COD IPAC Services

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COD IPAC Services

• Presented byEddie Reso

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IPAC Control and Certification Branch (ICB)
IPAC Processing

• Summary of IPAC Services Provided

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ICB Services Provided

• Processes IPAC payments and collections for
  USDA agencies.
• Act as a middleman between
  agencies and the IPAC system.

• ICB is organized according to the types of bills
  processed.

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ICB Services Provided (cont.)

• Common IPAC Bill Types
• Charges for purchases of goods and services
• GSA Reimbursable work authorizations
• Security Clearance Charges, Investigations, and
  Training
• Workers compensation insurance
• Rent, Postage, and Telecommunication charges
• Revenue Collections
• Reimbursable Collections
• Collections from asset sales
• Credits for Limited Payability cancelled checks
• Investment Transactions
• Payment and Collection of Health Insurance
  Premiums
• Judgment Fund Payments and Collections
• However, inter-agency transactions may be created
  through IPAC for ANY reason.

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IPAC Suspense

• 12F3885(xx)
• Monitoring, Reconciling, Clearing, and Staying in
  the Green!

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IPAC Suspense Summary

• For all IPAC transactions, the cash side of the
  transaction is recorded quickly, usually within
  one day, and the distribution of the charges
  occurs when the accounting information becomes
  known.
• When accounting is unknown, IPAC transactions are
  considered unprocessed, and recorded in T/S
  12F3885(xx). (IPAC Suspense)
• Suspense is reversed when IPAC transactions are
  applied to appropriate accounting.
• Major internal control processes are in place to
  track unprocessed bills, and age them by bill
  date.
• In the spirit of OMB scorekeeping, internal
  metrics of Red/Yellow/Green for unprocessed bills
  has been developed. How are we doing?

?
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IPAC Suspense Current Score Card
Bill Count as of March 31, 2005
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IPAC Suspense USDA Improvement
Monthly Score Tracking 03/31/04 to 03/31/05
(Bill Count)
The above chart illustrates steady improvement in
the score metrics for the past 12 months, with
minimal yellow and green balances by March 31,
2005
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IPAC Suspense USDA Improvement
Over 40 Increase in Volume of Bills FY 03
to FY 04
The above chart illustrates increase in volume of
IPAC bills from FY 03 to FY 04, showing increases
for both intra-USDA bills and bills with external
agencies. The total volume of bills increased
43.
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Keeping IPAC Suspense Balances Low
ICB Daily Work

• What causes delays in processing IPAC bills
  timely?
• High volume of bills and paper backup
• Accounting information (MOs) not contained on
  IPAC bills
• Telephone calls
• Pleading and begging for MOs
• Insufficiently funded MOs
• Invalid vendor codes on MOs
• Invalid MO dates
• (Date must be prior to IPAC bill date.)
• Locating appropriate contacts
• Processing IPAC bills can be
• labor intensive and costly.

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IPAC Tiger Teams

• The USDA-COD has established a USDA IPAC Tiger
  Team, with members from every agency.
  Individual Agency IPAC Tiger Teams have also been
  established.
• The team efforts improved efficiency and
  timeliness of processing.
• Continued participation is key to keeping
  suspense balances low.
• A Tiger Team Member Contact List has been
  provided in the handouts.

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Where to Find IPAC Data

• The OTRS system (OPAC Tracking and Reconciliation
  System) provides information on processed and
  unprocessed IPAC bills.
• OTRS Reports of Unprocessed bills are available
  on the NFC REPORTING CENTER
• Agency personnel should routinely request these
  reports and work with COD-ICB to clear
  unprocessed IPAC bills.
• The OTRS Unprocessed reports with current
  research notes added, may also be obtained via an
  e-mail or telephone request to ICB personnel.
  E-mail delivery is usually same day.
• Reconciliation to General Ledger and aging
  reports are also available on the NFC Reporting
  Center website.

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Improvements to IPAC Payment Processing

• DDGEN Phase II III Implementation

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DD Generator (DDGEN)

• The DD Generator (DDGEN) is the new system being
  used which allows electronic files of IPAC bills
  downloaded from Treasury, to be uploaded to the
  USDA mainframe for automated processing.
• Suspense is recorded only if valid reference
  information is not present.
• Rejected records are stored on the IPAC Bill
  Reconciliation Table (IBRT) in FFIS. (ICB
  personnel manually work rejects. )
• Phased Implementation
• Phase I - GSA Fedstrip March 2004
• Phase II - MPOL and FTSP Bills March 2005
• Phase III - manual bills FY 2006

X
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USDA Obligating DRN The key
element for DDGEN

• The USDA Obligating Document Reference (DRN) is
  the key matching element for DDGEN.
• The USDA DRN is the combination of three FFIS
  Obligating Document elements, with a separator,
  in a specific format.
• 1. FFIS Transaction Code (i.e. MO)
• 2. FFIS Document Number, followed by a
  sign separator
• 3. Three digit line number, with leading
  zeroes if necessary
• These elements joined with no spaces form the
  DRN. i.e. MO43456001

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DDGEN- The first Step Proper
Establishment of Obligations

• USDA Customer Agency / Procurement
  Personnel Must Do the following
• Establish an MO in FFIS prior to ordering.
• Assure the Vendor Code is correct for the Vendor
  ALC.
• Assure the MO is sufficiently funded.
• Whenever possible, limit the MO to one line.
• Provide the Obligating Document Reference Number
  (DRN) to the
  Vendor upon ordering.
• Request the Vendor return the DRN on the IPAC
  bill, in the Purchase Order Number field of the
  IPAC record.
• Without a Valid MO established with these
  standards, the IPAC bill will not process
  automatically in DDGEN.

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Flow of Accounting Information The process
necessary for DDGEN automation benefits

• The Customer Agency . . .
• The Vendor Agency . . .
• The USDA-COD-ICB . . .

• Establish an obligation in FFIS
• Provide obligation reference data in DRN format
  to Vendor.
• Submit charge thru IPAC, with USDA
  obligating DRN in the IPAC bill
  Purchase Order No. field.
• Download IPAC bills from IPAC and upload to
  DDGEN.
• FFIS documents are created, with no manual
  efforts, applying charges to existing
  obligations.

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USDA Billing Through IPAC

• Process, Problems, and Improvements

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USDA Agencies - Billing Thru IPAC

• Three methods to initiate IPAC billings.
• IBIL (Internet Billing System) Recommend using
  IBIL
• IBIL prompts users for their customer
  referencing information.
• Direct Entry of BD documents (Billing Documents)
  in FFIS
• PCAS (Project Cost Accounting System)
• COD-ICB obtain files created through the above
  mechanisms and process through IPAC, and update
  IPAC acceptance / confirmation information to
  FFIS.

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Intra-USDA IPAC Bill Processing

• Intra-USDA Billing Volume - Over ½ of the IPAC
  bills processed by ICB are intra-USDA bills.
• The Problem
• Majority of bills DO NOT contain the customer
  agency MO.
• ICB must perform research, input chargebacks
  and/or mediate to obtain information. This
  process is costly.
• Agency Actions Necessary for Improvement
• Obtain the DRN (MO and line number) from
  customer.
• Follow procedures that will assure the DRN is on
  the IPAC bill. (See OCFO Bulletins in handouts.)
• Submit bills before the 10th of each month. This
  is necessary for elimination entries, and
  critical at year end.

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Intra-USDA Billing Improvements

• There are plans to modify IBIL to validate the
  FFIS obligation
  reference data of
  the USDA agency being billed.
• This edit will allow processing of the payment
  for the USDA customer agency upon receipt.
• When DDGEN Phase III is implemented, the payment
  side of intra-USDA bills created through the
  IBIL process, should process with little or no
  rejections.
• Elimination entries should be reduced.
• The Implementation date of this new edit is TBD.

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Contacts

• Charles Kyser, ICB Branch Chief
• [phone]
• charles.kyser_at_usda.gov
• Eddie Reso, Supervisor
• IPAC Control Section (ICS)
  
• [phone]
• eddie.reso_at_usda.gov
• Esther Wood, Supervisor
• IPAC Processing Section (IPS)
• [phone]
• esther.wood_at_usda.gov

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