[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 22 (Monday, February 3, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5047-5049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2428]



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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary
[Secretary's Order 01-97]


Authority and Responsibilities for Implementation of the Chief 
Financial Officers Act of 1990 and Related Legislation

January 10, 1997.
    1. Purpose. To delegate authority and assign responsibilities for 
implementation of the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 and related 
legislation,\1\ and to establish within the Department of Labor an 
Office of the Chief Financial Officer.
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    \1\ Including The Chief Financial Officer's Act of 1990, 
Government Performance Results Act of 1993, Government Management 
Reform Act of 1994, Information Technology Management Reform Act of 
1996, and the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996.
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    2. Organization. There is established in the Department of Labor 
(DOL) an Office of the Chief Financial Officer, headed by a Chief 
Financial Officer (CFO), who is appointed by the President and 
confirmed by the Senate, and a Deputy Chief Financial Officer, who is 
in the Senior Executive Service. The CFO shall report to the Secretary, 
but may receive day-to-day guidance and direction from the Deputy 
Secretary. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer shall have such 
component organization units, staffing a funding as may subsequently be 
authorized.
    3. Delegation of Authority. The CFO is hereby delegated authority 
to act for and speak on behalf of the Secretary of Deputy Secretary on 
all matters relating to departmental financial management.
    4. Assignment of Responsibilities.
    a. Pursuant to the statute, the DOL CFO shall:

--Report directly to the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary regarding 
financial management matters;
--Oversee all financial management activities relating to the DOL's 
programs and operations.
--Develop and maintain an integrated departmental accounting and 
financial management system, including financial reporting and internal 
controls;
--Make recommendations to the Secretary regarding selection of the DOL 
Deputy CFO;
--Establish minimum, core standards for the recruitment, selection, 
development, training and performance review of financial management 
staff throughout DOL. Financial management staffs outside the immediate 
office of the CFO will operate in accordance with policies and 
procedures prescribed by the CFO;
--Prepare and transmit an annual report to the Secretary and the 
Director of OMB;
--Approve the allotment of obligational authority, related 
disbursements and guidelines on the application and uses of funds. The 
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management 
will conduct initial reviews of request allotments under policies 
established by the CFO;
--Monitor the financial execution of the budget of the DOL and its 
component agencies in relation to actual expenditures, and prepare and 
submit to the Secretary timely performance reports in cooperation with 
the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and 
Management; and
--Review, on a biennial basis, the fees, royalties, rents, and other 
charges imposed by the Department for services and things of value it 
provides, and make recommendations on revising those charges to reflect 
costs incurred by DOL in providing those services and things of value.

    b. In furtherance of these statutory responsibilities and to assure 
conformance to applicable Office of Management and Budget, Department 
of the Treasury, Office of Personnel Management, General Services 
Administration and other central Federal agency standards and 
requirements, and, to the extent determined to be applicable, Federal 
Accounting Standards Advisory Board, Joint Financial Management 
Improvement Program, the Executive Branch Councils and other central 
Federal agency guidelines, the DOL CFO is also assigned the following 
responsibilities.

(1) Financial Policy

    (a) Establish financial management policies for the DOL and its 
component agencies.
    (b) Ensure compliance throughout the DOL, and its component parts, 
with applicable accounting standards and principles, and financial 
information and systems function standards including the standards 
promulgated by the Federal Accounting Systems Advisory Board, the 
Federal Government's Standard General Ledger, the core requirements for 
Financial Systems, and the financial statement form and content 
guidance issued by OMB.
    (c) Establish, review and enforce throughout the DOL internal 
control policies, standards and compliance guidelines involving 
financial management including authority to require and ensure timely 
corrective actions regarding material weaknesses disclosed through 
audit findings and reports under the Federal Managers' Financial 
Integrity Act (FMFIA); establish, in coordination with program 
managers, agency-wide internal control processes; advise the Secretary 
on the accuracy and completeness of the annual FMFIA report; and 
participate in monitoring and prescribing corrective actions on 
reported material weaknesses.
    (d) Provide oversight of and issue core requirements and standards 
related to component agency financial management personnel, financial 
systems, activities, and operations, including preparation and revision 
of agency financial management plans and performance reports. Financial 
management staffs outside the immediate office of the CFO will operate 
in accordance with policies and procedures prescribed by the CFO.
    (e) Ensure adequate controls over asset management including cash 
management operations; credit management and debt collection 
operations; and real property, equipment and inventories.
    (f) Ensure that component agencies gather timely and accurate 
financial information to manage and oversee major procurements, e.g. 
monitoring contract disbursements in relation to projected costs, 
actual commitments, deliverables and cost estimates.
    (g) Participate with program Assistant Secretaries and other staff 
in the policy review of proposed legislative and program initiatives.
    (h) Participate with program Assistant Secretaries and other staff 
at a policy and decision-making level in the departmental budget review 
process.
    (i) Participate in the review and approval process of information 
systems that provide, at least in part, financial and/or program 
performance data.
    (j) Serve on the CIO Capital Planning and Investment Board and 
participate in activities intended to assure conformance of proposed 
major systems to established standards for financial data integrity. 
Appeal to the Secretary IRM and budget decisions affecting financial 
management processes, systems and operations.
    (k) Serve on the Procurement Review Board and participate in 
activities intended to assure conformance of proposed major 
acquisitions to established standards for financial and acquisition 
integrity.
    (l) Provide policy advice and assistance to DOL executives 
including component agency heads on all

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personnel matters (e.g., qualifications, recruitment, performance, 
training and retention) affecting financial management personnel 
throughout DOL and its component agencies, and on budget and staffing 
levels for component agency financial functions.
    (m) Review and approve component agency financial policies, 
procedures and structures for consistency with the policies of the DOL 
and the central Federal agencies.

(2) External Reporting

    (a) Prepare accurate and timely departmental accounting reports and 
financial statements (including where appropriate pertinent performance 
measures).
    (b) Prepare the annual report required by the Federal Managers' 
Financial Integrity Act.
    (c) Prepare the annual financial management report required by the 
Chief Financial Officers Act.
    (d) Prepare the semi-annual audit resolution reports required by 
the Amendments to the Inspector General Act.
    (e) Coordinate and manage financial management reporting 
requirements as may be imposed by Office of Management and Budget, the 
Department of the Treasury, other central Federal agencies, and the 
Congress.
    (f) Provide assistance to agency heads in design and review the 
development of reporting mechanisms that integrate program performance 
and financial data; facilitate the display of such data in budget 
documents, financial statements, and other pertinent issuances.

(3) Financial Programs

    (a) Manage DOL programs on internal controls, audit resolution, 
travel management, cash management, debt collection, asset management 
and other financial management activities.
    (b) Manage centralized departmental accounting and payroll 
functions for fund and cost accounting; capitalized assets accounting; 
grant accounting; DOL employee compensation and benefits; and voucher, 
commercial bill and other payments.
    (c) Exercise departmental approval authority over interagency 
transactions, involving component agency program funds e.g. for 
investment, transfer, etc., in cooperation with the Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management.
    (d) Distribute equitable Working Capital fund charges to DOL 
components, provide WCF accounting statements to component agencies and 
oversee WCF operations.
    (e) Provide technical review of finance offices in the DOL and its 
component agencies, and oversee component agency financial systems as 
defined in the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996.
    (f) Appraise centralized and decentralized operations and 
organizations to determine more effective and cost-efficient methods of 
performing required financial functions.
    (g) Compile and review timely and accurate information on major 
contract disbursements in relation to projected costs, commitments, 
obligations, expenditures, and deliveries of products and services; and 
evaluate component agency Annual Acquisition Plans in relation to 
official budget plans and levels.
    (h) Chair the Department's Management Control Policy Board, which 
has broad management responsibility for planning and monitoring the 
component agencies' efforts to address internal control weaknesses and 
financial system non-conformance to the standards prescribed in the 
Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996.

(4) Financial Systems

    (a) Develop and maintain departmental central financial, accounting 
and asset systems.
    (b) Review and approve the design and operation of component agency 
financial, accounting and asset systems, specifically including the 
financial aspects of grant management systems, debt collection systems 
and similar systems as defined by the Federal Financial Management 
Improvement Act of 1996.
    (c) Establish policies, procedures, and other guidelines to 
prescribe the form, content and frequency of accounting and program 
performance information to be reported from component agency systems to 
meet DOL and central Federal agency information requirements.

(5) Budget

    (1) Provide leadership, direction, coordination and related 
services concerning budget execution for the DOL and its component 
agencies.
    (b) Manage and oversee the Department's administrative control of 
funds, and user fees in cooperation with the Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Administration and Management.
    (c) Ensure the development and reporting of cost information in 
accordance with Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board 
requirements, and the systematic measurement of performance in 
appropriate budget documents in cooperation with the Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management.

(6) Administration Programs for Financial Management

    (a) Review all proposed personnel selections, skill requirements, 
performance standards, performance appraisals, performance awards and 
position descriptions for financial management personnel at senior 
levels throughout the DOL and its component agencies; discuss any 
problems with the component agency head and, if any issues remain 
resolved, appeal any problem to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary.
    (b) Manage a comprehensive training and development program for 
budget analysts, accountants, financial managers and financial 
technicians; assure that staff skills are commensurate with 
requirements; and following consultation with the component agencies' 
financial managers, implement a Continuing Professional Education (or 
similar) program, as recommended by the Joint Financial Management 
Improvement Program (JFMIP).
    (c) Review the budget requests for all departmental and component 
agency financial management functions; recommend to the Secretary their 
modification as necessary to assure that sufficient resources are 
requested to effectively and efficiently perform necessary financial 
and related functions.
    (d) Establish a CFO Advisory Council within the DOL to provide a 
forum for component organizations to advise and support the CFO in 
matters affecting the financial community. The Advisory Council will 
also facilitate the dissemination of financial policies established by 
the CFO to component agencies.
    c. Unless modified by this Order the heads of component agencies 
retain previously delegated responsibilities and authorities. In the 
context of the Department's financial management program, they are 
specifically charged with the responsibility to:
    (1) Perform transaction- and operational-level financial functions 
in accordance with policies, requirements and procedures established by 
the CFO.
    (2) Direct financial staffs and functions in their respective 
component agencies consistent with those procedures.
    (2) Facilitate the CFO's oversight responsibilities with respect to 
financial operations and component agency

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program financial systems by providing and maintaining system 
documentation, audit trails, summary or detailed transaction data and 
such other information as the CFO may require.
    (4) Fully solicit and consider the CFO's views in the component 
agency head's review of proposed appointment, promotion, appraisal and 
other personnel actions affecting financial management staff at senior 
levels,
    (5) Manage grants, procurement, property, debt management/accounts 
receivable, and other management systems for their respective component 
agencies, in a manner consistent with the CFO's responsibilities 
prescribed herein.
    d. In the Department's financial management program, the Office of 
the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management is delegated 
the following authorities:
    (1) Issue requests to the Office of Management and Budget for 
apportionments.
    (2) Working under polices established by the CFO, administer 
allotments and interagency transactions, including reprogramming and 
transfer requests.
    e. In addition to the above, the Assistant Secretary for 
Administration and Management will work to assure a mutually supportive 
relationship between the administrative management programs under his 
or her direction and the Department's financial management program 
including consultation with the Chief Financial Officer on the 
organization and functions of financial management staff prior to 
implementation of changes.
    f. The Solicitor of Labor is responsible for providing legal advice 
and assistance to all officials of the Department who are responsible 
for activities under the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 and under 
this Order, except as provided in Secretary's Order 2-90 (January 31, 
1990) with respect to the Office of the Inspector General.
    g. The Inspector General:
    (1) Retains full responsibility for previously delegated budget and 
financial management activities pertaining to its own office, but will 
participate with the CFO in integrating such delegated assignments with 
the overall financial management program of the Department.
    (2) Will participate, where appropriate, in joint reviews with the 
CFO of selected financial management functions, operations and systems.
    (3) Consistent with its statutory responsibilities for managing an 
audit program, will participate with the CFO in the resolution of audit 
issues, findings and recommendations, including those involved in the 
annual financial statements.
    5. Communications. In consonance with the assignments of 
responsibility above, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer shall 
assure that the Agency Administrative Officers are apprised of 
communications to component agency financial staff. Similarly, 
component agencies shall keep the Chief Financial Officer apprised of 
directives and other communications affecting their financial staff.
    6. Directives Affected. All references to the Office of the 
Comptroller, OASAM in Secretary's Orders, DLMS Chapters and other 
departmental issuances shall be considered to refer to the Office of 
the Chief Financial Officer. Directives inconsistent with this Order 
are rescinded to the extent of the inconsistency.
    7. Effective Date. This Order is effective immediately.
Robert B. Reich,
Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 97-2428 Filed 1-31-97; 8:45 am]
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