Latest update includes:

MMARS Chargeback
The third FY2013 billing for the Office of the Comptroller's MMARS chargeback to support the operation of the Financial Accounting and Reporting System for the Commonwealth has been entered.  Billings are sent bi-monthly. This billing is for actual usage based on transaction lines posted to the general ledger for the months of November and December. The document ID is CTRMMARS13CHARNOVDEC.

Fringe Benefit, Payroll Tax, Indirect Cost Charges for Accounting Period 6
The fringe benefit, payroll tax and indirect cost chargebacks for Accounting Period 6 (December), FY2013 will be run this Saturday, January 12. All eligible expenditures processed during Accounting Period 6 will be subject to these assessments.

Departments should ensure that the budget structure tables for appropriated (payroll tax only), federal grants and other non-budgetary accounts are properly established so these charges post without rejecting under object codes D09 (fringe benefits and payroll taxes) and E16 (indirect costs).

MMARS Unavailable Saturday
Due to scheduled system processing, MMARS and LCM will be unavailable on Saturday, January 12.

Purge of Rejected Documents over 75 Days Old
Rejected documents in the system accumulate in the document catalog and are removed in a regularly scheduled monthly purge of documents over 75 days old. The next purge will be on January 15 and will delete rejected documents entered before November 1. If you have documents entered before November 1 that you would like to save, please place them on "hold".

To place a document on "hold":

  • Locate the document in the Document Catalog.
  • Check the checkbox to the left of the document (in the Document Catalog).
  • Click "Action Menu", select "Scheduling Actions", select "Mark Document" and choose "Hold".

Weekly Fraud Awareness and Prevention Fact – Government Concerns
In a recently released survey on fraud, the following question was posed:

Which of the following categories of fraud and misconduct pose the most
significant risk to your organization?

The Government specific response was as follows:

  • 39% Other Illegal or Unethical Acts (Corruption)
  • 23% Asset Misappropriation
  • 19% Fraudulent Financial Reporting
  • 19% All are an Equal Threat

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.

Upcoming Training Sessions and Meetings

  • Payment Management – Friday, January 11, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • Fraud Awareness and Prevention – Tuesday, January 15, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Executive Conference Room
  • Intro to MMARS Warehouse – Tuesday, January 15, 9:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • HR/CMS Fundamentals – Thursday, January 17, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • Appropriation Management – Thursday, January 24, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • Intermediate MMARS Warehouse – Friday, January 25, 9:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • Accounts Receivable for Beginners – Tuesday, January 29, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab
  • CIW Report Building with MS Excel – Thursday, January 31, 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. One Ashburton Place Boston, 9th Floor Training Lab

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

MMARS Hint of the Week – Zero Dollar Final Payment
Departments should not process any payments for zero dollars without guidance from the Office of the Comptroller. If your department is instructed to process a $0.00 payment to close out an outstanding balance on an encumbrance line that failed to be liquidated through the normal process, you must follow the following steps in order to prevent printing a $0.00 check or EFT:

Bring the zero dollar payment to Final status.
Go to the Disbursement Request Table (DISRQ).
Display the payment in the disbursement control section of the table.
Check "User Hold".
Select a "Hold Reason Code" of "42".
Save.

This will prevent a zero dollar payment from disbursing and creating a zero dollar check or EFT.

Note: Not all Accounts Payable users will be able to edit the DISRQ table. Only Fiscal Administrators and Accounts Payable users with the SIGENTRY role will be able to edit the DISRQ table. Users who cannot edit should request one of these staff members for assistance.