From: Papier, Joel (NIH/OD) [E]
Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2007 3:04 PM
To: List ICTRAVELPOC-L
Cc: Stith, Kenneth (NIH/OD) [E]; Ricigliano, Robert (NIH/OD) [E]; Billingslea, Dana (NIH/OD) [E]; Hershman, Lisa (NIH/OD) [E]; Logue, Karen (NIH/OD) [E]; Rogerson, Anne (NIH/NIAID) [C]; Sieber, Anna (NIH/OD) [E]; Denney, Chris P. (NIH/OD) [E]
Subject: OFM Transmittal No. 292 - Accounting Analysis and Audit of "Entertainment" Expenditures

Importance: High

All,

This serves as a follow up to OFM Transmittal NO. 259.

In this office’s most recent audit, we found that the ICs are continuing to classify numerous entertainment transactions under Reception and Representation Funds, i.e., subobject class 25.2C.  To reiterate, this code is only to be used when the entertainment services are being paid for out of a small set aside of funds that have been earmarked in the annual Labor/HHS Appropriations Bill and have been distributed by the Chief of Staff/OS to the OPDIV Directors.  As such, this allotment of funds is assigned a special Common Accounting Number and is monitored and tracked by the Budget Office under the Office of the Director.  So, if you believe that the entertainment services in question entail this special designation, please contact that office on 301-496-4316.  Otherwise, all other entertainment expenses (with the exception of the “direct use” items outlined in OFM Transmittal No. 259), are to be classified under subobject class 25.2X. 

If you need to make changes to the coding of a transaction that was effected prior to NBS going live, i.e., June 4, 2007, and if the item has not yet been disbursed, it is your IC’s responsibility to effect the change.  If you have questions about how to go about doing so, you can contact Lisa Hershman of the OFM Government Accounting Branch on 301-402-5817.  If the item has been disbursed, then you are to send Lisa Hershman a memorandum requesting the object class or CAN change.

For all new items entered in the NBS on or after June 4, 2007, currently there are no plans or procedures in place to make such corrections to the object class codes or CANs.  In this case, please record in your files the transactions that need to be corrected.  Once final procedures are in place, this office will issue updated instructions.

 It is imperative that this guidance is followed in that the GAO has designated the Reception and Representation Funds as “Sensitive Payments” requiring specific controls and reconciliation. 

Please distribute this guidance to all IC staff involved in classifying entertainment activities.

Thanks,

Joel