Latest update includes:

 

CTR Memo FY2012-07: All Contract Vendors - Electronic Payments by December 31, 2011
Comptroller Memo FY2012-07 has been posted to the CTR Web Portal. Electronic Funds Transfer is the mandated method of payment for vendors entering into contracts with the Commonwealth. All contract vendors are expected to begin acceptance of electronic payments by December 31, 2011. EFT is secure, reliable and much less expensive than paper check processing for both the Vendors and the Commonwealth.

September 21 Payroll User Group Files Posted
The Agenda and Presentation from Wednesday's PUG Meeting have been posted to the Payroll User Group page of the CTR Web Portal.

Federal Revenues: Non-Central Draw 
 During the Federal Grant Cross Fiscal Year Period (July-December), Non-Central Draw federal revenues are often deposited in the current fiscal year, although the revenue is related to expenses in the prior fiscal year.

To appropriately match revenues and expenses for accounting and reporting purposes, departments must complete the Cross Fiscal Year Revenue Allocation Form xls format of fgca_rev_pushback.xls and submit to Andrew Richardson in the Federal Grants and Cost Allocation Bureau. The template should be completed on an as-needed basis as soon as possible after a department determines that FY2011 revenues have been posted in the current fiscal year. Upon receipt of the completed template, CTR will contact the department to verify the transaction and move the funding to the proper fiscal year.

Federal Grants Balance Forward 
 The Federal Grants FY11 Balance Forward is scheduled for September 30.

Federal Grants: FY2011 CMIA Bill Processing 
 The Federal Grants Bureau has tentatively scheduled the final FY2011 CMIA Bill Processing for September 22. If there are any issues, please contact Taneka Simmons at 617-973-2606.

MMARS Saturday Hours: 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. 
 MMARS and LCM will be available Saturday, September 24 from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. The Help Desk will not be staffed and any Saturday Help Desk calls will be returned on Monday, September 26.

Close/Open Key Dates September 24 - October 1
September 28, Wednesday

All FY2011 rejected grant draws (ACD or NCD) must be cleared by September 28.

October 1, Saturday

All Federal Grant unexpended balances for ACD and NCD appropriations must be resolved by October 1, 2011.

Weekly Fraud Awareness and Prevention Fact - Red Flags for Time Overcharging
In a time overcharging scheme, a consultant or contractor misrepresents the distribution of employee labor on jobs in order to charge for more work hours, or a higher overhead rate to increase profit.

Red Flags for Product Substitution include, but are not limited to:

  • Unauthorized alterations to timecards and other source records
  • Hours and dollars consistently at or near budgeted amounts
  • Timecards are filled out by supervisors, not by employees
  • Photocopies of timecards submitted where originals are expected
  • Inconsistencies between consultants' labor records and a their employees' timecards

Additional red flags for Time Overcharging can be found in the Toolkit for Departments to Combat Fraud, Waste and Abuse doc format of fraud_waste_toolkit.doc file size 2MB .

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 Combat Fraud, Waste and Abuse 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. doc format of fraud_waste_toolkit.doc file size 2MB

Upcoming Training Sessions and Meetings

  • Encumbrance Management - Tuesday, September 27, 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston 9 th Floor Training Lab
  • Payment Management - Tuesday, September 27, 1:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston 9 th Floor Training Lab
  • Indirect Cost Rate Departmental Training - Monday, October 3, 9:00 A.M. - 3:30 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston 21 st Floor Conference Room
  • Intro to State Finance MMARS Navigation - Tuesday, October 4, 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston 9 th Floor Training Lab
  • Webcast How to Run a Warehouse Starter Query - Wednesday, October 5, 10:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M. Online Training
  • Intro to MMARS Warehouse - Thursday, October 6, 9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston 9 th Floor Training Lab
  • Fraud Awareness and Prevention - Tuesday, October 11, 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston 9 th Floor Conference Room
  • Vendor Management - Tuesday, October 11, 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston 9 th Floor Training Lab
  • Intermediate MMARS Warehouse - Wednesday, October 12, 9:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston 9 th Floor Training Lab

Register for these sessions via the Comptroller's Training/Meeting Schedule which lists classes scheduled for three months and Payroll User Group meetings through December 2011.

MMARS Hint of the Week - Creating an Encumbrance Correction due to a Payment that Referenced the Wrong Encumbrance
Problem: Referenced Wrong Encumbrance - the correct vendor was paid, but the incorrect encumbrance was used for the payment.

Solution: This situation can be resolved by following the instructions illustrated in the Job aid for Referenced Wrong Accounting Line and substituting the encumbrance information in place of the wrong accounting line information.

First, verify that the accounting information will be exactly the same on both the incorrect and the correct encumbrance document. If there is any field of information that differs, an EX document must be processed prior to proceeding any further. If it is determined that an EX is needed, departments must ensure that this change in encumbrance reference to another is an actual mistake and the EX is being requested in compliance with the state finance requirements for the proper use of EXs under the Expenditure Correction Policy doc format of po_budget_expenditure_corrections.doc .

Next, use the CEC/GAEC job aid, Referenced Wrong Accounting Line. This document will need two lines.

  • Step 1 on Line 1: Liquidate the correct encumbrance, using Event Type PR21. Use a positive number on this line and use a Reference Type of "Partial".
  • Step 2 on Line 2: Add money back to the incorrect encumbrance, using Event Type PR20. Use a negative number on this line and do a Reference Type of "Inverse".
  • Step 3: Document Comments need to be added to this document referencing both CT/PC document IDs to explain what happened.

Reminder: Even though it is inevitable that mistakes will sometimes happen, routinely following internal controls and department protocols is necessary to ensure the proper management of Commonwealth funds. While the EX document enables the proper posting of payments, the cost in labor and MMARS system costs are borne by the department, and too many mistakes can significantly impact departmental budgets and efficiency, including the costs of responding to and remediating audit findings.