MAX and FACTS II

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MAX and FACTS II

• Presented byPaula Geiger, Office of Budget and
  Program Analysis

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MAX and FACTS II Why Discuss Them?

• FACTS II data is used to populate the MAX budget
  system for the past year that has just ended
• What is MAX?
• Budget data entry system used by Federal
  departments and agencies to populate the huge
  Office of Management and Budget database
• OMB uses the MAX database entries to create the
  Presidents annual budget submission to Congress
• Congress reviews the Presidents annual budget
  submission and responds with the annual
  appropriations acts
• Congressional Budget Office uses the budget
  submission to assist with scorekeeping and review
  of programs, policies and funding
• This material is made available to the public via
  the web and in large printed volumes

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MAX Schedules

• MAX data is split up into sections of data called
  schedules
• Different types of accounts, such as credit
  financing, receipt, or salaries and expenses,
  require different schedules
• A typical salaries and expenses account will
  have
• Schedule A Policy budget authority, outlays
  and limitations based on the Presidents budget
  policy
• Schedule S the Baseline budget authority,
  limitations and outlays for the current fiscal
  year and out-years assuming no change in current
  year policy
• Schedule O Obligations data by object class
  code
• Schedule Q Information on staffing
• Schedule T appropriations request in thousands
  of dollars
• Schedule P Program and Financing, which
  provides a snapshot of obligations by program
  activity, summary of budget authority and
  outlays, obligated and unobligated balances
• Schedule X new for USDA in 2007, combines A and
  S

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Relationship of MAX data to FACTS II

• We are concerned with the Program and Financing
  (PF) MAX Schedule P
• OMB automatically reads data into Schedule P from
  the FACTS II into MAX for the Past Year that has
  just ended
• Certain MAX data items must match the FACTS II
  data

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MAX Schedule P

• For 2006 budget, FACTS II Lines that were read
  into the MAX Schedule P, Program and Financing
  Schedule
• P1000 Total new obligations
• P2140 Unobligated balance carried forward, start
  of year
• P2210 Resources available from recoveries of
  prior year obligations
• P2398 Unobligated balance expiring or withdrawn
• P2440 Unobligated balance carried forward, end of
  year
• P4000 Discretionary appropriation

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MAX Schedule P

• P6800 Discretionary spending authority from
  offsetting collections (cash)
• P7240 Obligated balance, start of year
• P7340 Adjustments in expired accounts
• P7440 Obligated balance, end of year
• P8800 Offsetting collections from Federal sources

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Experience with 2006 Budget

• FY 2006 Budget Experience, Problems Identified
• MAX errors existed due to agencies use of earlier
  submissions of FACTS II data to input MAX data
• FACTS II was open for edits during an EDIT WINDOW
• During this time, there were several versions of
  earlier submissions of FACTS II, which might not
  match the earlier
• SF-133
• MAX errors due to incorrect attribute of
  Mandatory or Discretionary funds in FACTS II
• Discretionary funds are generally controlled by
  an appropriations act
• Mandatory funds are generally funded through
  authorizing legislation that provides authority
  to spend funds without an appropriations act

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Experience with 2006 Budget

• MAX errors due to Internal Apportionments coded
  in FACTS II as Transfers (SF-1151s)
• Errors due to inaccurate amounts, accounts
  charged, or duplicate obligations charged in
  different fiscal years
• Reimbursable agreements shown with inaccurate
  attributes Federal v. non-Federal, and exempt

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Sample FACTS II
12/16/04 OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET PAGE
540 174622 FY 2004 4th Quarter FACTS II
Information -- How It Would (MAX-F2PFRP6)
Crosswalk to the Prior Year (PY) Column of the
PF Schedule Budget Agency Department of
Agriculture Budget Bureau Departmental
Administration Budget Account Departmental
administration Budget Account Id 005-05-0120
Treasury Account Id 12- - /00 -0120 -000-0 FACTS
II User XXXXX Line SGL Dr Begn Athy PLaw Avl
Part- Bor BEA Yr Xfr Xfer Adv TAFS Xfr Def Exp
Fnd Fin Num Acct Cr /End Type No. Time ner Src
Cat BA Agy Acct Flg Fct Stat T/F Flg Flg Typ Acct
PY Amount Line Number Totals entered
into PF for Budget Account Id 005-05-0120 1000
Total new obligations 37,342,375.90 2398
Unobligated balance expiring or withdrawn
-180,007.84 4000 Appropriation
23,031,000.00 4035 Appropriation permanently
reduced -135,883.00 6800 Offsetting
collections (cash) 2,807,942.85 6810 Change
in uncollected customer payments from Feder
11,819,323.89 7240 Obligated balance, start of
year -4,968,442.83 7320 Total outlays
(gross) -39,662,440.67 7340 Adjustments in
expired accounts (net) -1,295,983.74 7410
Change in uncollected customer payments from
Feder 7,231,473.24 7440 Obligated balance,
end of year -13,172,341.99 8690 Outlays from
new discretionary authority
31,191,583.22 8693 Outlays from discretionary
balances 8,470,857.45 8800 Federal
sources -8,951,648.97 8840 Non-Federal
sources 0.00 8896 Portion of
offsetting collections (cash) credited
6,143,706.12 9000 Outlays
30,710,791.70
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Sample MAX Schedule P
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Sample MAX Schedule P
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Sample MAX Schedule P
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Sample MAX Schedule P
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Errors in FACTS II

• When FACTS II data is wrong
• Error messages are created that prevent the MAX
  account from balancing
• OMB requires detailed explanation of why
• OMB requires statement of whether accounting data
  is to be corrected

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What can we do to improve?

• Office of Budget and Program Analysis
• Working with Office of Management and Budget on
  MAX training for new consolidated Schedule X,
  which will combine Schedule A and S data,
  reducing errors and saving time
• Working with OMB to develop training specific to
  USDA agencies in the fall
• Working with agencies to review FACTS II data on
  a periodic basis to identify areas of concern
• Plans to send reminders to agencies to review
  FACTS II data
• Plans to send reminders to agencies of deadlines
  for inputting past year data in MAX and major
  milestones

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What can we do to improve?

• Office of Management and Budget
• Plans to require more MAX lines to tie to our
  FACTS II data in 2007 budget
• Offering training classes in MAX new Schedule X
  consolidated schedule in the fall of 2005
• Schedule X will enable input of appropriation and
  outlay data in one place to then be automatically
  read into multiple entries in MAX for Schedules
  A, S and P
• Offering training classes in MAX, including
  information on the relationship of MAX data to
  FACTS II
• Will work with USDA to develop training classes
  specifically aimed at providing detailed classes
  USDA employees need

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What can we do to improve?

• Agencies
• Monthly review of FACTS II data
• Regularly check your accounting data for
  consistency with your understanding of the agency
  budget
• OMB Circular No. A-11 states Before your
  accounting office submits its actuals to Treasury
  in FACTS II, you must ensure that the amounts are
  conceptually and numerically consistent with the
  amounts that you are going to report in MAX.
• Check for correct Mandatory/Discretionary
  categorization (i.e., BEA category)
• Ensure that Internal Apportionments, SF-132s, are
  not coded as transfers (SF-1151s)
• Ensure you have SF-132s, apportionments and
  reapportionments, for accounts that match FACTS
  II data
• Ensure Transfer documents, SF-1151s are completed
  for accounts that require transfers
• Check transfers, appropriations are in the right
  accounts, for the right amounts and in the right
  years

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What can we do to improve?

• Agencies
• Continue to provide training to staff who conduct
  MAX data entry and analysis
• Continue working with budget, finance and
  accounting staff all year round
• Begin entering data for the Past Year column of
  the budget as soon as MAX opens for input Be
  concerned about your data before MAX opens

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Timeframe

• MAX opens in early December for Data Entry of
  Past Year Data
• FACTS II opens for a 1 to 2 week period at that
  time for edits
• Past Year data locks in mid-December
• MAX database locks completely in early to
  mid-January
• The Presidents budget is released the first
  Monday in February

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Bottom Line Why do we care?

• Accountability
• In budget, finance and accounting data
• To OMB
• To the public and others who use this data to
  review our programs, and who judge our accuracy
• Getting to Green and Staying There