Reclamation Financial Assistance Memorandum (RFAM) No. 02-01
Conversion to the Automated Standard Application for Payment System
84-27800
ADM-13.00
MEMORANDUM
To:
Regional Director, PN, MP, LC, UC, GP
Attention: PN-3700, PN-6300, MP-3800, LC-3100, UC-440,
UC-450, GP-3800
Director, Administrative Service Center
Attention: D-2940
Director, Management Services
Attention: 84-27800, 84-27810
From:
Linda Waring-Wilson
Manager, Acquisition and Assistance Management Services
Subject:
Reclamation Financial Assistance Memorandum (RFAM) 02-01 - Conversion to the
Automated Standard Application for Payment (ASAP) System for Payments to
Recipients of Grants and Cooperative Agreements
1. Purpose. This purpose of this memorandum is to transmit information regarding a mandatory conversion to a new system for payment of advances and reimbursements to recipients of grants and cooperative agreements.
2. Effective date. This RFAM is effective upon issuance.
3. Expiration date. This RFAM is in effect until canceled or superseded.
4. Background. On June 16, 1998, the Chief Financial Officers Council (CFOC) made the unanimous decision to adopt a major new financial management improvement initiative designed to streamline and reduce the number of grant payment systems currently utilized throughout the Federal government. This decision was in response to the recognized needs of the grant recipient community for an elimination of redundant Federal payment systems that increase costs and create administrative burdens for grantees. Additionally, this change will reduce costs for the Federal government by decreasing expenditures for development and maintenance of numerous payment systems. System implementation is required by October 1, 2002.
Reclamation selected the ASAP System, available through the Department of Treasury, Financial Management Service (FMS), as its grant payment system. ASAP is a recipient-initiated payment and information system, designed to provide a single point of contact for the request and delivery of Federal funds. Through ASAP, funds which have been preauthorized by Reclamation can be drawn by recipient organizations to coincide with the cash outlays required to meet the needs of their funded programs.
5. Explanation of Changes. In order to ensure that Reclamation offers usage of the ASAP system to recipients by the required implementation date, the following actions are being taken:
a. The Finance and Accounting Division (FAD), Operations Group, 84-27734, and the Acquisition and Assistance Management Division (AAMD), 84-27800, are working jointly to set up the necessary internal processes and procedures which will be required to convert Reclamation's current recipients, estimated to be between 500 to 600 organizations, to usage of the ASAP system. To date, Reclamation has completed the agency enrollment process required by FMS, representatives from FAD and AAMD have attended training on the usage of the ASAP system, ASAP software has been installed in Finance, and initial testing of the system has been successfully completed with one recipient organization.
b. In November 2001, AAMD met with representatives from Regional and Denver Office grant and cooperative agreement offices to discuss ASAP and the resulting changes to internal processes and procedures.
c. On November 21, 2001, the Director, Management Services Office, issued a memorandum to all Directors and Area Office Managers, to inform them of the conversion to ASAP.
d. The next step will be to begin the ASAP enrollment process by identifying, contacting, and enrolling current recipients. Many recipients have agreements with more than one region, and therefore, in order to avoid duplication in contacting recipients, AAMD will be responsible for initiating the enrollment process for all current recipients. Starting in February, the attached enrollment letter will be sent to approximately 150 recipients each month until all current recipients have been contacted.
e. Initially, it is not anticipated that all recipients will convert to use of ASAP, especially smaller organizations and those that do not request payments on a frequent basis. It should be expected, however, that many states, cities, universities, and large research organizations would elect to convert to ASAP, as it will allow them immediate access to funding for their programs. The information obtained from recipients that wish to enroll will be forwarded to FMS, which is responsible for completing the ASAP enrollment process and for providing all training and continued support to recipients on the use of the ASAP system.
AAMD will provide information to Regional/Denver Offices regarding which recipients have been contacted and which ones elect to enroll in ASAP.
f. Due to variations in the payment provisions that have been included in current agreements, a uniform provision is being developed for inclusion in current agreements. If a recipient elects to convert to the use of the ASAP payment system, it will be necessary to issue a modification to address this administrative change.
g. FMS will notify FAD when recipients have completed the enrollment process. FAD will then contact GCAOs to verify information on each agreement and will then finalize the conversion process by building recipient accounts in the ASAP system.
h. For most agreements, recipients will be allowed access to the total amount of funds currently obligated for the agreement; however, ASAP has features that will allow Reclamation to place limitations on the amount of funding available to certain recipients. Reasons for placing limitations on the amount of funds a recipient may request include non-compliance with terms of the agreement, identification of the recipient as being "high-risk," funds are currently being withheld, recipient is under suspension, or recipient has a previous record of requesting payment amounts which are not in accordance with 43 CFR 12.61 or 12.922, as applicable.
i. An interface between ASAP and FFS is being developed for Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management by the National Business Center, and delivery is estimated to be March 2002. Once this interface is complete, Reclamation will allow recipients who have been successfully enrolled and set up in ASAP to begin requesting payments through this system.
j. At this time, a guidance document is being developed which will contain information on procedural changes resulting from conversion to the ASAP payment system, enrollment information for inclusion in new agreements, monitoring of recipients, and methods for tracking and providing information on recipients who have enrolled in ASAP. It is anticipated that this manual will be issued in March 2002.
6. Action required.
a. Should you wish to obtain additional information regarding ASAP, or to review the FMS manuals for payment requestors or Federal agency users, this information is available at http://www.fms.treas.gov/asap/. If you are unable to access this information, please contact Stephanie Bartlett, 303-445-2427, to request copies.
b. At this time, GCAOs, in consultation with their Grant and Cooperative Agreement Officer's Representatives (GCAOR), should review their current agreements to identify any recipients that should be subject to funding restrictions in accordance with paragraph 5.h., above, if that recipient elects to utilize the ASAP system. If funding restrictions are placed on a recipient, it will also be necessary to include this information in the agreement by means of an administrative modification.
c. Please make further distribution of this memorandum to all GCAOs and GCAORs in your Regional/Denver Office.
7. Point of contact. If you have questions regarding the conversion, please contact either Stephanie Bartlett, Procurement Analyst, at 303-445-2427, or Tom Lab, Manager, Finance and Accounting Division, Operations Group, at 303- 445-3436.
/s/ Linda Waring-Wilson
Attachments (3)