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Latest update includes:

MMARS Saturday Hours
MMARS and LCM will be available Saturday, March 23, from 9:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. The Help Desk will not be staffed and any Saturday Help Desk calls will be returned on Monday, March 25.

Annual Department Security Officer Briefing Tomorrow, March 22 
The Annual Department Security Officer Briefing is scheduled for Friday, March 22nd from 9:30 A.M. -12:00 P.M. in the 21st Floor Conference Room at One Ashburton Place Boston. This meeting will include representatives from ITD and CTR. For those who can't attend in person, this session will be webcast. Please register for this session (live meeting or webcast) via the Comptroller's Training and Meeting Schedule.

Annual Close/Open Meeting Dates
The Comptroller of the Commonwealth Annual Close/Open meetings have been scheduled for:

  • Thursday, April 25 from 9:30 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston
  • Thursday, May 2 from 9:30 A.M. to 11:30 P.M. at the annual MASSbuys Conference at the DCU Center in Worcester. This session will also be webcast for those who cannot attend in person.

Chief Fiscal Officers (CFO) and staff with fiscal responsibilities are encouraged to attend the annual Close/Open meeting.  Please register for the in person meetings or webcast on the Comptroller's Training and Meeting Schedule. If you plan on attending the Close / Open session May 2, you must also register for the MASSbuys Conference.

The MASSbuys EXPO Thursday, May 2
Register now for the 15th Annual MASSbuys EXPO on May 2nd at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA

Have you registered yet for the MASSbuys EXPO?  If not you might want to watch the Attendee Video to see what you will miss if you don’t!  At the MASSbuys EXPO you get a chance to network with your peers, meet over 350 vendors on Statewide Contracts, attend morning and afternoon workshops, and visit the eProcurement University to learn about upcoming updates. 

Enjoy an event packed day that will help improve job performance and increase professional growth.  We’ll be serving a FREE continental breakfast and hot buffet lunch in the arena!  The exhibit hall is open from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, and parking is free.  Register here. We look forward to seeing you on May 2nd!

For questions about MASSbuys, email: massbuysadmin@state.ma.us.

Weekly Fraud Awareness and Prevention Fact – Red Flags for Bid Rigging and Collusion
In bid rigging and collusion, contractors misrepresent that they are competing against each other when, in fact, they have agreed to cooperate on the winning bid to increase job profit.

Some of the red flags for Bid Rigging and Collusion are:

  • Unusual bid patterns: too close, too high, round numbers, or identical winning margins or percentages
  • Different contractors making identical errors in contract bids
  • Rotation of winning bidders by job, type of work, or geographical area
  • Losing bidders hired as subcontractors 

Apparent connections between bidders: common addresses, personnel, or telephone numbers. Additional red flags for Bid Rigging and Collusion can be found in the Toolkit for Departments to Combat Fraud, Waste and Abuse.

Please visit the Fraud Prevention section of our Internal Controls Page for a link to the Toolkit for Departments to Combat Fraud, Waste and Abuse and the Brochure. 

If you have any questions regarding this or previous Fraud Awareness and Prevention Facts, please contact the Comptroller Help Desk at 617-973-2468 or via email Comptroller.Info@State.MA.US. To report Fraud, Waste, or Abuse, contact one of the Commonwealth’s Whistleblower Hotlines.

Upcoming Training Sessions and Meetings

  • Security Officers Briefing – Friday, March 22, 9:30 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 21st Floor Conference Room
  • Webcast Security Officers Briefing – Friday, March 22, 9:30 A.M. – 12:00 P.M., Online Training
  • CIW Report Building with MS Excel – Wednesday, March 27, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • Vendor Management – Tuesday, April 2, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • Intro to State Finance MMARS Navigation – Wednesday, April 3, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • Encumbrance Management – Tuesday, April 9, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • Payment Management – Tuesday, April 9, 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • Intro to MMARS Warehouse – Thursday, April 11, 9:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • Webcast Interdepartmental Chargebacks – Friday, April 12, 10:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M., Online Training

Register for these sessions via the Comptroller's Training and Meeting Schedule which lists classes scheduled for the next three months and Payroll User Groups through December 2013.

MMARS Hint of the Week – Search for Multiple Document Types using Document Status
To search for multiple document types with a particular status, do the following:

  1. From the Document Catalog, enter the Doc Type (PC, CT, PRC, etc). Enter a comma after each document type to retrieve all types of transactions with a particular status.
  2. Enter the department code to search for a department, for example, OSC.
  3. To search user, enter the User ID.
  4. Under Document State, select the Function, Phase and Status as desired from the dropdowns.
  5. Click Browse. The system returns all documents the meet the entered criteria.