hotel occupancy tax refund for September through November will be available on DAFR reports 8190 and 8200 on Dec. 9.

For more information, see Hotel Occupancy Tax Quarterly Refund (FPP B.006).

Due to new 2018–19 GAA requirements, any state agency that receives, spends or administers revenue held outside the state treasury (local funds) is required to submit financial data on those funds to the Comptroller’s office.

Fiscal 2016–19 report data must be submitted by Nov. 30, 2018, using the new Excel reporting spreadsheet provided in Requirements for Local Operating Funds and Associated Local Funds (FPP S.009).

For more, see Additional reporting requirements per the GAA (Art. IX, Sec. 17.09) in Agency Requirements of FPP S.009.

State and federal holidays with no scheduled USAS cycle that are listed on the System Outages and Holidays calendar are excluded when determining the direct deposit settlement date of a payment.

Since financial institutions are closed, no direct deposit activity occurs on those days. Agencies must exclude these dates when determining when to process their payments to ensure prompt payment and avoid late payment interest.

The State of Texas Annual Cash Report for fiscal year 2018 is now available. The report presents the state’s financial condition and details revenues and expenditures on a cash basis, as required by Government Code, Section 403.013.

Accounting policy statements (APS) Sources of Revenue Required to Pay Benefit Cost (APS 001) (FPP A.021) and Benefits Proportional by Method of Finance (APS 011) (FPP A.010) have been updated to:

• Reflect changes to paying benefit costs proportional to agencies’ or institutions’ methods of finance (MOF)
• Provide additional details related to revenue types and other financing by MOF
• Clarify funding types and the amount agencies and institutions must disclose or may exclude in each schedule
• Include additional guidance related to reporting interagency contract payments/proceeds and applicable benefits that are charged/collected

See APS 001 and APS 011 for more information.

USPS will be unavailable all day Saturday, Dec. 15, while we conduct the calendar year-end (CYE) file split.

All USPS ;payrolls finalized after the 2018/2019 file split must have a warrant date in calendar year 2019 and will be reflected in the 2019 files.

See USPS Calendar Year-End Close Process (FPP R.014) for more information.

For questions, contact the USPS Help Desk at (512) 463-4008 or your assigned USPS representative.

State agencies and institutions of higher education reporting compensation in Box 7 (non-employee compensation) of the 1099-Miscellaneous (MISC) form must file with the Internal Revenue Service by Jan. 31, 2019.

See USAS Procedures for 1099 Reporting for Calendar Year 2018 (FPP E.001) for instructions on requesting 1099 data from USAS.

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 billed account (CBA) and corporate liability individual billed account (CLIBA) numbers in 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.

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.

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. Additionally, all agencies must 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.)

Each year on Nov. 1, the Comptroller’s office is statutorily required to lapse all unencumbered nonconstruction appropriation balances for all prior appropriation years. To facilitate this, an automatic lapse program will run in USAS as early as the Nov. 1 nightly cycle.

See Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019)  for details.

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 on complying with field requirements, see USAS and CAPPS Financials Invoice Number Field Requirements (FPP E.023)

Due to new 2018–19 GAA requirements, any state agency that receives, spends or administers revenue held outside the state treasury (local funds) is required to submit financial data on those funds to the Comptroller’s office.

Fiscal 2016–19 report data must be submitted by Nov. 30, 2018, using the new Excel reporting spreadsheet provided in Requirements for Local Operating Funds and Associated Local Funds (FPP S.009).

For more, see “Additional reporting requirements per the GAA (Art. IX, Sec. 17.09)” in Agency Requirements of FPP S.009.

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report annual binding encumbrances and payables to the Comptroller’s office per APS 018. Because the annual reporting requirement encompasses the fourth quarter of the previous appropriation year, there is no requirement for separate fourth-quarter reporting.

Agencies must enter encumbrances and payables into USAS for AY 2018 and prior years’ appropriations by the due date for their agency type for annual financial reporting:

• Sept. 30 for simplified reporting agencies
• Oct. 30 for full reporting agencies

All agencies must submit the online Annual Certification by Oct. 30. (The recommended due date for simplified reporting agencies is Sept. 30.)

By Oct. 30 each year, all agencies must lapse appropriation balances that exceed the level necessary to satisfy any outstanding binding encumbrances and/or payables. (The recommended due date for simplified reporting agencies is Sept. 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.

Appropriation balances on the USAS Appropriation Record Inquiry (62) screen may require adjustments or corrections before unexpended balance (UB) forward, lapsing or collected cash disposition. All transactions for budget revisions and expenditure transfers for affected years should be completed before processing UB or lapse transactions. Doing so will reduce the number of issues that may arise with the automatic lapse program.

For full details, see APS 018.

Administrative heads must report annually by Oct. 1 specific information for employees granted more than 32 hours of emergency leave during the prior fiscal year.

See Emergency Leave Reporting Requirements (FPP F.040) for more, including information on the new Emergency Leave Reporting web application and the required statement for agencies and institutions not sending a report.

How well are we meeting your customer service expectations?

Please let us know by completing the online survey by Friday, Oct. 12. We appreciate your feedback.

If you have any questions about the survey, please email us at fiscal.documentation@cpa.texas.gov.

A new enhancement in USAS allows for simplified processing of batch headers left behind on the Internal Transaction (IT) file that no longer contain transactions. This enhancement reduces the potential for errors when working to clear these empty batch headers.

For more information, see ACR 60197 – USAS System Change.

USAS Outstanding Warrant Report (DAFR8161) and Outstanding Warrant Control Report (DAFR8171) feature a new field that reports the oldest appropriation year (AY) associated with the funding source used when the warrant was issued. Additionally, the obsolete AGENCY AMOUNT column has been removed from the reports.

See ACR 60279 – USAS System Change for more information.

Institutions of higher education hold appropriated funds outside the state treasury and must enter fiscal 2018 expenditure activity into USAS by Oct. 30 for reconciliation with the Legislative Budget Board’s Automated Budget and Evaluation System of Texas (ABEST).

For more, see Entering Higher Education Expenditure Activity into USAS for USAS/ABEST Reconciliation (FPP B.011).

Note: Community/junior colleges are excluded from these requirements.

Effective Sept. 1, 2018, Electronic Processing of Revenues and Expenditures, Including Texas.gov Portal Activity (APS 029) (FPP J.001) has been updated to reflect changes:

• In the DIR contract for Texas.gov
• To the GAA through acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session
• To policies, procedures and transaction coding blocks

Agencies should especially note payment process changes for convenience and subscription fees, effective for all appropriation year 2019 revenue collections, as they are now payable to DIR.

Administrative heads must report annually by Oct. 1 specific information for employees granted more than 32 hours of emergency leave during the prior fiscal year.

See Emergency Leave Reporting Requirements (FPP F.040) for more, including information on the new Emergency Leave Reporting web application and the required statement for agencies and institutions not sending a report.

This is an important reminder about coding on the USAS Recurring Transaction Profile (55). Do not set an effective end date until after Sept. 26 on certain Recurring Transaction Indexes (RTIs) used during the interagency reconciliation process for the annual financial report (AFR).

Interagency Transaction Voucher (ITV) transactions must process successfully during the interagency reconciliation process for the AFR. An RTI (receiving) agency that sets an effective end date on the 55 profile will prevent a transaction (paying) agency from processing any ITV transactions past that effective end date.

Example: A transaction entered on Sept. 2 using an RTI with an effective end date of Aug. 31 would not process, even if the effective date on the transaction were backdated to Aug. 31. To avoid problems, the RTI agency should not set an effective end date on the 55 profile until after the completion of the interagency reconciliation process.

The Comptroller’s office recommends that agencies leave the effective end dates on RTIs blank unless there is an explicit need to include a date.

For more information, see the ITV/RTI Process USAS FAQs.

The USAS annual cash-basis close for fiscal 2018 will occur on Friday, Aug. 31.

The fiscal year-end close process requires shutting down the statewide fiscal systems. For more information, please see the Master Schedule of Year-End Close Events that includes:

• Processing deadlines
• The dates and times the online systems will be unavailable
• Contacts for any issues

The Outstanding Warrants Control Report (DAFR8171) is generated on the first Friday of every month. Agencies should monitor their reports before warrants become void on Aug. 31.

The Outstanding Warrant Report (DAFR 8161) can be requested through the Report Request Profile, USAS 91 screen. It includes two special select options:

• SPEC SEL 1: Provides a report by payee number in ascending order. To select this report, enter V on the 91 screen and check that the SPEC SEL 2 field is blank.
• SPEC SEL 2: Provides a report for specific dollar amount thresholds in descending order. To select this report, enter values A-D on the 91 screen as follows:
  • A = over $500
  • B = over $1,000
  • C = over $5,000
  • D = over $10,000

The 91 Report Request Profile in USAS Coding Instructions (FPP Q.010) provides detailed information on this profile screen.

Agencies are also reminded of the following:

• Vendor requests for a list of outstanding warrants must exclude the warrant number and TIN.
• Payments can be assigned to a third party via contract. If payees request a third-party assignment, a copy of the contract should be submitted for approval by your agency’s legal staff. See Assignments in TexPayment Resources.

For questions, please contact Payment Services.

The interest rate the state pays on a late payment due to a vendor under the state’s prompt payment law will be 6.00 percent for fiscal 2019. The interest calculation is one percentage point higher than the prime rate published in the Wall Street Journal on the first business day of July.

See Interest Rate on eXpendit (FPP I.005) for more information.

The Treasury Operations’ Web Warrant Inquiry and Cancellation System (WWIC) (login required) has a new edit that checks for hold status on cancelled warrants.

When cancelling a warrant that is on hold, WWIC defaults the Cancel Reason to 304 Warrant on Hold. This change was made to:

• Assist agencies with statutory compliance that requires consent from the hold source agencies before a warrant is cancelled
• Alert agencies that the warrant is on hold and not lost when a payee reports they did not receive the warrant

Note that a held warrant may be cancelled after it is released from hold. Agencies are advised to check the Payee Held Warrants Released (PYWTHR) screen in TINS. If listed on PYWTHR, the agency does not need to seek approval, since the warrant is no longer on hold, but must still select Cancel Reason 304 Warrant on Hold.

For questions, contact Payment Services.

Financial reporting analysts can help agencies reconcile the 2018 annual financial report (AFR) to USAS either by phone or during scheduled work sessions. Prior to scheduling a work session or making travel arrangements for a work session, agencies must attempt to complete the fiscal year-end USAS entries.

Contact your agency’s financial reporting analyst if you encounter problems with USAS entries. Your analyst may request copies of the USAS entries. If the issue cannot be resolved by phone or email, then you may schedule a work session.

Agencies that reimburse employees for state-related hotel stays are due a refund for the associated hotel occupancy taxes. USAS automatically generates the refunds each quarter.

The hotel occupancy tax refund for June through July will be available on DAFR reports 8190 and 8200 on Aug. 9.

For more information, refer to Hotel Occupancy Tax Quarterly Refund (FPP B.006).

Fiscal 2019 appropriation budgets must be entered into USAS and all required documentation submitted by July 27.

Budget entry and documentation submission must be completed before appropriation control officers can approve a budget setup.

For more information including schedule spreadsheets (Excel), instructions, definitions and samples, see Establishing Appropriations by Method of Finance, Rider and Capital Budget Schedules (FPP A.020).

The USAS annual cash-basis close for fiscal 2018 will occur on Friday, Aug. 31. The instructions, including important deadlines for submitting documents, are now available in USAS Annual Close Process (FPP Q.004).

Detailed information by appropriation year, including deadlines, can be found at Scheduling Critical Payments at Year-End.

Agencies using CAPPS Financials need to also follow CAPPS Financials Year-End Processing Instructions (FPP T.001).

Please see the 2018 Master Schedule of Year-End Close Events that includes:

• Processing deadlines
• Dates and times the online systems will be unavailable
• Contacts for any issues

Fiscal 2019 appropriation budgets must be entered into USAS and all required documentation submitted by July 27. Entry into USAS and CAPPS can begin July 2.

Budget entry and documentation submission must be completed before appropriation control officers can approve a budget setup. State agencies and institutions of higher education are encouraged to use the provided Excel spreadsheets for completing the required schedules.

For schedule spreadsheets, instructions, definitions, examples and the special requirements for unobligated balances, see Establishing Appropriations by Method of Finance, Rider and Capital Budget Schedules (FPP A.020).

To ensure correct year-end USAS balances for imprest, petty cash and travel advance accounts, agencies authorized to maintain these accounts are required to certify that USAS balances and agency computed balances (cash plus outstanding reimbursements) agree. Only cash accounts with balances created from funds in the state treasury are subject to this requirement.

The certification is due by July 10. All corrections must be entered into USAS by July 27.

See USAS Balances for Imprest, Petty Cash and Travel Advance Accounts (FPP A.045) for additional information including instructions for requesting access and completing the forms.

Agencies authorized to maintain imprest, petty cash and travel advance accounts are required to certify that USAS balances and agency computed balances (cash plus outstanding reimbursements) agree. This is to ensure correct year-end USAS balances. Only cash accounts with balances created from funds in the state treasury are subject to this requirement.

The certification is due by July 10. All corrections must be entered into USAS by July 27.

See USAS Balances for Imprest, Petty Cash and Travel Advance Accounts (FPP A.045) for additional information including instructions for requesting access and completing the forms.

Earned Federal Funds (EFF) that agencies deposit into Appropriation 70000 in amounts above the level identified in General Appropriations Act (GAA), Article IX, Section 13.11(b), plus benefits (13.11[g]), are appropriated subject to certain conditions and deadlines.

The conditions and deadlines are defined in the Appropriation Authority for Earned Federal Fund Collections Above the Annual Level section of Earned Federal Funds and Indirect Cost Reimbursements to the General Revenue Fund (APS 023) (FPP A.017). 

Contact your agency’s appropriation control officer with any questions.

USAS documentation on FMX has been updated:

• The USAS T-Code Reference Guide (FPP Q.014) features nine transaction code sorts available in HTML and an expanded table of the most commonly used T-Codes.

• USAS Reference (FPP Q.012) includes updated lists of Comptroller General Ledger Accounts, Document Type and Title, User Class and Title, and Comptroller Objects Sorted by Object Group for Appropriation Year 2018.

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report payables and binding encumbrances for third quarter fiscal 2018 appropriations no later than June 30.

Quarterly certification must be entered in the online form.

For more information, see Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019).

The annual rollover for profiles in USAS will occur on June 16. The process automatically creates new profiles for fiscal year (FY) 2019 and appropriation year (AY) 2019, based on existing FY18 and AY18 profiles.

For more information, see USAS Profile Rollover (FPP Q.007).

To prepare for the June 16 rollover to fiscal 2019, the Comptroller’s office will transmit USAS Profile Review and Cleanup Reports to agencies on June 5 and June 12. The reports:

• Help agencies review certain USAS profiles so necessary changes are made before the June 16 rollover
• Allow review of transaction entries’ appropriation and USAS balances to prep for fiscal year-end
• Include USAS data through the previous Friday

For report questions, contact your financial reporting analyst. To have reports retransmitted, contact the Comptroller’s System Input/Output (SIO) group at (512) 936-4341.

For more information, see USAS Profile Review and Cleanup Procedures (FPP A.031).

An accounting policy meeting will be held May 23, 2 – 4 p.m. in the William B. Travis Building, Room 1-111.

See the Accounting Policy Meeting page for the agenda and webinar instructions.

For state agencies and institutions of higher education, the payroll due date for monthly and twice-monthly payrolls is no later than the seventh workday before payday.

Submitting your payrolls to the Comptroller’s office on or before the due dates assures adequate processing time for direct deposits and warrant distribution.

Refer to Payroll Due Dates and Direct Deposit Schedules (FPP E.030) for more information, including the fiscal 2019 payroll due dates and direct deposit schedule.

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Currently held property will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 31.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division.

State agencies and institutions of higher education may need to send documents to Fiscal Management that contain confidential information.

Email is not a secured transmission. Confidential information must not be sent in the body of an email, but included as an encrypted attachment as prescribed by your agency’s information security policy.

Refer to Confidential Information Must be Encrypted Before Emailing to Fiscal Management (FPP D.004) for details.

Every two years, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ Fiscal Management Division requires an updated Agency Authorization for Warrant Pickup form (74-189) from state agencies and institutions of higher education.

All authorizations now on file terminate at 5 p.m. on April 30, with new forms becoming effective May 1. Agencies and institutions must return the completed original authorization form to Payment Services no later than close of business April 20. If an agency’s renewal form is not on file by May 1, 2018, warrants will not be distributed for that agency.

For more information and the form, go to Authorization for Warrant Pickup.

The Comptroller’s office has a new secure web application to assist state agency and institution of higher education human resource officers with researching state of Texas employment history. The information contained in the application can be used to assist hiring decisions.

Access to the new application must be requested through your agency's security coordinator and should be limited to human resource officers in need of specific employment-related data.

For complete information and a link to the new application, go to the State of Texas Employment History Application page.

Soon the Business Intelligence team will upgrade the payroll and SIRS reports from the current version of BusinessObjects 3.1 (BO 3.1) to BusinessObjects 4.1 (BO 4.1).

• The Payroll reports in BO 3.1 will be upgraded to BO 4.1 reports on April 1
• The SIRS reports in BO 3.1 will be upgraded to BO 4.1 reports on April 16

On these dates, BO 3.1 reports will be decommissioned and no longer available for access.

Visit the FMQuery page for more information on the new BO 4.1 reporting environment, including access and training.

Although the Comptroller’s office will be closed for business on March 30 in observance of Good Friday, Payment Services will distribute warrants from 8 to 10 a.m. The warrants will be for the March 29 processing cycle.

March 30 is also the Payroll Direct Deposit Reversal deadline. Reversals must be submitted to Payment Services by 10 a.m.

For the warrant pickup requirements, refer to Holiday Payment Distribution.

Every two years, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ Fiscal Management Division requires an updated Agency Authorization for Warrant Pickup form (74-189) from state agencies and institutions of higher education.

All authorizations now on file terminate at 5 p.m. on April 30, with new forms becoming effective May 1. Agencies and institutions must return the completed original authorization form to Payment Services no later than close of business April 20.

For more information and the form, go to Authorization for Warrant Pickup in TexPayment Resource.

The fiscal policy and procedure, Hotel Occupancy Tax Quarterly Refund (FPP B.006), has been updated to:

• Reflect a new document number scheme for the quarterly tax refund transactions
• Clarify when refund transactions are processed and available on the USAS DAFR8190 and DAFR8200 reports

For questions on the update, contact your appropriation control officer.

March 15 is the maintenance/corrections deadline for the fiscal 2018 Second Quarter Veteran Workforce Summary Reports (Dec. 1 – Feb. 28). Copies of the quarterly reports will be sent via electronic file transfer (EFT) on March 16.

The online quarterly report acknowledgment form (with required complaint reporting included) will be available March 16 and must be submitted by March 23. 

For more information, see Veteran Workforce Summary Reports and Veteran Complaint Reporting (FPP F.038).

Check the Forms page or appropriate topic page on FMX before submitting a form to ensure you submit the current version. Previously downloaded forms or stored links may be outdated.

The Forms page is available at the top of all FMX pages. Forms can be sorted alphabetically, numerically or by topic. Also, FMX topic pages such as Appropriations or Payment Services feature links to related forms.

Payments of $600 or more for services or interest during a calendar year to a non-corporate payee must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service on Form 1099-Miscellaneous (MISC) or Form 1099-Interest Income (INT).

The last day to make adjustments in USAS to the 1099 reportable data and request 1099s is Jan. 30. For more information, see USAS Procedures for 1099 Reporting for Calendar Year 2017 (FPP E.001).

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR).

Currently held property will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 31. See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division.

Due to inclement weather, the Comptroller’s office will open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 17. Warrant pickup will be available at 10 a.m.

Additional closures or delayed openings will be announced on FMX.

Due to inclement weather, the Comptroller’s office will be closed on Jan. 16. Warrants will not be distributed on this day.

Additional closures or delayed openings will be announced on FMX.

Due to inclement weather, the Comptroller’s office will be closed on Jan. 16, 2018. Agencies can check FMX or call (512) 475-0510 after 12:00 p.m. to confirm if warrants are available for distribution.

On days the Comptroller’s office is closed but warrant pickup is available, your authorized representative must have photo identification and a cell phone to call (512) 475-0510 upon arrival at the LBJ building if no guard is present.

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education.

If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Currently held property will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 31.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division.

The Benefit Voucher Data Worksheet (Excel) in Salary Benefit Appropriation Allocations (APS 019) (FPP A.042) has been updated to be used by state agencies and institutions of higher education to create benefit entries.

Effective Dec. 15, agencies and institutions must use the updated APS 019 Benefit Voucher Data Worksheet (Excel) for benefit entries. Older versions of the worksheet will no longer be accepted. The updated standardized Excel template contains:

• All applicable USAS fields for benefits entries
• Helpful information accessed by hovering over column headings (definitions, requirements, etc.)

A new Benefit Voucher Data Worksheet – Features and Instructions section is also available. See APS 019 for the updated worksheet and features/instructions section. For questions, contact your appropriation control officer (ACO).

State and federal holidays listed on the System Outages and Holidays Calendar with no scheduled USAS cycle are excluded when determining the direct deposit effective settlement date of a payment.

Since financial institutions are closed, no direct deposit activity occurs on those days. Agencies must exclude these dates when determining when to process their payments to ensure prompt payment and avoid late payment interest.

Note: If you need to submit a USAS or TINS batch file on a weekend or holiday, please see the USAS/TINS Input Record File Submission Schedule.

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report payables and binding encumbrances for first quarter fiscal 2018 appropriations no later than Dec. 30 to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Quarterly certification must be entered in the online form.

For more information, see Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019).

USPS will be unavailable all day Saturday, Dec. 9, for the calendar year-end (CYE) file split.

All USPS payrolls finalized after the 2017/2018 file split must have a warrant date in calendar year 2018 and will be reflected in the 2018 files.

For more information, see USPS Calendar Year-End Close Process (FPP R.014).

For questions, contact the USPS Help Desk at (512) 463-4008 or your assigned USPS representative.

Agencies that reimburse employees for state-related hotel stays are due a refund for the associated hotel occupancy taxes. The refunds are generated automatically through USAS each quarter.

The hotel occupancy tax refund for September through November will be available on the DAFR8190 and DAFR8200 reports on Dec. 9.

For more information, see Hotel Occupancy Tax Quarterly Refund (FPP B.006).

On Saturday, Dec. 9, USPS will be unavailable all day while we conduct the calendar year-end (CYE) file split.

All USPS payrolls finalized after the 2017/2018 file split must have a warrant date in calendar year 2018 and will be reflected in the 2018 files.

See USPS Calendar Year-End Close Process (FPP R.014) for details.

Contact the USPS Help Desk at (512) 463-4008 or your assigned USPS representative with questions.

Warrant pickup will only be available from 8 to 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22. For more information, see Holiday Payment Distribution.

State and federal holidays with no scheduled USAS cycle that are listed on the System Outages and Holidays Calendar are excluded when determining the direct deposit settlement date of a payment.

Since financial institutions are closed, no direct deposit activity occurs on those days. Agencies must exclude these dates when determining when to process their payments to ensure prompt payment and avoid late payment interest.

Note: If you need to submit a USAS or TINS batch file on a weekend or holiday, please see the USAS/TINS Input Record File Submission Schedule.

The 2017 State of Texas Annual Cash Report for the fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, 2017, is now available. The State of Texas Annual Cash Report presents the state’s financial condition and details revenues and expenditures on a cash basis, as required by Government Code, Section 403.013.

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).

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report certain payments to the Internal Revenue Service on Form 1099-Miscellaneous (MISC) by Jan. 31, 2018.

See USAS Procedures for 1099 Reporting for Calendar Year 2017 (FPP E.001) for instructions on requesting 1099 data from USAS.

Note: Per IRS instructions, if you are submitting hard copy 1099 forms to the IRS, Copy A must be completed using the 12-point Courier font and printed using black ink only.

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 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.

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.

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).

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 agencies and institutions of higher education must report annual binding encumbrances and payables to the Comptroller’s office per Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019). Because the annual reporting requirement encompasses the fourth quarter of the previous appropriation year, there is no requirement for separate fourth-quarter reporting.

Agencies must enter encumbrances and payables into USAS for AY 2017 and prior years’ appropriations by the due date for their agency type for annual financial reporting:

• Sept. 30 for simplified reporting agencies
• Oct. 30 for full reporting agencies

All agencies must submit the online Annual Certification by Oct. 30.

By Oct. 30 each year, all agencies must lapse appropriation balances that exceed the level necessary to satisfy any outstanding binding encumbrances and/or payables. 

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) (FPP A.019).

Senate Bill 73, 85th Legislature, Regular Session, amended the emergency leave provisions by providing state agencies and institutions of higher education with guidance on the awarding of emergency leave. Administrative heads now have to report annually by Oct. 1 specific information for employees granted more than 32 hours of emergency leave during the prior fiscal year. For more on the new reporting requirements, see Emergency Leave Reporting Requirements (FPP F.040)

How well are we meeting your customer service expectations?

Please let us know by completing the online survey by Friday, Oct. 13. We appreciate your feedback.

If you have any questions about the survey, please email us at fiscal.documentation@cpa.texas.gov.

Senate Bill 73, 85th Legislature, Regular Session, amended the emergency leave provisions by providing state agencies and institutions of higher education with guidance on the awarding of emergency leave. Administrative heads now have to report annually by Oct. 1 specific information for employees granted more than 32 hours of emergency leave during the prior fiscal year.

For more on the new reporting requirements, see Emergency Leave Reporting Requirements (FPP F.040).

Institutions of higher education hold appropriated funds outside the State Treasury and must enter fiscal 2017 expenditure activity into USAS by Oct. 13 for reconciliation with the Legislative Budget Board’s Automated Budget and Evaluation System of Texas (ABEST).

For complete information, see Entering Higher Education Expenditure Activity into USAS for USAS/ABEST Reconciliation (FPP B.011).

Note: Community/junior colleges are excluded from these requirements.

Several Accounting Policy Statements (APSs) have been updated through acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session. The APSs include changes to terminology, policies, procedures and transaction coding blocks.

Each APS should be carefully reviewed to ensure compliance with the most current policies and procedures.

Effective Oct. 1, Citibank N.A . will have a new vendor number used by agencies to process third-party transactions in USAS for payment / travel cards, direct bill payments and reimbursements. After the effective date, the previous number, and all mail codes, will no longer be active and cannot be used to process payments.

For more information, see Processing Third-Party Transactions in USAS for Payment, Travel Cards, Direct Bill Payments and Reimbursements (FPP A.043).

The video recordings of both sessions of the 2017 AFR Update Webinar from July 6 are now available on the AFR Training page. Users can view individual recordings broken out by topic.

All proceeds from the sale of surplus property, equipment and commodities must be deposited to general revenue (GR) in appropriation 99908.

An agency may reappropriate 25 percent of the receipts from the sale of surplus property for expenditure during the fiscal year in which the receipts are received.

The Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) deposits 100 percent of the proceeds from sales made by TFC on behalf of an agency into GR.

For more information, see Proceeds from the Sale of Surplus Property (FPP A.032).

Many state agencies and institutions have been called on to assist Texas citizens who have suffered losses due to Hurricane Harvey. Governor Abbott has issued several proclamations to provide relief to those affected. See the governor’s website for more information on how these proclamations may affect your agency’s business.

For additional information and contacts by topic, see Accounting for Natural Disaster Relief Efforts (FPP K.011).

On Tuesday evening, Sept. 5, AFR review (CR) and General Revenue Reconciliation (GR) Ad Hoc reports will run and be electronically transmitted daily. Agencies will receive these reports on Sept. 6 with other USAS reports under the Ad Hoc banner.

The CR AFR review Ad Hoc reports will be transmitted until Tuesday, Nov. 21. The remaining AFR review Ad Hoc reports are now located on FMQuery – SIRS.

GR Ad Hoc reports will be transmitted until Thursday, Nov. 2. For more information, see GR Reconciliation webpage.

Note: Agencies may save the report transmission or print their reports each day (Monday – Friday), if needed, as each day’s information is superseded on the following business day by the next updated electronic transmission. Please contact your financial reporting analyst if you have questions.

Additional information on the AFR Ad Hoc Review reports is available on the AFR webpage.

For more information, see Instructions for the GR Reconciliation Web Application.

Several Accounting Policy Statements (APSs) have been updated through acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session. The APSs include changes to terminology, policies, procedures and transaction coding blocks.

Each APS should be carefully reviewed to ensure compliance with the most current policies and procedures.

This is an important reminder about coding on the Recurring Transaction Profile (55) in USAS. Do not set an effective end date on certain Recurring Transaction Indexes (RTIs) used during the interagency reconciliation process for the annual financial report (AFR) until after Sept. 26.

Interagency Transaction Voucher (ITV) transactions must process successfully during the interagency reconciliation process for the AFR. An RTI (receiving) agency that sets an effective end date on the 55 profile will prevent a transaction (paying) agency from processing any ITV transactions past that effective end date.

Example: A transaction entered on Sept. 2 using an RTI with an effective end date of Aug. 31 would not process, even if the effective date on the transaction is backdated to Aug. 31. To avoid problems, the RTI agency should not set an effective end date on the 55 profile until after the completion of the interagency reconciliation process.

The Comptroller’s office recommends that agencies leave the effective end dates blank on RTIs unless there is an explicit need to include a date.

For more information, please see the ITV/RTI Process section of USAS Frequently Asked Questions.

The USAS annual cash-basis close for fiscal 2017 will occur on Thursday, Aug. 31.

The fiscal year-end close process requires shutting down the statewide fiscal systems. For more information, please see the Master Schedule of Year-End Close Events, which includes:

• Processing deadlines
• The dates and times the online systems will be unavailable
• Contacts for any issues

Effective Aug. 11, 2017, the new USAS DAFR360B Recurring Transaction Error Reportgenerates when either or both of these situations occur:

• An ITV payment cannot be issued
• The system-generated interagency transactions cannot be created

An edit in USAS now prevents the issuance of an ITV-related payment if the generated interagency transactions cannot be created. The originating ITV transaction will remain on the paying agency’s IT file in P-Y-4 status, awaiting correction of the corresponding RTI profile by the receiving agency.

For complete information, see ACR 60100 – USAS System Change.

The 85th Legislature made numerous changes to Article IX of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) that take effect Sept. 1. A summary of these changes and of major bills passed that affect multiple agencies can be found at Changes to Article IX of the GAA and Other Bills of Interest to State Agencies (FPP F.008).

Settlement and Judgment Processing Guidelines (FPP E.041) has been updated, in part to reflect changes made by the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, that require:

• The payment of a settlement or judgment to not exceed 1 percent of the total amount of funds appropriated for expenditure by that agency for that fiscal year.
• A statement be added to settlement and judgment documentation verifying that allowed limits have not been exceeded. See the Sample Settlement Letter and Sample Transmittal Letter for Pre-Litigation Claims.

Due to extensive changes, staff who process settlements and judgments should thoroughly review Settlement and Judgment Processing Guidelines (FPP E.041).

The final SPA processing cycle prior to the fiscal year-end closeout will run on Thursday evening, Aug. 31. SPA is expected to be available on Tuesday, Sept. 5, to accept both fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2018 transactions.

For more information, see SPA Fiscal Year-End Close Process(FPP N.008).

The monthly Outstanding Warrants Control Report (DAFR8171) is generated on the first Friday of every month. Agencies are reminded to monitor their report, especially during the summer months, before warrants become void on Aug. 31.

The Outstanding Warrant Report (DAFR8161) is a requestable report via the online Report Request Profile, USAS 91 screen and includes two special select options.

SPEC SEL 1: Provides an outstanding warrant report by payee number in ascending order. To select this report, enter V on the 91 screen. To ensure all outstanding warrants are listed for all payees, the SPEC SEL 2 field must be blank.

SPEC SEL 2: Provides an outstanding warrant report for specific dollar amount thresholds and lists warrants in descending order by dollar amount. To select this report, enter values A–D on the 91 screen as follows:

• A = over $500
• B = over $1,000
• C = over $5,000
• D = over $10,000

The 91 Report Request Profile in USAS Coding Instructions (FPP Q.010) provides detailed information on this profile screen.

If you have questions, please contact Payment Services.

Several substantive changes have been made to the Texas Comptroller Manual of Accounts (FPP Q.009). These changes include routine maintenance and edits to the Manual of Accounts and also reflect legislation passed by the 85th Legislature, Regular Session effective prior to Sept. 1, 2017.

The Manual of Accounts provides current information on state agencies, appropriated funds and accounts and object codes to be used in properly recording accounting transactions.

USPS agencies must use the fiscal 2017 USPS Fiscal Year-End Close Manual and USPS Year-End Close Schedule to correctly prepare files for the 2017 fiscal year-end close.

For complete information, including training calendar and links to the manual/schedule, see USPS Fiscal Year-End Close Process (FPP R.016).

Agencies that reimburse employees for state-related hotel stays are due a refund for the associated hotel occupancy taxes. The refunds are generated automatically through USAS each quarter.

The hotel occupancy tax refund for June through July will be available on the DAFR8190 and DAFR8200 reports on Aug. 9.

For more information, see Hotel Occupancy Tax Quarterly Refund (FPP B.006).

Financial reporting analysts can help agencies reconcile the 2017 annual financial report (AFR) to the Uniform Statewide Accounting System (USAS) either over the phone or during scheduled work sessions. Prior to scheduling a work session or making travel arrangements for a work session, agencies must attempt to complete the fiscal year-end USAS entries.

If you encounter problems with USAS entries you are attempting to enter, contact your agency’s financial reporting analyst, who may request copies of the USAS entries. If the issue cannot be resolved by phone or email, you may then schedule a work session with your agency’s financial reporting analyst.

Fiscal 2018 appropriation budgets must be entered into USAS and all required documentation submitted by July 28.

Budget entry and documentation submission must be completed before appropriation control officers can approve a budget setup.

For more information including schedule spreadsheets (Excel), instructions, definitions and samples, see Establishing Appropriations by Method of Finance, Rider and Capital Budget Schedules (FPP A.020).

The USAS annual cash-basis close for fiscal 2017 will occur on Thursday, Aug. 31. The instructions, including important deadlines for submitting documents, are now available in USAS Annual Close Process (FPP Q.004).

Detailed information by appropriation year, including deadlines, can be found in Scheduling Critical Payments at Year End.

Agencies using CAPPS Financials need to also follow CAPPS Financials Year-End Processing Instructions (FPP T.001).

Please see the 2017 Master Schedule of Year-End Close Events that includes:

• Processing deadlines
• Dates and times the online systems will be unavailable
• Contacts for any issues

AFR Reporting Requirements Now Available

The Comptroller’s Financial Reporting section is pleased to present the fiscal 2017 Reporting Requirements for Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) of State Agencies and Universities. The AFR website presents all reporting requirement information in an organized, user-friendly and intuitive format for users. Each agency and university must refer to the AFR Reporting Requirements website when preparing its fiscal 2017 AFR and posting fiscal year-end entries to reconcile the AFR to USAS.

Download Training Materials for the AFR Update Webinars

On June 28, the training materials for the Annual Financial Report (AFR) webinar events will be available on the AFR Training Page. Users may download/print the training materials (PDF format) and follow along during the webinar(s).

Reminder – Register Now for the July 6 AFR Update Webinars

Don’t forget to register for the AFR Update Webinar (Part 1) and/or the AFR Update Webinar (Part 2) taking place on Thursday, July 6. This year there will be two sessions for the 2017 AFR Update – a morning session from 9 a.m. to noon and an afternoon session from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Registration for EACH session is required through both:

• Training Center (login required) for all individuals planning to attend either the live presentation(s) or the online webinar(s)
• GoToWebinar for those individuals planning to attend the online webinar(s)

See the AFR Training page for more details about:

• Event location and parking information for attendees coming to the live presentation
• Registration, instructions and system requirements for attendees participating through the online webinar
• How to get CPE credit for attending

Processing Supplemental Appropriations and Reductions (FPP A.047) has been updated with instructions for USAS and CAPPS to reflect House Bill 2, 85th Legislature, Regular Session.

The Legislature reduced certain appropriations and made supplemental appropriations. Please refer to the HB 2 LBB ABEST/USAS Crosswalk provided by your appropriation control officer.

Affected state agencies and institutions of higher education must follow the instructions in the FPP by July 14.

Fiscal 2018 appropriation budgets must be entered into USAS and all required documentation submitted by July 28. Entry into USAS and CAPPS can begin July 3.

Budget entry and documentation submission must be completed before appropriation control officers can approve a budget setup.

Agencies and institutions of higher education are encouraged to use the provided Excel spreadsheets for completing the required schedules. Please note the special requirements for unobligated balances.

For the spreadsheets, instructions, definitions and examples, see Establishing Appropriations by Method of Finance, Rider and Capital Budget Schedules (FPP A.020).

To ensure correct year-end USAS balances for imprest, petty cash and travel advance accounts, agencies authorized to maintain these accounts are asked to certify that USAS balances and agency computed balances (cash plus outstanding reimbursements) agree.

Only cash accounts with balances created from funds in the State Treasury are subject to this requirement.

The certification is due by July 10. All corrections must be entered into USAS by July 28.

See USAS Balances for Imprest, Petty Cash and Travel Advance Accounts (FPP A.045) for additional information, including instructions for requesting access and completing the forms.

To ensure correct year-end USAS balances for imprest, petty cash and travel advance accounts, agencies authorized to maintain these accounts are asked to certify that USAS balances and agency computed balances (cash plus outstanding reimbursements) agree.

Only cash accounts with balances created from funds in the State Treasury are subject to this requirement.

The certification is due by July 10. All corrections must be entered into USAS by July 28.

See USAS Balances for Imprest, Petty Cash and Travel Advance Accounts (FPP A.045) for additional information, including instructions for requesting access and completing the forms.

The USAS Profile Rollover creates new profile records to be used in the next fiscal and appropriation years. Agencies should review the Profile Rollover page of USAS Profile Review and Cleanup Procedures (FPP A.031) for USAS profiles that automatically roll over each year.

In preparation of the rollover, all USAS profile review and cleanup reports are transmitted to agencies on June 6 and June 12. The reports:

• Assist agencies in reviewing certain USAS profiles that allow necessary changes to be made before the annual USAS profile rollover on June 17
• Allow reviewing of appropriation and USAS balances for transaction entries in preparation for fiscal year-end
• Include USAS data through the previous Friday

The profile review and cleanup reports are located behind the Ad Hoc cover page (immediately following the USAS reports). If your agency needs reports retransmitted, contact the Comptroller’s System Input/Output group at (512) 936-4341.

For more information, see USAS Profile Review and Cleanup Procedures (FPP A.031). For questions on the reports, contact your financial reporting analyst.

Do you help prepare your agency’s or university’s annual financial report (AFR) or enter AFR data into USAS? If so, join us on Thursday, July 6 for the 2017 AFR Update.

Participants may attend:

• Live Presentations
  –OR–
• Online Webinars

This year’s update has been expanded to include a morning session and an afternoon session to provide additional guidance. For more information and registration instructions, see the AFR Training Page.

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report payables and binding encumbrances for third quarter fiscal 2017 in all open appropriations no later than June 30.

Quarterly certification must be entered in the online form.

For more information, see Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018).

The annual rollover for profiles in USAS will occur on June 17. The process automatically creates new profiles for fiscal year (FY) 2018 and appropriation year (AY) 2018, based on existing FY17 and AY17 profiles.

For more information, see USAS Profile Rollover (FPP Q.007).

Do you help prepare your agency’s or university’s annual financial report (AFR) or enter AFR data into USAS? If so, join us on Thursday, July 6 for the 2017 AFR Update.

Participants may attend:

• Live Presentations
  –OR–
• Online Webinars

This year’s update has been expanded to include a morning session and an afternoon session to provide additional guidance. For more information and registration instructions, see the AFR Training page.

For state agencies and institutions of higher education, the payroll due date for monthly and twice-monthly payrolls is no later than the seventh workday before payday.

Submitting your payrolls to the Comptroller’s office on or before the due dates assures adequate processing time for direct deposits and warrant distribution.

See Payroll Due Dates and Direct Deposit Schedules (FPP E.030) for more information, including the fiscal 2018 payroll due dates and direct deposit schedule.

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller's office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Currently held property will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 31.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division (UP).

Effective May 5, access to making changes in the APPROPRIATED FUND, GAAP FUND and GAAP FUND TYPE fields on the USAS D23 screen is limited to central user classes only. This ensures all financial table balances are reported properly and reduces the corrective actions and agency coordination required when these fields are changed.

For more information, see ACR 60212 – USAS System Change

The INFOSGA application retires on May 12. INFOSGA is used to access daily reports from the Comptroller mainframe systems (USAS, USPS, SPRS, HRIS and TINS).

Most agencies use an alternative method to access the mainframe reports such as the free version of BlueZone available from the Comptroller’s office (login required) or any preferred secure file transfer protocol (SFTP). Agency technical staff must implement an alternative method by May 12 to access daily reports.

For more information, see Requirements for Transmitting Comptroller Information Over Public Networks and Downloading Mainframe Reports Using Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) (FPP N.007) (login required).

State agencies and institutions of higher education may need to send documents to Fiscal Management that contain confidential information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, direct deposit instructions, net pay and Texas identification numbers that include Social Security numbers.

Email is not considered a secured transmission, and confidential information should not be sent in the body of an email. Provide an encrypted attachment for any confidential information as prescribed by your agency’s Information Security Office. Passwords should be provided in a separate email or over the phone. Fax transmission is also acceptable.

For more information, see Confidential Information Must be Encrypted Before Emailing to Fiscal Management (FPP D.004).

Letter of Authorization (LOA) Signature Lists currently on file for HRIS, SPRS, USPS and CAPPS expire on May 31.

By May 31, each agency and institution of higher education must submit the names of authorized employees and a new LOA Signature List form. Beginning June 1, only newly authorized state employees may request data changes.

For detailed instructions and forms, see Authorization and Request Process for Data Changes to Statewide Payroll/Personnel Systems (FPP M.009).

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education.

If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Currently held property will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 31.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division.

Although the Comptroller’s office will be closed for business on April 14 in observance of Good Friday, Payment Services will distribute warrants from 8 to 10 a.m. The warrants will be for the April 13 processing cycle.

For the warrant pickup requirements, please see Holiday Payment Distribution.

The Fiscal 2017 Agency Statewide Cost Allocation Plan by Method of Finance is now available.

The first quarter general revenue reimbursements for statewide allocated costs are due March 31. Agencies may choose to make full payment at that time as well.

See Fiscal 2017 Agency Statewide Cost Allocation Plan by Method of Finance (FPP A.022) for complete information including contacts, instructions and forms.

The Fiscal 2016 Statewide Cost Allocation Plan Summary of Fixed Costs provided by the Governor’s Office is now available. Agencies listed on this summary must submit the Statewide Cost Allocation Worksheet by March 15 and the General Revenue Reimbursement of Statewide Allocated Costs form by March 31. Listed agencies with federal funds must also submit the Federal Funds Reimbursement Calculation form by March 31.

The first quarter general revenue reimbursements for statewide allocated costs are due March 31. Agencies may choose to make full payment at that time as well.

See General Revenue Reimbursement for Statewide Allocated Costs (FPP A.022) for complete information including contacts, instructions and forms.

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report payables and binding encumbrances for first quarter fiscal 2017 in all open appropriations no later than March 30 to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

The second quarter certification must be entered in the online form.

For more information, see Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019).

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ ability to accurately distinguish confidential and non-confidential payments is critical in making payment information promptly available to the public. State agencies and institutions of higher education must ensure that confidential transactions are properly marked to protect payee confidentiality as stipulated by USAS and CAPPS Confidentiality Indicator (FPP E.045).

Under state law, it is the responsibility of the agency or institution submitting a transaction to determine the confidentiality of the transaction. Transactions are legally considered public unless specifically excluded by the Public Information Act. When an agency or institution marks a transaction confidential, they should be prepared to cite the law or attorney general opinion that excludes the payment from public disclosure.

Check the Forms page or appropriate topic page on FMX before submitting a form to ensure you submit the current version. Previously downloaded forms or stored links may be outdated.

The Forms page is always available from the top drop-down menu bar. Forms can be filtered by topic, browsed alphabetically or numerically. Topic pages such as Appropriations or Payment Services feature a forms subheading with a link to forms on that topic.

The Fiscal Management applications and mainframe systems are expected to be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance on Sunday, Jan. 29, from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Currently held property will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 31.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division.

The Fiscal 2017 Agency Statewide Cost Allocation Plan by Method of Finance is not yet available. As a result, due dates for the Statewide Cost Allocation Worksheet, the General Revenue Reimbursement of Statewide Allocated Costs form and the first quarter general revenue reimbursements for statewide allocated costs have been revised.

See General Revenue Reimbursement for Statewide Allocated Costs (FPP A.022) for complete information including the new due dates, contacts, instructions and forms.

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Currently held property will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 31.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more, including contact information for the Comptroller's Unclaimed Property Division.

State and federal holidays listed on the System Outages and Holidays Calendar with no scheduled USAS cycle are excluded when determining the direct deposit settlement date of a payment.

Since financial institutions are closed, no direct deposit activity occurs on those days. Agencies must exclude these dates when determining when to process their payments to ensure prompt payment and avoid late payment interest.

Note: If you need to submit a USAS or TINS batch file on a weekend or holiday, please see the Batch File Submission Calendar.

State and federal holidays listed on the System Outages and Holidays Calendar with no scheduled USAS cycle are excluded when determining the direct deposit effective settlement date of a payment.

Since financial institutions are closed, no direct deposit activity occurs on those days. Agencies must exclude these dates when determining when to process their payments to ensure prompt payment and avoid late payment interest.

Note: If you need to submit a USAS or TINS batch file on a weekend or holiday, please see the Batch File Submission Calendar.

Monday, Jan. 2, 2017 is a banking holiday, observed by the Federal Reserve and most financial institutions.

According to state law, Jan. 2 is considered the first working day following the December 2016 pay period, making it pay day.

As a result, payroll warrants will be dated Jan. 2, 2017. While direct deposit payments will be transmitted to financial institutions before and with the payment date of Jan. 2, those institutions are not required to post payments on the banking holiday. Consequently, some employees’ funds may not be available until Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Supplemental direct deposit payrolls and regular vendor (bills) payments will also be affected. Payments that process through USAS and payrolls that process through USPS and SPRS/CAPPS on Thursday, Dec. 29, will be transmitted with a payment date of Jan. 2. Consequently, employees’ and payees’ funds may not be available until Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Employees and payees with direct deposit should check with their financial institutions to confirm when their funds will be available. This is especially important if the employee or vendor has established automatic withdrawals on Jan. 2.

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report payables and binding encumbrances for first quarter fiscal 2017 in all open appropriations no later than Dec. 30 to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Quarterly certification must be entered in the online form.

For more information, see Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018).

USPS will be unavailable all day Saturday, Dec. 10, while we conduct the calendar year-end (CYE) file split.

All USPS payrolls finalized after the 2016/2017 file split must have a warrant date in calendar year 2017 and will be reflected in the 2017 files.

For more information, see USPS Calendar Year-End Close Process (FPP R.014).

For questions, please contact the USPS Help Desk at (512) 463-4008 or your assigned USPS representative.

The deadline to file 1099-MISC forms (when reporting in box 7) with the IRS is Jan. 31, 2017. This applies to both electronic and hard copy files.

The last day to make changes to 1099 data in USAS and request the DAFR7950 report (forms and/or data set) is Monday, Jan. 30.

Due to this shortened processing timeline, the Comptroller’s office recommends that agencies begin reviewing their 1099 data immediately.

There will be two classes (login required) on Tuesday, Dec. 6 for agencies that process 1099s in USAS.

For processing timeline and instructions, please see USAS Procedures for 1099 Reporting for Calendar Year 2016 (FPP E.001).

USPS will be unavailable all day Saturday, Dec. 10, while we conduct the calendar year-end (CYE) file split.

All USPS payrolls finalized after the 2016/2017 file split must have a warrant date in calendar year 2017 and will be reflected in the 2017 files.

For more information, see USPS Calendar Year-End Close Process (FPP R.014).

For questions, please contact the USPS Help Desk at (512) 463-4008 or your assigned USPS representative.

Agencies that reimburse employees for state-related hotel stays are due a refund for the associated hotel occupancy taxes. The refunds are generated automatically through USAS each quarter.

The hotel occupancy tax refund for September through November will be available on the DAFR8190 and DAFR8200 reports on Dec. 9.

For more information, see Hotel Occupancy Tax Quarterly Refund (FPP B.006).

State and federal holidays listed on the System Outages and Holidays Calendar with no scheduled USAS cycle are excluded when determining the direct deposit settlement date of a payment.

Since financial institutions are closed, no direct deposit activity occurs on those days. Agencies must exclude these dates when determining when to process their payments to ensure prompt payment and avoid late payment interest.

Note: If you need to submit a USAS or TINS batch file on a weekend or holiday, please see the Batch File Submission Calendar.

Effective Nov. 16, the date entered into the USAS DOC DATE and PMT DUE DATE fields for Document Type 5 (Payroll Reimbursements and Adjustments) and Document Type 7 (Annuitant Payroll) transactions is limited to 45 days from the current effective date per the USAS System Management (97) Profile.

For more information, see ACR 60137 – USAS System Change.

The TINS SWA18802: Direct Deposit Cancellations Report is generated when bimonthly and monthly payroll and retirement direct deposit payments are canceled prior to transmission. Effective Nov. 14, the report will be distributed to agencies with applicable direct deposit cancellations.

For more information, see ACR 60218 – TINS System Change.

State and federal holidays listed on the System Outages and Holidays Calendar with no scheduled USAS cycle are excluded when determining the direct deposit settlement date of a payment.

Since financial institutions are closed, no direct deposit activity occurs on those days. Agencies must exclude these dates when determining when to process their payments to ensure prompt payment and avoid late payment interest.

Note: If you need to submit a USAS or TINS batch file on a weekend or holiday, please see the Batch File Submission Center.

For state agencies and institutions of higher education reporting compensation in Box 7 (non-employee compensation) of the 1099-Miscellaneous (MISC) form, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) now requires a copy of the form to be filed by Jan. 31, 2017.

Certain payments must be reported to the IRS on a Form 1099-Miscellaneous (MISC) or Form 1099-Interest Income (INT) and a duplicate Form 1099 sent to the payee.

To help agencies and institutions comply with this requirement for calendar year 2016, USAS will capture 1099-related data and generate 1099 Verification Reports (DAFR 7940), Forms 1099-MISC and/or Forms 1099-INT (DAFR 7950) for each agency or institution upon request.

See USAS Procedures for 1099 Reporting for Calendar Year 2016 (FPP E.001).

Note: Per IRS instructions, if you are submitting hard copy 1099 forms to the IRS, Copy A must be completed using the 12-point Courier font and printed using black ink only.

The State of Texas Annual Cash Report for fiscal 2016 is now available. The report presents the state’s financial position and details revenues and expenditures on a cash basis, as required by Government Code, Section 403.013.

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) or phone or email your agency’s Purchase and Travel contact.

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 and institutions of higher education are required to include a link to the Comptroller’s Where the Money Goes expenditure database on their websites. The URL for the database and visual tools have changed with the rebuild of Comptroller.Texas.Gov.

For more information, see Where the Money Goes Requirements (FPP G.004).

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) (FPP A.019).

Recently, Microsoft released and updated Internet Explorer (IE) to version 11.0.35. The new IE version was incompatible with the BlueZone Web-to-Host Windows-based terminal emulation application.

Microsoft has released a fix (KB3192665) that will eliminate the compatibility issue. It can be downloaded from their Update Catalog.

BlueZone can be used to access the Comptroller’s mainframe through online applications, such as the Uniform Statewide Accounting System (USAS) or the Uniform Statewide Payroll/Personnel System (USPS).

For more information, see Requirements for Transmitting Comptroller Information Over Public Networks (FPP N.007) (login required).

Please complete our online survey to let us know if we are meeting your customer service expectations. Your responses help us improve the services we provide.

The survey is extended to until close of business Friday, Oct. 7.

If you have questions about this survey, please email us at fiscal.documentation@cpa.texas.gov. Thank you in advance for your help.

State and federal holidays listed on the System Outages and Holidays Calendar with no scheduled USAS cycle are excluded when determining the direct deposit effective settlement date of a payment.

When financial institutions are closed, no direct deposit activity occurs on those days. Agencies must exclude these dates when determining when to process their payments to ensure prompt payment and avoid late payment interest. This includes Columbus Day (Oct. 10).

The fiscal policy and procedure (FPP) detailing default processing for USAS deposits has been updated to reflect current procedures, including information on how to clear the deposit default fund.

For complete details, see USAS Deposit Default Processing (FPP Q.006).

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 your agency’s procedures for compliance with field requirements, see USAS and CAPPS Financials Invoice Number Field Requirements (FPP E.023).

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report annual binding encumbrances and payables to the Comptroller’s office per Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019). Because the annual reporting requirement encompasses the fourth quarter of the previous appropriation year, there is no requirement for separate fourth-quarter reporting.

Agencies must enter encumbrances and payables into USAS for AY 2016 and prior years’ appropriations by the due date for their agency type for annual financial reporting:

• Sept. 30 for simplified reporting agencies
• Oct. 30 for full reporting agencies

All agencies must submit the online Annual Certification by Oct. 30.

By Oct. 30 each year, all agencies must lapse appropriation balances that exceed the level necessary to satisfy any outstanding binding encumbrances and/or payables.

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.

Appropriation balances on the USAS Appropriation Record Inquiry (62) screen may require adjustments or corrections before unexpended balance (UB) forward, lapsing or collected cash disposition. All transactions for budget revisions and expenditure transfers for affected years should be completed before processing UB or lapse transactions. Doing so will reduce the number of issues that may arise with the automatic lapse program.

For full details, see APS 018.

Several Fiscal Management applications will be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance on Sunday, Sept. 25, from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. For additional details, see the Maintenance page.

How well are we meeting your customer service expectations?

Please let us know by completing the online survey by Friday, Sept. 30. We appreciate your feedback.

If you have any questions about the survey, please email us at fiscal.documentation@cpa.texas.gov.

Several substantive changes have been made to the Texas Comptroller Manual of Accounts (FPP Q.009). The list of changes includes entries that have been added, deleted or significantly modified.

The manual provides current information on state agencies, appropriated funds and accounts and object codes to be used in properly recording accounting transactions.

Institutions of higher education hold appropriated funds outside the State Treasury and must enter fiscal 2016 expenditure activity into USAS by Oct. 14 for reconciliation with the Legislative Budget Board’s Automated Budget and Evaluation System of Texas (ABEST).

For complete information, see Entering Higher Education Expenditure Activity into USAS for USAS/ABEST Reconciliation (FPP B.011).

Note: Community/junior colleges are excluded from these requirements.

The Annual Financial Reports (AFR) Ad Hoc Review Reports display exceptions that must be corrected during AFR preparation. Each report contains a footer explaining its purpose.

These AFR reports are electronically transmitted daily to each agency beginning on Monday evening, Sept. 5, as part of the agency’s system reports and Ad Hoc reports. Agencies should receive these reports on Sept. 6. These reports are located behind the Ad Hoc reports banner (cover page).

These reports are manually generated each weekday afternoon (Monday through Friday) — rather than system-generated during the nightly USAS cycle. Therefore, transactions entered into USAS after 2 p.m. may not appear on a report until the report that is manually generated the following day (received by the agency two days after the USAS entry). For example, a transaction entered at 2:30 p.m. on Monday may not appear on Tuesday’s report — but will appear on the report received on Wednesday.

Note: If necessary, agencies may save the report transmission or print their reports each weekday (Monday – Friday) since each day’s information is superseded on the following business day by the next updated electronic transmission. These daily transmissions of the AFR Ad Hoc Review Reports only occur during the financial reporting period (Sept. 1 through Nov. 20). Please contact your financial reporting analyst if you have questions.

The daily transmission of the AFR Ad Hoc Review Reports is listed on the AFR webpage.

For more information, see Instructions for the GR Reconciliation Web Application.

State agencies and institutions of higher education that award a state grant in an amount greater than $25,000 from funds appropriated through the General Appropriations Act are required to publish the purpose of the grant on the agency’s public website.

• Unless your agency is already reporting, email the link to state.grants@cpa.texas.gov to be published on the State Grant Listing on TexasTransparency.org.
• Notify the Comptroller’s office only if the URL of the agency link changes. The Comptroller’s office does not need to be notified of new applicable grants.

Please see Requirement to Publish Purpose of State Grants (FPP S.010) for more information.

This is an important reminder about coding on the Recurring Transaction Profile (55) in USAS. Do not set an effective end date on certain Recurring Transaction Indexes (RTIs) used during the interagency reconciliation process for the annual financial report (AFR) until after Sept. 26.

Interagency Transaction Voucher (ITV) transactions must process successfully during the interagency reconciliation process for the AFR. An RTI (receiving) agency that sets an effective end date on the 55 profile will prevent a transaction (paying) agency from processing any ITV transactions past that effective end date.

Example: A transaction entered on Sept. 2 using an RTI with an effective end date of Aug. 31 would not process, even if the effective date on the transaction is backdated to Aug. 31. To avoid problems, the RTI agency should not set an effective end date on the 55 profile until after the completion of the interagency reconciliation process.

The Comptroller’s office recommends that agencies leave the effective end dates blank on RTIs unless there is an explicit need to include a date. For more information, please see the ITV/RTI Process section of USAS Frequently Asked Questions.

The USAS annual cash-basis close for fiscal 2016 will occur on Wednesday, Aug. 31.

The fiscal year-end close process requires shutting down the statewide fiscal systems. For more information, please see the Master Schedule of Year-End Close Events, which includes:

• The dates and times the online systems will be unavailable
• Contacts for any issues

Several substantive changes have been made to the Texas Comptroller Manual of Accounts (FPP Q.009). The list of changes includes entries that have been added, deleted or significantly modified.

The manual provides current information on state agencies, appropriated funds and accounts and object codes to be used in properly recording accounting transactions.

The recording of the AFR Update Webinar from July 7 is now available. The video segments available are:

• Introduction
• Overview, Highlights and Changes
• USAS Fiscal Year-End Processes
• GASB Update
• Statement of Cash Flow
• Deposit and Investments (DINSS)
• GR Reconciliation
• GASB Questionnaires
• Lease Notes (LNSS)
• Long-Term Liability (LTLN)
• Helpful AFR Tips
• Q&A and Closing Comments

You can view the recordings broken out by topic. No CPE credit is offered for viewing these recordings.

Agencies that reimburse employees for state-related hotel stays are due a refund for the associated hotel occupancy taxes. The refunds are generated automatically through USAS each quarter.

The hotel occupancy tax refund for June through July will be available on the DAFR8190 and DAFR8200 reports on Aug. 9.

For more information, see Hotel Occupancy Tax Quarterly Refund (FPP B.006).

Fiscal 2017 appropriation budgets must be entered into USAS and all required documentation submitted by the July 29 deadline.

Budget entry and documentation submission must be completed before appropriation control officers can approve a budget setup.

For more information including schedule spreadsheets (Excel), instructions, definitions and samples, see Establishing Appropriations by Method of Finance, Rider and Capital Budget Schedules (FPP A.020).

The interest rate the state pays on a late payment due to a vendor under the state’s prompt payment law will be 4.50 percent for fiscal 2017. The interest calculation is one percentage point higher than the prime rate published in the Wall Street Journal on the first business day of July.

For more information, see Interest Rate on eXpendit (FPP I.005).

The USAS annual cash-basis close for fiscal 2016 will occur on Wednesday, Aug. 31. The instructions, including important deadlines for submitting documents, are now available in USAS Annual Close Process (FPP Q.004).

More detailed information by appropriation year has been added this year. Please adhere to the deadlines in Scheduling Critical Payments at Year End.

Agencies using CAPPS Financials need to also follow CAPPS Financials Year-End Processing Instructions (FPP T.001).

Please see the 2016 Master Schedule of Year-End Close Events that includes:

• Processing deadlines
• Dates and times the online systems will be unavailable
• Contacts for any issues

The training materials for the Annual Financial Report (AFR) webinar event are now available on the AFR Training page of the AFR website. Users may download/print the training materials (PDF format) and follow along during the webinar.

The new Appropriation Year and Fiscal Year Comparison Chart illustrates the important differences between these two yearly time periods, including:

• What they do
• What they specify
• How long they last
• What the rules are
• Where they usually count most

This resource can be found in USAS Reference (FPP Q.012) and the Training Library: USAS.

The Comptroller’s Financial Reporting section is pleased to present the fiscal 2016 Reporting Requirements for Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) of State Agencies and Universities. The AFR website presents all reporting requirement information in an organized, user-friendly and intuitive format for users. Each agency and university must refer to the AFR Reporting Requirements website when preparing its fiscal 2016 AFR and posting fiscal year-end entries to reconcile the AFR to USAS.

Don’t forget to register for the AFR Update Webinar taking place on Thursday, July 7 from 9 a.m. to noon. Registration is required through:

• Training Center (login required) for all individuals planning to attend either the live presentation or the online webinar
• GoToMeeting for those individuals planning to attend the online webinar

See the AFR Training page for more details about:

• Event location and parking information for attendees coming to the live presentation
• Registration, instructions and system requirements for attendees participating through the online webinar
• How to get CPE credit for attending

Fiscal 2017 appropriation budgets must be entered into USAS and all required documentation submitted by the July 29 deadline.

Budget entry and documentation submission must be completed before appropriation control officers can approve a budget setup.

Agencies and institutions of higher education are encouraged to use the provided Excel spreadsheets for completing the required schedules. Please note the special requirements for unobligated balances.

For the spreadsheets, instructions, definitions and examples, see Establishing Appropriations by Method of Finance, Rider and Capital Budget Schedules (FPP A.020).

To ensure correct year-end USAS balances for imprest, petty cash and travel advance accounts, agencies authorized to maintain these accounts are asked to certify that USAS balances and agency computed balances (cash plus outstanding reimbursements) agree.

Only cash accounts with balances created from funds in the State Treasury are subject to this requirement.

The certification is due by July 8. All corrections must be entered into USAS by July 29.

See USAS Balance for Imprest, Petty Cash and Travel Advance Accounts (FPP A.045) for additional information, including instructions for requesting access and completing the forms.

To ensure correct year-end USAS balances for imprest, petty cash and travel advance accounts, agencies authorized to maintain these accounts are asked to certify that USAS balances and agency computed balances (cash plus outstanding reimbursements) agree.

Only cash accounts with balances created from funds in the State Treasury are subject to this requirement.

The certification is due by July 8. All corrections must be entered into USAS by July 29.

See USAS Balances for Imprest, Petty Cash and Travel Advance Accounts (FPP A.045) for additional information, including instructions for requesting access and completing the forms.

Earned Federal Funds (EFF) deposited by agencies into Appropriation 70000 in amounts above the level identified in General Appropriations Act (GAA), Article IX, Section 13.11 (b), plus benefits (13.11[g]), are appropriated subject to certain conditions and deadlines.

The conditions and deadlines are defined in the Appropriation Authority for Earned Federal Fund Collections Above the Annual Level section of Earned Federal Funds and Indirect Cost Reimbursements to the General Revenue Fund (APS 023) (FPP A.017).

For questions, please contact your agency’s appropriation control officer.

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report payables and binding encumbrances for third quarter fiscal 2016 appropriations no later than June 30.

Quarterly certification must be entered in the online form.

For more information, see Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019).

Do you help prepare your agency’s or university’s annual financial report (AFR) or enter AFR data into USAS? If so, join us on Thursday, July 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for the:

• 2016 AFR Update Live Presentation

  — OR —

• 2016 AFR Update Online Webinar

Topics include:

• Changes in the AFR requirements
• ACO presentation on USAS year-end deadlines/schedule
• GASB update information
• Changes to the AFR Web applications (and introducing a new GASB Survey Web application)
• Potential problem areas that need to be addressed and common errors

Whether you plan to attend the live presentation or the online webinar, registration is required through Training Center (login required) to get the three-hour continuing professional education (CPE) credit. CPE credits are issued through Training Center for both versions of the presentation — therefore, only individual participants who have registered through Training Center can receive CPE credit.

The live 2016 AFR Update presentation will be held at:
     William B. Travis Building, Room 1-100
     1701 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701

Note: Attendees for the live presentation can park for free on the top level of Garage B. See the Austin Capitol Complex Map for building location details and parking options.

To attend the online webinar, registration is also required through GoToMeeting. After registering, individuals will receive a confirmation email containing information on joining the webinar.

To receive the three-hour CPE credit for attending the online webinar, individual participants must:

• Register for the webinar through GoToMeeting and in Training Center (login required) prior to the webinar

  — AND —

• Log in with your individual webinar ID and attend the webinar on July 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

  — AND —

• Answer four of the six questions presented during the webinar

Note: Viewing the webinar as part of a “group” will not yield CPE credit for each individual. Only the individuals who registered, logged in and answered four out of six webinar questions are eligible for CPE credit.

Signed rosters cannot be used as proof of attendance for the online webinar.

The annual rollover for profiles in USAS will occur on June 18. The process automatically creates new profiles for fiscal year (FY) 2017 and appropriation year (AY) 2017, based on existing FY16 and AY16 profiles.

For more information, see USAS Profile Rollover (FPP Q.007).

Do you help prepare your agency’s or university’s annual financial report (AFR) or enter AFR data into USAS? If so, join us on Thursday, July 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for the:

• 2016 AFR Update Live Presentation

  –OR–

• 2016 AFR Update Online Webinar

Topics include:

• Changes in the AFR requirements
• ACO presentation on USAS year-end deadlines/schedule
• GASB update information
• Changes to the AFR Web applications (and introducing a new GASB Survey Web application)
• Potential problem areas that need to be addressed and common errors

Whether you plan to attend the live presentation or the online webinar, registration is required through Training Center (login required) to get the three-hour continuing professional education (CPE) credit. CPE credits are issued through Training Center for both versions of the presentation – therefore, only individual participants who have registered through Training Center can receive CPE credit.

The live 2016 AFR Update presentation will be held at:
   William B. Travis Building, Room 1-100
   1701 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701

Note: Attendees for the live presentation can park for free on the top level of Garage B. See the Austin Capitol Complex Map for building location details and parking options.

To attend the online webinar, registration is also required through GoToMeeting. After registering, individuals will receive a confirmation email containing information on joining the webinar.

To receive the three-hour CPE credit for attending the online webinar, individual participants must:

• Register for the webinar through GoToMeeting and in Training Center (login required) prior to the webinar

  –AND–

• Log in with your individual webinar ID and attend the webinar on July 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

  –AND–

• Answer four of the six questions presented during the webinar

For state agencies and institutions of higher education, the payroll due date for monthly and twice-monthly payrolls is no later than the seventh workday before payday.

Submitting your payrolls to the Comptroller’s office on or before the due dates assures adequate processing time for direct deposits and warrant distribution.

See Payroll Due Dates and Direct Deposit Schedules (FPP E.030) for more information, including the fiscal 2017 payroll due dates and direct deposit schedule.

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Currently held property will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 27.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more information, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division (UP).

Every two years, the Fiscal Management Division of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts requires an updated Agency Authorization for Warrant Pickup form (74-189) from state agencies and institutions of higher education. All authorizations now on file will terminate at 5 p.m. on April 29 and the new forms will become effective May 2.

Agencies and institutions must return their completed authorization forms to the Fiscal Management Division no later than April 22. If an agency’s renewal form is not on file by May 2, 2016, warrants will not be distributed for that agency.

For the instructions and form, see Renewal of Agency Authorization for Warrant Pickup (FPP E.053).

Every two years, the Fiscal Management Division of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts requires an updated Agency Authorization for Warrant Pickup form (74-189) PDF from state agencies and institutions of higher education.

All authorizations now on file will terminate at 5 p.m. on April 29 and the new forms will become effective May 2. Agencies and institutions must return the completed authorization form to the Fiscal Management Division no later than April 22.

For the instructions and form, see Renewal of Agency Authorization for Warrant Pickup (FPP E.053).

Although the Comptroller’s office will be closed for business on March 25 in observance of Good Friday, Payment Services will distribute warrants from 8 to 10 a.m. The warrants will be for the March 24 processing cycle.

For the warrant pickup requirements, please see Holiday Payment Distribution.

If you need to submit a USAS or TINS batch file on a weekend or holiday, please see the new Batch File Submission Calendar. This resource was created to help determine when a file will be included in the file sweep and covers:

• File Sweep Calendar Rules
• File Sweep Examples
• Determining USAS Cycle Dates

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report payables and binding encumbrances for second quarter fiscal 2016 appropriations no later than March 30 to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Quarterly certification must be entered in the online form.

For more information, see Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018).

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ ability to accurately distinguish confidential and non-confidential payments is critical in making payment information promptly available to the public. State agencies and institutions of higher education must ensure that confidential transactions are properly marked to protect payee confidentiality as stipulated by USAS and CAPPS Confidentiality Indicator (FPP E.045).

Under state law, it is the responsibility of the agency submitting a transaction to determine the confidentiality of the transaction. Transactions are legally considered public unless specifically excluded by the Public Information Act (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552). When an agency marks a transaction confidential, the agency should be prepared to cite the law or attorney general opinion that excludes the payment from public disclosure.

Several substantive changes have been made to the Texas Comptroller Manual of Accounts (FPP Q.009). The list of changes includes entries that have been added, deleted or significantly modified.

The manual provides current information on state agencies, appropriated funds and accounts and object codes to be used in properly recording accounting transactions.

For questions, please contact Samuel.Miller@cpa.texas.gov.

Do you need to submit a form to Fiscal Management? Visit the Forms page or appropriate topic page on FMX to ensure you submit the current version.

The Forms page is always available from the top drop-down menu bar. Forms can be filtered by topic or browsed alphabetically or numerically. Topic pages such as Appropriations or Payment Services feature a forms subheading with a link to forms on that topic.

Note: Previously downloaded copies or stored links may not provide up-to-date forms.

A number of substantive changes, effective Sept. 30 and Jan. 1, have been made recently to the Texas Comptroller Manual of Accounts (FPP Q.009) due to legislation passed by the 84th Legislature, Regular Session. The list includes entries that have been added, deleted or significantly modified.

The manual provides current information on state agencies, appropriated funds and accounts and object codes to be used in properly recording accounting transactions.

For questions, please contact Samuel.Miller@cpa.texas.gov.

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Currently held property will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 27.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more information, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division (UP) and the list of agencies with unclaimed funds. UP will mail claim forms to the financial representatives of agencies on the list by Jan. 29.

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Currently held property will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 27.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more information, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division (UP) and the list of agencies with unclaimed funds. UP will mail claim forms to the financial representatives of agencies on the list by Jan. 29.

Effective Nov. 23, the Comptroller’s office updated the password requirements for all systems and applications that authenticate with a mainframe password:

• Mainframe systems (HRIS, SPA, SPRS, TINS, USAS and USPS)
• Annual Financial Report Web Applications
• Comptroller’s Employee Time Accounting, also used by DPS
• FMX restricted areas
• FTP Reports
• INFOPAC/INFOSGA
• State Agency Payment Search
• Web Warrant Inquiry and Cancellation Request System

Any password changes or reset requests on a mainframe account starting Nov. 23 will have new requirements. For more information, please see Mainframe Password Requirements (Comptroller user ID required).

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts statewide financial systems will be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For additional details, see the Systems topic page.

State and federal holidays listed on the System Outages and Holidays Calendar with no scheduled USAS cycle are excluded when determining the direct deposit settlement date of a payment.

Since financial institutions are closed, no direct deposit activity occurs on those days. Agencies must exclude these dates when determining when to process their payments to ensure prompt payment and avoid late payment interest.

Note: Do not submit USAS or TINS files on holidays when no cycle runs. Files sent on a holiday will be overwritten by files submitted after the holiday.

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report certain payments to the Internal Revenue Service on a Form 1099-Miscellaneous (MISC) or Form 1099-Interest Income (INT) and send a duplicate Form 1099 to the payee.

To help agencies and institutions comply with this requirement for calendar year 2015, USAS will capture 1099-related data and generate 1099 Verification Reports (DAFR 7940), Forms 1099-MISC and/or Forms 1099-INT (DAFR 7950) for each agency or institution upon request.

For instructions on requesting 1099 data from USAS, see USAS Procedures for 1099 Reporting for Calendar Year 2015 (FPP E.001).

Please note: Per IRS instructions, if you are submitting hard copy 1099 forms to the IRS, Copy A must be completed using the 12-point Courier font and printed using black ink only.

The State of Texas Annual Cash Report, fiscal 2015, is now available. The report presents the state’s financial position and details revenues and expenditures on a cash basis, as required by Government Code, Section 403.013.

Benefits Proportional by Fund Reports and related adjustments are due Nov. 19.

Agencies and institutions funded with a single appropriated fund must submit a letter confirming this status by Nov. 19.

For forms and sample letters, see Benefits Proportional by Fund (APS 011) (FPP A.010).

State agencies and institutions of higher education are required to ensure payments of benefit costs are proportional to the agency’s or institution’s funding from appropriated funds, unless another legal provision prohibits proportionality.

Benefits Proportional by Fund Reports and related adjustments are due Nov. 19.

Agencies and institutions funded with a single appropriated fund must submit a letter confirming this status by Nov. 19.

For forms and sample letters, see Benefits Proportional by Fund (APS 011) (FPP A.010).

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) or phone or email your agency’s Purchase and Travel contact.

Please complete our online survey to let us know if our automated tools and statewide financial systems are meeting your expectations. The survey is available now until close of business Friday, Oct. 30. We appreciate your feedback.

If you have any questions about the survey, please email us at fiscal.documentation@cpa.texas.gov.

Per Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018), 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. 2 nightly cycle.

The Comptroller’s office operates several financial systems to maintain the central accounting records of the state, perform accounting activities and prepare payroll and other warrants. In addition, the agency has developed several automated tools to help state agencies and institutions of higher education with their accounting and reporting tasks.

Let us know how these automated tools and statewide financial systems are meeting your expectations by taking a few minutes to complete our online survey. The survey is available now until close of business Friday, Oct. 30. We appreciate your feedback.

If you have any questions about the survey, please email us at fiscal.documentation@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. 2 nightly cycle.

For full details, see Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018).

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. Review your agency’s procedures to ensure compliance with USAS and CAPPS Financials Invoice Number Field Requirements (FPP E.023).

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.

Data items described in Business and Commerce Code, Section 521.002 must not be entered into a field not specifically created for that information unless explicitly allowed by Comptroller policy. Disallowed data includes:

• Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Driver’s license number
• Credit card number
• Direct deposit or bank routing information
• Medical information
• Any other sensitive information

State agencies and institutions of higher education that award a state grant in an amount greater than $25,000 from funds appropriated through the General Appropriations Act are required to publish the purpose for which the grant was awarded on the agency’s public website.

Will your agency or institution award new grants that fall under this requirement? If you have not already done so, email state.grants@cpa.texas.gov your agency’s single link to a Web page that provides the purposes of all applicable grants. The State Grant Listing of links to the agency grant information is available on TexasTransparency.org.

Note: If your agency is already reporting, the Comptroller’s office does not need to be notified of new applicable grants. However, if the URL of the agency Web page changes, notify the Comptroller’s office at state.grants@cpa.texas.gov.

Please see Requirement to Publish Purpose of State Grants (FPP S.010) for more information.

Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) has been reorganized to include CAPPS instructions.

Please review the new format of this APS. Each APS should be carefully reviewed to ensure compliance with the most current policies and procedures.

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report annual binding encumbrances and payables to the Comptroller’s office per APS 018. Because the annual reporting requirement encompasses the fourth quarter of the previous appropriation year, there is no requirement for separate fourth-quarter reporting.

Agencies must enter encumbrances and payables into USAS for AY 2015 and prior years’ appropriations by the due date for their agency type for annual financial reporting:

• Sept. 30 for simplified reporting agencies
• Oct. 30 for full reporting agencies

All agencies must submit the online Annual Certification by Oct. 30.

By Oct. 30 each year, all agencies must lapse appropriation balances that exceed the level necessary to satisfy any outstanding binding encumbrances and/or payables.

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. 2 nightly cycle.

Appropriation balances on the USAS Appropriation Record Inquiry (62) screen may require adjustments or corrections before unexpended balance (UB) forward, lapsing or collected cash disposition. All transactions for budget revisions and expenditure transfers for affected years should be completed before processing UB or lapse transactions. Doing so will reduce the number of issues that may arise with the automatic lapse program.

For full details, see APS 018.

Several Accounting Policy Statements (APSs) have been updated through acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session. The APSs include changes to terminology, policies, procedures and transaction coding blocks. Some APSs have been updated to include information applicable to CAPPS.

Each APS should be carefully reviewed to ensure compliance with the most current policies and procedures.

Institutions of higher education hold appropriated funds outside the State Treasury and must enter fiscal 2015 expenditure activity into USAS by Oct. 15 for reconciliation with the Legislative Budget Board’s Automated Budget and Evaluation System of Texas (ABEST).

In addition to D23 Fund 7999 — Other Educational and General Expenditures, expenditure activity must also be entered for D22 Fund 0369 — American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, if applicable.

Note: Community/junior colleges are excluded from these requirements.

For more information, see Entering Higher Education Expenditure Activity into USAS for USAS/ABEST Reconciliation (FPP B.011).

A number of substantive changes have been made recently to the Texas Comptroller Manual of Accounts (FPP Q.009) due to legislation passed by the 84th Legislature, Regular Session. The list includes entries that have been added, deleted or significantly modified.

The manual provides current information on state agencies, appropriated funds and accounts and object codes to be used in properly recording accounting transactions.

For questions, please contact Samuel.Miller@cpa.texas.gov.

Several Accounting Policy Statements (APSs) have been updated through acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session. The APSs include changes to terminology, policies, procedures and transaction coding blocks. Some APSs have been updated to include information applicable to CAPPS.

Each APS should be carefully reviewed to ensure compliance with the most current policies and procedures.

All proceeds from the sale of surplus property, equipment and commodities must be deposited to general revenue (GR) in appropriation 99908.

• An agency may reappropriate 25 percent of the receipts from the sale of surplus property for expenditure during the fiscal year in which the receipts are received.
• The Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) deposits 100 percent of the proceeds from sales made by TFC on behalf of an agency into GR.

For more information, see Proceeds from the Sale of Surplus Property (FPP A.032).

Several Accounting Policy Statements (APSs) have been updated through acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session. The APSs include changes to terminology, policies, procedures and transaction coding blocks. Some APSs have been updated to include information applicable to CAPPS.

Each APS should be carefully reviewed to ensure compliance with the most current policies and procedures.

This is an important reminder about coding on the Recurring Transaction Profile (55) in USAS. Do not set an effective end date on certain Recurring Transaction Indexes (RTIs) used during the interagency reconciliation process for the annual financial report (AFR) until after Sept. 26.

Interagency Transaction Voucher (ITV) transactions must process successfully during the interagency reconciliation process for the AFR. An RTI (receiving) agency that sets an effective end date on the 55 profile will prevent a transaction/paying agency from processing any ITV transactions past that effective end date.

Example: A transaction entered on Sept. 2 using an RTI with an effective end date of Aug. 31 would not process, even if the effective date on the transaction is backdated to Aug. 31. To avoid problems, the RTI agency should not set an effective end date on the 55 profile until after the completion of the interagency reconciliation process.

The Comptroller’s office recommends that agencies leave the effective end dates blank on RTIs unless there is an explicit need to include a date.

For more information, please see the ITV/RTI Process section of USAS Frequently Asked Questions.

State agencies and institutions of higher education that award a state grant in an amount greater than $25,000 from funds appropriated through the General Appropriations Act are required to publish the purpose for which the grant was awarded on the agency’s public website.

Will your agency or institution award new grants that fall under this requirement? If you have not already done so, email state.grants@cpa.state.tx.us your agency’s single link to a Web page that provides the purposes of all applicable grants. The State Grant Listing of links to the agency grant information is available on TexasTransparency.org.

Note: The Comptroller’s office does not need to be notified of new applicable grants. However, if the URL of the agency Web page changes, notify the Comptroller’s office at state.grants@cpa.state.tx.us.

Please see Requirement to Publish Purpose of State Grants (FPP S.010) for more information.

The USAS annual cash-basis close for fiscal 2015 will occur on Monday, Aug. 31.

The fiscal year-end close process requires shutting down the statewide fiscal systems. For more information, please see the Master Schedule of Year-End Close Events, which includes:

• The dates and times the online systems will be unavailable
• Contacts for any issues

The 84th Legislature, Regular Session, provided appropriations for salary increases for certain state agency employees in fiscal 2016.

The enactment of House Bill 9 increases the member contribution rate to the Employees Retirement System to 9.5 percent of each member’s compensation. The accompanying increase of 2.5 percent in annual salary for certain state employees is set to begin on Sept. 1.

The Comptroller’s office provides the following details on the salary increase:

• Appropriations for the Salary Increase for Certain State Employees (FPP A.009)
• Guidelines for the Salary Increase for Certain State Employees (FPP F.017)

The 84th Legislature made numerous changes to Article IX of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) that take effect Sept. 1. A summary of these changes and of major bills passed that affect multiple agencies can be found at Changes to Article IX of the GAA and Other Bills of Interest to State Agencies (FPP F.008).

Two USAS fiscal policy and procedures (FPPs) have been renamed and updated to include information for CAPPS Financials:

• USAS Invoice Number Field Requirements (FPP E.023) has been updated and renamed USAS and CAPPS Financials Invoice Number Field Requirements (FPP E.023). The updated FPP includes clarification on confidential and protected health information that must not be submitted to the Comptroller’s office in USAS, CAPPS or by any other method.
• USAS Confidential Indicator (FPP E.045) has been updated and renamed USAS and CAPPS Financials Confidentiality Indicator (FPP E.045). The updated FPP includes details on how to mark transactions as confidential in both USAS and CAPPS Financials.

A number of substantive changes have been made recently to the Texas Comptroller Manual of Accounts (FPP Q.009) for fiscal 2015 due to legislation passed by the 84th Legislature, Regular Session. The list includes entries that have been added, deleted or significantly modified.

The manual provides current information on state agencies, appropriated funds and accounts and object codes to be used in properly recording accounting transactions.

For questions, please contact Samuel.Miller@cpa.texas.gov.

The recording of the AFR Update Webinar from July 9 is now available.

The video segments available are:

• Introduction
• Overview, Highlights and Changes
• GASB Update
• USAS Year-End Processes
• GR Reconciliation
• Interfund Activities
• Basis Conversion Adjustments
• Common AFR Errors
• Questions and Answers/Closing Comments

You can view the recordings broken out by topic. No CPE credit will be offered for viewing these recordings.

Agencies that reimburse employees for state-related hotel stays are due a refund for the associated hotel occupancy taxes. The refunds are generated automatically through USAS each quarter.

The hotel occupancy tax refund for June through July will be available on the DAFR8190 and DAFR8200 reports on Aug. 9.

For more information, see Hotel Occupancy Tax Quarterly Refund (FPP B.006).

Fiscal 2016 appropriation budgets must be entered into USAS and all required documentation submitted by the July 31 deadline.

Budget entry and documentation submission must be completed before appropriation control officers can approve a budget setup.

For more information including schedule spreadsheets (Excel), instructions, definitions and samples, see Establishing Appropriations by Method of Finance, Rider and Capital Budget Schedules (FPP A.020).

Please complete our online survey to let us know if we are meeting your customer service expectations. Your responses help us improve the services we provide.

The survey is available now until close of business Friday, July 24. If you have questions about this survey, please email us at fiscal.documentation@cpa.texas.gov. Thank you in advance for your help.

The interest rate the state pays on a late payment due a vendor under the state’s prompt payment law will be 4.25 percent for fiscal 2016. The interest calculation is one percentage point higher than the prime rate published in the Wall Street Journal on the first business day of July.

For more information, see Interest Rate under the Prompt Payment tab in eXpendit (FPP I.005).

Processing Supplemental Appropriations and Reductions (FPP A. 047) has been updated with instructions for USAS and CAPPS to reflect House Bill 2, 84th Legislature, Regular Session.

The Legislature reduced certain appropriations and made supplemental appropriations. Please refer to the HB 2 LBB ABEST/USAS Crosswalk provided by your appropriation control officer.

Affected state agencies and institutions of higher education must follow the instructions in the FPP by July 24.

House Bill 6, 84th Legislature, Regular Session, continues the policy of the Legislature to limit the number of new GR accounts, special funds and dedications of revenue. A summary of HB 6 is available at Funds Consolidation: Limits on New General Revenue Accounts, Special Funds and Dedications of Revenue (FPP A.046).

The Comptroller’s Financial Reporting section is pleased to present the fiscal 2015 Reporting Requirements for Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) of State Agencies and Universities. The AFR website presents all reporting requirement information in an organized, user-friendly and intuitive format for users. Each agency and university must refer to the AFR Reporting Requirements website when preparing its fiscal 2015 AFR and posting fiscal year-end entries to reconcile the AFR to USAS.

The training materials for the Annual Financial Report (AFR) webinar event are now available on the Training page of the AFR website. Users may download/print the training materials (PDF format) and follow along during the webinar.

The USAS annual cash-basis close for fiscal 2015 will occur on Monday, Aug. 31. The instructions and master schedule including important deadlines for submitting documents to USAS for fiscal 2015 processing are now available.

Please adhere to the deadlines in the schedule to ensure that fiscal 2015 documents process before the year is closed.

For more information, see USAS Annual Close Process (FPP Q.004).

New this year is the Master Schedule of Year-End Close Events that includes:

• All processing deadlines
• The dates and times the online systems will be unavailable
• Contacts for any issues

Don’t forget to register for the AFR Update Webinar taking place on Thursday, July 9 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Registration is required through GoToMeeting to participate. Topics include:

• Changes in the AFR requirements
• GASB update information
• ACO presentation on USAS year-end issues
• Potential problem areas that need to be addressed
• Changes to the AFR Web applications

If you would like to receive Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit, you must:

• Register for the webinar through GoToMeeting prior to the webinar

  — AND —

• Log in with your individual webinar ID and attend the webinar on July 9 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

  — AND —

• Answer four of the six questions presented during the webinar

Note: Viewing the webinar as part of a “group” will not yield CPE credit for each individual. Only the individuals who registered, logged in and answered four out of six questions are eligible for CPE credit.

Signed rosters cannot be used as proof of attendance.

Although the Comptroller’s office will be closed for business on July 3, Payment Services will distribute warrants from 8 to 10 a.m. for the July 2 processing cycle.

The authorized agency and/or delivery service representative must be included on the Agency Authorization for Warrant Pickup form (74-189).

Note: If your agency has warrants for wire transfers on July 3, your agency runner needs to deliver them to the Treasury.

Do you help prepare your agency’s or university’s annual financial report (AFR) or enter AFR data into USAS?

If so, join us for the AFR Update Webinar on Thursday, July 9 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Topics include:

• Changes in the AFR requirements
• GASB update information
• ACO presentation on USAS year-end issues
• Potential problem areas that need to be addressed
• Changes to the AFR Web applications

Registration is required through GoToMeeting.

If you would like to receive continuing professional education (CPE) credit, you must:

• Register for the webinar through GoToMeeting prior to the webinar

  — AND —

• Log in with your individual webinar ID and attend the webinar on July 9 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

  — AND —

• Answer four of the six questions presented during the webinar

Note: Viewing the webinar as part of a “group” will not yield CPE credit for each individual. Only the individuals who registered, logged in and answered four out of six questions are eligible for CPE credit.

Signed rosters cannot be used as proof of attendance.

To ensure correct year-end USAS balances for imprest, petty cash and travel advance accounts, agencies authorized to maintain these accounts are asked to certify that USAS balances and agency computed balances (cash plus outstanding reimbursements) agree.

Only cash accounts with balances created from funds in the State Treasury are subject to this requirement.

The certification is due July 9. All corrections must be entered into USAS by July 30.

See USAS Balances for Imprest, Petty Cash and Travel Advance Accounts (FPP A.045) for additional information, including instructions for requesting access and completing the forms.

A number of substantive changes have been made recently to the Texas Comptroller Manual of Accounts (FPP Q.009). The list includes entries that have been added, deleted or significantly modified.

The manual provides current information on state agencies, appropriated funds and accounts and object codes used to properly record accounting transactions.

For questions or feedback on the Manual of Accounts, please contact Samuel Miller at Samuel.Miller@cpa.texas.gov.

Fiscal 2016 appropriation budgets must be entered into USAS and all required documentation submitted by the July 31 deadline.

Budget entry and documentation submission must be completed before appropriation control officers can approve a budget setup.

Agencies and institutions of higher education are encouraged to use the provided Excel spreadsheets for completing the required schedules. Please note the special requirements for unobligated balances.

For the spreadsheets, instructions, definitions and examples, see Establishing Appropriations by Method of Finance, Rider and Capital Budget Schedules (FPP A.020).

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report payables and binding encumbrances for third quarter fiscal 2015 appropriations no later than June 30.

Quarterly certification must be entered in the online form.

For more information, see Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019).

Note: CAPPS Financials agencies are considered reporting agencies under APS 018.

How well are we meeting your customer service expectations?

Please let us know by completing the online survey by Friday, July 24. We appreciate your feedback.

If you have any questions about the survey, please email us at fiscal.documentation@cpa.texas.gov.

Earned Federal Funds (EFF) deposited by agencies into Appropriation 70000 in amounts above the level identified in General Appropriations Act (GAA), Article IX, Section 6.22 (b), plus benefits (6.22[g]), are appropriated subject to certain conditions and deadlines.

The conditions and deadlines are defined in the Appropriation Authority for Earned Federal Fund Collections Above the Annual Level section of Earned Federal Funds and Indirect Cost Reimbursements to the General Revenue Fund (APS 023) (FPP A.017).

For appropriation year 2015 (AY 15), an agency must report anticipated amounts and proposed use of EFF funds in writing to the LBB at least 30 days prior to budgeting or expending those amounts above the 2015 EFF level.

For all agencies:

• If the letter to the LBB is dated before Aug. 1, Appropriation 23622 will be increased in the current AY and must be expended or encumbered by Aug. 31.
• If the letter to the LBB is dated after Aug. 1, no additional appropriation can be made.

Agencies will transfer end-of-year balances in Appropriation 70000 Appropriated Fund 0369 to Agency 902 via the RTI process using RTI # 00369 (T-code 475, COBJ 7973).

For questions, please contact your agency’s appropriation control officer.

Do you help prepare your agency’s or university’s annual financial report (AFR) or enter AFR data into USAS? If so, join us for the AFR Update Webinar on Thursday, July 9 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Topics include:

• Changes in the AFR requirements
• GASB update information
• ACO presentation on USAS year-end issues
• Potential problem areas that need to be addressed
• Changes to the AFR Web applications

Registration is required through GoToMeeting.

If you would like to receive continuing professional education (CPE) credit, you must:

• Register for the webinar through GoToMeeting prior to the webinar

  — AND —

• Log in with your individual webinar ID and attend the webinar on July 9 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

  — AND —

• Answer four of the six questions presented during the webinar

Note: Viewing the webinar as part of a “group” will not yield CPE credit for each individual. Only the individuals who registered, logged in and answered four out of six questions are eligible for CPE credit.

Signed rosters cannot be used as proof of attendance.

To ensure correct year-end USAS balances for imprest, petty cash and travel advance accounts, agencies authorized to maintain these accounts are asked to certify that USAS balances and agency computed balances (cash plus outstanding reimbursements) agree.

Only cash accounts with balances created from funds in the State Treasury are subject to this requirement.

The certification is due July 9. All corrections must be entered into USAS by July 30.

See USAS Balances for Imprest, Petty Cash and Travel Advance Accounts (FPP A.045) for additional information, including instructions for requesting access and completing the forms.

The annual rollover for profiles in USAS will occur on June 20. The process automatically creates new profiles for fiscal year (FY) 2016 and appropriation year (AY) 2016, based on existing FY15 and AY15 profiles.

For more information, see USAS Profile Rollover (FPP Q.007).

For state agencies and institutions of higher education, the payroll due date for monthly and twice-monthly payrolls is no later than the seventh workday before payday.

Submitting your payrolls to the Comptroller’s office on or before the due dates assures adequate processing time for direct deposits and warrant distribution.

See Payroll Due Dates and Direct Deposit Schedules (FPP E.030) for more information, including the fiscal 2016 payroll due dates and direct deposit schedule.

Letter of Authorization (LOA) Signature Lists currently on file for HRIS, SPRS, USPS and CAPPS will expire on May 31.

By May 31, each agency and institution of higher education must submit the names of authorized employees and a new LOA Signature List form. Beginning June 1, only newly authorized state employees may request data changes.

For detailed instructions, see Authorization and Request Process for Data Changes to Statewide Payroll/Personnel Systems (FPP M.009).

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Property currently being held will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 29.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more information, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division (UP). All state agencies or institutions of higher education with unclaimed funds were notified as of March 31, 2015.

TINS Application Change Request (ACR) 60028 will migrate May 5 to change the warrant size and appearance.

The new warrants will be 8.5 x 3.5 inches printed on an 8.5 x 11 sheet that includes the stub. Each agency will receive their warrants tri-folded and ready for insertion in #10 window business envelopes.

Your agency may need to stock envelopes to accommodate the new warrant size. Current warrant envelopes may need to be stocked for 30–45 days after May 5 for distribution of released held warrants issued before May 5.

For more information, please see TINS ACR 60028.

Letter of Authorization (LOA) Signature Lists currently on file for HRIS, SPRS, USPS and CAPPS will expire on May 31.

By May 31, each agency and institution of higher education must submit the names of authorized employees and a new LOA Signature List form. Beginning June 1, only newly authorized state employees may request data changes.

For detailed instructions, see Authorization and Request Process for Data Changes to Statewide Payroll/Personnel Systems (FPP M.009).

Effective May 5, the state warrants (checks) will have a different size and appearance.

The new warrants fit in #10 window business envelopes and will be 8.5 x 3.5 inches printed on an 8.5 x 11 sheet that includes the stub. Your agency may need to stock envelopes to accommodate the new warrant size.

Held warrants issued before May 5 that are released will be in the current size. Current warrant envelopes may need to be stocked for 30-45 days after May 5 for distribution of released held warrants issued before May 5.

The stub will have:

• 30 spaces for the invoice number (increased from 14 spaces)
• 35 spaces for a payment description (increased from 30 spaces)

Note: Payment-related information may not include any confidential or Protected Health Information as outlined in USAS Invoice Number Field Requirements (FPP E.023).

If you have questions about the warrant changes, please contact Payment Services.

To view FMX, you must use these browser versions or an earlier version.

• Mozilla Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) 31.6.0
• Google Chrome 41.0.2272.118 m
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 11.0.9600.17691
• Apple Safari 6.2.3

If you have questions, please contact your agency’s IT department.

The upgrade to the software behind FMQuery has been delayed. The FMQuery – Payroll classes will be rescheduled. Watch for an update on the upgrade in FMXtra.

Effective May 5, the state warrants (checks) will have a different size and appearance.

The new warrants fit in #10 window business envelopes and will be 8.5 x 4 inches printed on an 8.5 x 11 sheet that includes the stub. Your agency may need to stock envelopes to accommodate the new warrant size.

Held warrants issued before May 5 that are released will be in the current size. Current warrant envelopes may need to be stocked for 30–45 days after May 5 for distribution of released held warrants issued before May 5.

The stub will have:

• 30 spaces for the invoice number (increased from 14 spaces)
• 35 spaces for a payment description (increased from 30 spaces)

Note: Payment-related information may not include any confidential or Protected Health Information as outlined in USAS Invoice Number Field Requirements (FPP E.023).

If you have questions about the warrant changes, please contact Payment Services.

Although the Comptroller's office will be closed for business on April 3 in observance of Good Friday, Payment Services will distribute warrants from 8 to 10 a.m. for the April 2 processing cycle.

The authorized agency and/or delivery service representative must be included on the Agency Authorization for Warrant Pickup form (74-189).

Note: If your agency has warrants for wire transfers on April 3, your agency runner needs to deliver them to the Treasury.

The change to the size of a state warrant has been delayed and will occur no earlier than the end of April 2015. Your agency may want to purchase only enough warrant stock envelopes for this time period.

The new warrants fit in #10 window business envelopes and will be 8.5 x 4 inches printed on an 8.5 x 11 sheet that includes the stub.

Watch FMXtra for details, which will be announced as soon as more information is available. If you have other questions, please contact Payment Services.

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts offers two new Where the Money Goes tools that make it easier for the public to find and analyze payments made by state agencies and institutions of higher education.

• The Travel Payments tool breaks down payments by agency, individual payee, type of travel expense and more.
• The Payments to Payee tool is a new view of the state’s check register that lists individual payments, transaction dates, comptroller object codes and more.

These data visualization tools will replace most of the classic tools, which will still be offered for a limited time. A comparison of classic and data visualization tools is available.

See Where the Money Goes Requirements (FPP G.004) for details on the responsibilities of state agencies and institutions of higher education.

State agencies and institutions of higher education must report payables and binding encumbrances for second quarter fiscal 2015 appropriations no later than March 30 to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Quarterly certification must be entered in the online form.

For more information, see Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019).

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ ability to accurately distinguish confidential and non-confidential payments is critical in making payment information promptly available to the public. State agencies and institutions of higher education must ensure that confidential transactions are properly marked to protect payee confidentiality as stipulated by USAS Confidential Indicator (FPP E.045).

Under state law, it is the responsibility of the agency submitting a transaction to determine the confidentiality of the transaction. Transactions are legally considered public unless specifically excluded by the Public Information Act (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552). When an agency marks a transaction confidential, the agency should be prepared to cite the law or attorney general opinion that excludes the payment from public disclosure.

Note: “Agency” includes institutions of higher education.

Do you need to submit a form to Fiscal Management? To ensure you always use a current form, download it at the time you need it from either the Forms page or the appropriate topic page on FMX.

The Forms page is always available from the top drop-down menu bar. Forms can be filtered by topic or browsed alphabetically or numerically. Topic pages such as Appropriations or Payment Services feature a forms subheading with a link to forms on that topic.

Note: Previously downloaded copies or stored links may not provide up-to-date forms.

Encumbrance Report and Lapsing of Appropriations (APS 018) (FPP A.019) was updated for fiscal 2015 to require that the chief fiscal officer or higher official submit a lapse reversal request that includes a justification for the reversal for approval.

The Reinstating lapsed balances section of APS 018 now clarifies that the justification must support that the funds released by the requested lapse reversal are needed to pay a valid expenditure incurred prior to the end of the appropriation year for which the reversal is requested.

If you have questions, please contact your appropriation control officer.

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Property currently being held will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 29.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more information, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division (UP) and the list of agencies and institutions with unclaimed funds. UP will mail claim forms to the financial representatives of agencies on the list by Jan. 31.

Training Center, the online registration system for Fiscal Management training, has been updated to reflect the email domain change to a texas.gov address for affected agencies.

You must use your new texas.gov email address to sign in to register for a class or access your training certificates and transcripts. Your password or other account information has not changed. The Training Center sign-in page identifies the affected agencies.

For questions, please email fm.training@cpa.texas.gov.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar has announced the following staff changes:

• Phillip Ashley is now Associate Deputy Comptroller for Fiscal Matters, overseeing the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, Revenue Estimating, Treasury Operations, Property Tax Assistance, Unclaimed Property and Educational Opportunities & Investment in addition to Fiscal Management.
• Rob Coleman is now Director of Fiscal Management, overseeing the Fiscal Integrity, Statewide Fiscal Services and Statewide Fiscal Systems departments.
• Sandra Woodruff is now Assistant Director of Fiscal Management.

Please see FMX for contact information for Fiscal Management – Directors, Managers & Administrative Assistants.

Unclaimed property turned over to the state includes property that may belong to state agencies or institutions of higher education. If agencies and institutions do not claim property after an annual notification, the Comptroller’s office deposits the money into unappropriated General Revenue (GR). Property currently being held will be swept into GR if not claimed by May 29.

See the Unclaimed Property Annual Notification for more information, including contact information for the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Division (UP) and the list of agencies and institutions with unclaimed funds. UP will mail claim forms to the financial representatives of agencies on the list by Jan. 31.

In keeping with the Texas Department of Information Resources’ request for agencies to adopt the texas.gov Web and email extensions, the Comptroller of Public Accounts announces the following changes:

Website Update and URL

The Window on State Government website has a refreshed look with a new name and URL: Comptroller.Texas.Gov. Links to Window URLs will continue to work due to automatic redirects.

Note: FMX has not been affected at this time.

Email Addresses

The Comptroller’s office is phasing a new style for staff email addresses during 2015: firstname.lastname @cpa.texas.gov. Either Jane.Doe @cpa.state.tx.us or @cpa.texas.gov will work for the time being.

Watch FMXtra for additional updates.