Glossary
- Access Groups
- The Shared Accounting Module (SAM) uses Access Groups. An Access Group for SAM puts together one or more ALCs based on either business reasons (similar accounting rules or business practices) or security reasons. Access groups can be further divided into subgroups to more narrowly focus system and data privileges.
SAM users are given permission for one or more Access Groups. Federal Program Agencies also set up default rules in SAM for each of their Access Groups in case a transaction is submitted with invalid TAS / BETC information. - Account Statement
- Provides agencies with a central source for getting a near-real-time picture of their account balances. This helps maintain the Fund Balance with Treasury (FBWT).
The Account Statement shows
- appropriation and non-expenditure activity
- summary transactions (payment schedules, deposit tickets) by both TAS and the ALC that started the transaction
- ALC (Agency Location Code)
- A numeric code that identifies the agency's accounting or reporting office.
- ATB
- Adjusted Trial Balance.
- BETC (Business Event Type Code)
- A 2 to 8 character letter code that indicates the type of activity being reported. This could be borrowing, collection, disbursement, offsetting collection, payment, receipt, repayment, etc.
Every transaction must have both a BETC and a TAS. The BETC in combination with a TAS and a dollar amount determines what effect the transaction has on the Fund Balance with Treasury (FBWT).
BETCs replace transaction codes and standard subclasses for central accounting reports, such as the Account Statement and Form 224 (Statement of Transactions).
A few examples of the many BETCs:
- COLL = Offsetting Collection
- COLLAJ = Adjustment to Offsetting Collection
- DISB = Gross Disbursement
- DISBAJ = Adjustment to Gross Disbursements
- Business Line
- A grouping of BETCs that you must disclose in federal government publications. The Business Line replaced the FACTS II Record Type 7 balances.
- CAFÉ (Central Accounting Front End)
- This module processes transactions into the Federal Government Central Accounting System (CAS) from collection, intergovernmental, and payment systems with accounting information (such as TAS) that impact the Fund Balance with Treasury (FBWT).
- CARS (Central Accounting and Reporting System)
- Federal agencies use CARS to report their financial data.
https://fiscal.treasury.gov/cars - CFP (Cash Flow Profile)
- The Shared Accounting Module (SAM) uses an Access Group's CFP while validating or deriving TAS / BETC data for agency transactions. The Cash Flow Administrator for each Access Group creates and maintains their CFPs.
A CFP includes one or more cash flows. Each cash flow lists the agency's ALCs, accounting rules, business activities, C-Key information, and collection mechanisms. - CGAC
- Common Governmentwide Accounting Classification structure
- C-Key (Classification Key)
- Agencies set up C-Keys in the Shared Accounting Module (SAM) for collection and payment transactions. SAM uses the C-Key to derive the appropriate TAS/BETCs from the agency's internal accounting information.
- CTA (Classification, Transactions, and Accountability)
- Disbursing Offices report their monthly accounting activity to Treasury through the CTA module. CTA replaced the Partial 224.
- FACTS I and II (Federal Agencies Centralized Trial-Balance System)
- These are old systems that GTAS replaced.
- FIRST
- Financial Information and Reporting Standardization
- FPA
- Federal Program Agency
- FR (Financial Report of the U.S. Government)
- Provides the President, Congress, and the American people with a comprehensive view of the federal government's finances: its financial position and condition, revenues and costs, assets and liabilities, and other obligations and commitments.
https://fiscal.treasury.gov/reports-statements/financial-report - G-Invoicing
- A web-based program that agencies use for intragovernmental Buy/Sell transactions (IGT). FPAs must be using G-Invoicing IGT by June 30, 2021.
https://fiscal.treasury.gov/g-invoice - GTAS (Governmentwide TAS Adjusted Trial Balance System)
- A web-based program that agencies use to report to Treasury their proprietary financial information and how they spend their budget.
https://fiscal.treasury.gov/gtas - GWA (Governmentwide Accounting and Reporting Modernization Project)
- The ongoing project led by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service to improve the timeliness and accuracy of federal financial reporting.
https://fiscal.treasury.gov/gwa - GWA Non-Reporter
- An ALC that classifies TAS and BETC when they start their collection, intragovernmental, or payment transactions. This process allows them to eliminate end-of-month reporting and Statement of Differences. It also gives them timely information.
- IFCS (Intragovernmental Fiduciary Confirmation System)
- This is a legacy system replaced by GTAS. It was the official confirmation system for Federal Program Agencies that engage in fiduciary intragovernmental transactions
- IRAS (Intragovernmental Reporting and Analysis System)
- This is an old program that GTAS replaced.
- IPAC (Intragovernmental Payment and Collection)
- A web-based program for FPAs to transfer funds from one agency to another with standardized descriptive data.
https://fiscal.treasury.gov/ipac - MAX
- An integrated database for collecting, retrieving, manipulating, presenting, and publishing data on formulating and carrying out budgets, as well as other related data.
Treasury gives GTAS data to OMB for use in MAX at least 4 times a year. - Provisional View of the Account Statement
- Allows GWA Reporters to see and reconcile their Fund Balance With Treasury (FBWT) every day.
- SAM (Shared Accounting Module)
- A web-based program that helps agencies meet the GWA requirement to classify all transactions with the appropriate TAS and BETC before the transaction goes into GWA.
SAM has reference information on valid Agency Location Codes (ALCs) and TAS/BETC(s) to help agencies properly classify their transactions.
Agencies set up
- Access Group Default Rules so that transactions that do not contain a valid TAS/BETC can be classified appropriately before the transaction goes into GWA
- Classification Keys (C-Keys) that SAM uses to derive the appropriate values of TAS/BETC(s) for collection transactions from the agencies' internal accounting information
https://fiscal.treasury.gov/sam - SID (United States General Ledger Interactive Database)
- An old program that GTAS replaced.
- SMAF (Super Master Account File)
- Combines the master account files from FACTS I and II.
SMAF has the valid TAS attributes and balances that agencies use for submitting budgetary and propriety Adjusted Trial Balances (ATBs). - SSO (Single Sign-On)
- To use many Treasury web-based programs, you must have an SSO with the IBM Tivoli Identity Management System.
- STAR
- An old program that CARS replaced.
- TAFS (Treasury Appropriation Fund Symbol)
- A TAS with budget authority.
- TAS (Treasury Account Symbol)
- Treasury, collaborating with each agency and OMB, assigns a TAS as a code that identifies a specific fund account (for appropriations, expenditures, receipts, etc.).
The fund accounts are defined in the Treasury Financial Management, Volume 1, Part 2, Chapter 5000.
The SAM public website has the most current list of disbursement, IPAC, and collection TAS/BETCs.
Each TAS is made up of several parts. For a description of these parts, see the SAM Frequently Asked Questions. - Testing Period
- A phase in the transition from current ways of working to a new way with a new program.
During the testing period for moving to a program like CARS, agencies continue to report transactions with their current process; but they also include TAS/BETC classification information. Treasury and the appropriate people in the agency then discuss any reporting discrepancies and statement of differences.
GWA recommends that the testing period last at least 2 months. - TFM (Treasury Financial Manual)
- Treasury’s official publication of policies, procedures, and instructions for financial management in the federal government.
https://tfx.treasury.gov/tfm - Transition Period
- The process of becoming a GWA Reporter for IPAC, collections, or payments. The process has 3 phases: preparation, parallel reporting, and implementation.
- TROR (Treasury Report on Receivables)
- A web-based program that agencies use to report their activities for receivables and debt collection.
- UCAD (Use of Central Accounting Data)
- An old project to help agencies reconcile their interagency transactions and balances. GTAS edits have replaced UCAD.
- USSGL (The U.S. Standard General Ledger)
- Provides a uniform Chart of Accounts and technical guidance that agencies use to standardize accounting. The goal of the USSGL is to improve the quality and consistency of the data that agencies report.
https://fiscal.treasury.gov/ussgl