Vol. 36, Number 7—July 2004

First Nationwide Financial System Nears Completion

FAS₄T is shorthand for a Windows-based financial management system that is transforming accounting in the federal courts. Why is that important? Over the years the courts of appeals and district courts have independently developed various manual and automated accounting systems. Almost none of those systems were compatible with the Administrative Office's Central Accounting System, and few of them had the capability to exchange financial information even with units in their own courts. FAS₄T, or the Financial Accounting System for Tomorrow, interfaces with the systems already in place, such as the Jury Management System and the Integrated Library System, and links all to the Central Accounting System maintained by the AO.

According to Phil McKinney, chief of the AO's Accounting and Financial Systems Division, FAS₄T is the Judiciary's first, successful nationwide financial management system. The first wave of four courts began testing FAS₄T in 1997, and the last 8 district courts in the country are scheduled to employ the system in July and August 2004. McKinney anticipates that by late summer 2004, all district courts and courts of appeals will be operating on FAS₄T.

"Nationwide implementation of this financial system is a significant milestone, not just because of the scope of the project, but because of the controls and accountability it brings to the accounting process," said Administrative Office Director Leonidas Ralph Mecham.

Think efficiency with FAS₄T. Financial functions such as budgeting and funds management, receivables and collections, procurement, payables, and disbursements generate two things in large quantities:  data and paper—mounds of paper. FAS₄T manages both.

Courts once submitted monthly reports in paper form, which have been eliminated with FAS₄T. But the real teeth were added when legislation, passed in 2000, created certifying officers in the courts and authorized them to verify receipt of and funding availability for goods and services. The authority allowed electronic certification through FAS₄T at the court unit level, saving steps and eliminating the endless paper trail of duplicate vouchers, invoices and receipts, and redundant entries into multiple systems. And oversight is easier with FAS₄T's strong controls. "Training for all new certifying officers improves knowledge of what and how purchases can be made, and instills a heightened awareness of accountability," said Jerome G. Patterson, FAS₄T Project Manager. "With FAS₄T's strong internal controls including the ability to set limits on approvals, review vigilance and oversight is easier for certifying officers."

As for data, FAS₄T generates timely and reliable reports, and brings data to managers' fingertips. Data can be tracked daily on desktops, pinpointing, for example, the status of allotments, commitments, and obligations. FAS₄T streamlines day-to-day functions such as paying bills, and procuring supplies, equipment, and services. With FAS₄T's timely closing of monthly accounts, forecasting trends is possible in each court and nationally.

The system also meets federal accounting system standards, one of which is the ability to be audited. FAS₄T has strong internal controls and detailed audit trails. The information is all available without multiple reconciliations between a district and all its divisional offices. Reports to the U.S. Treasury are generated in three days, when it once took seven days. Electronic disbursement of checks, available for the first time with FAS₄T, will save the courts nearly $500,000 in postage costs, and will eliminate the huge number of paper checks once generated by the courts.

"FAS₄T meets everybody's core needs in accounting and it is adding functionality over time," said Ralph L. Deloach, clerk of court for the District of Kansas. DeLoach was a member of the original FAS₄T working group, and his court also was one of the first Îbeta' courts to use the system. He now chairs the working group.

"Beta courts were willing to take the time and suffer the heartache to test and work out the bugs in the system," Deloach said. "The goal was to make the system easy to implement." They obviously succeeded. Deloach is quick to point out that the success was greatly due to mentor courts that had adopted the system and were willing to help other courts with the implementation. "Courts are autonomous, and they didn't have to go with this system," he recounts. "But as word spread that FAS₄T works, and with the help of the mentor courts, more courts signed up. The system sold itself, in many ways." 

Ultimately, FAS₄T's usefulness to the courts is directly related to court input. The working group, with an ever-refreshed roster of court personnel, has given direction to, and advice on, the project. But according to Deloach, who's been close to the project for nearly a decade, FAS₄T wouldn't have succeeded without one key ingredient. "It's Phil [McKinney]," said Deloach. "It's difficult to move any project, especially a national project, but Phil came in with lots of good ideas and involved the courts. FAS₄T wouldn't have happened without him."

Will FAS₄T live up to its name? Will the Financial Accounting System for Tomorrow keep pace with tomorrow?  Well, the roll-out already has started on civil and criminal accounting modules for FAS₄T—which DeLoach calls the cash register portion of the system. The modules will handle fines and restitution payments in courts nationwide, eliminating manual monetary tracking. The Districts of Arizona and South Carolina already are operating the modules. Further enhancements will expand report writing capabilities and add connectivity to the Judiciary's Probation and Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System and of course to the Case Management/Electronic Case Files System.