A-76 - This circular establishes Federal policy regarding the performance of commercial activities and implements the statutory requirements of the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998, Public Law 105-270.

Allocation - At NIST, approval by the Director for OU Directors to incur obligations up to a set level of funding.

Accounting Classification Code Structure (ACCS) – A sequence of numbers that are grouped in a systematic function and is the “key” component of all CFS transactions.  CFS uses the ACCS to record and classify financial transactions.  Consists of the bureau code, project and task codes, fund code, program code, organization code, object class and a user-defined code.  Determines the funds availability for commitments, obligations, and accrual transactions using the funds control levels established in the Funds Management Parameter Maintenance Screen (FM001).  The ACCS and various maintenance screens will accommodate the information currently found in the Cost Center logic and the Title File.

Accounts Payable (AP) - The AP process receives all payable information, sends payment information to the US Treasury, and provides financial data for GL entry.

Accounts Receivable (AR) – The AR process receives billing and collections information from several mixed systems and provides financial data for GL entry.

Accrual – Transactions recorded in the system to indicate that a bureau has ordered and received goods/services but has not yet paid for the goods/services (i.e., a liability).

“As-is” – High-level overview of the current NIST Financial Management System.

Apportionment – Sum total of allocations plus reserves of an appropriation.

Appropriation – Level of funding determined by Congress.

Assembly Testing - Testing that supports the combination of system functionality.

Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) – This interface will support use of the ASAP system to disburse grants for grantees by communicating between the CFS to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Balanced Scorecard - A measurement tool that translates strategic objectives into a comprehensive set of performance metrics.  Links strategic organization goals to the division and individuals. 

Best Practice – Effective methods leading to measurable exceptional performance regardless of industry, leadership, management, or operational approaches.

Billing Run Master File – A file generated from CIS and the Title File used to print unbilled receivables report, billing run by appropriation and billing run by Cost Center.

Blanket Purchase Agreement - A Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is simply an agreement that is established between NIST and a vendor which details the discounts that the vendor will offer to NIST for all purchases, based on our purchasing history. BPAs are established with vendors with whom NIST has historically done a significant volume of business. BPAs enable NIST to obtain lower prices than otherwise would be obtained when employees use a "one-at-a-time" purchasing method.

Budget Execution – Distribution of funding by appropriation, program, and in some cases by project through an allotment process.  From these allotments, Operating Units will develop Budget Operating Plans (BOP’s).

Budget Operating Plan (BOP) - Plan developed within each Operating Unit based upon the stated appropriations.

Bureau Code - The code within the ACCS structure that uniquely identifies a bureau within the Department of Commerce.

CAMS Implementation Team - The CAMS Implementation Team is made up of government personnel and contractors responsible for the overall implementation of the CAMS. 

CAMS Support Center (CSC) - The CAMS Support Center is responsible for the day-to-day management of the DOC CAMS development, maintenance, and support to the Bureau implementation efforts.

Cash-In-Your-Account – Formerly known as Cash-in-a-Flash.

Change Management – Iterative process of analyzing the scope of a change, assessing the organization’s readiness, and strategically creating initiatives to manage the transition.  The change environment is monitored to evaluate the effectiveness of planned initiatives and to identify needs for further interventions.  Change Management activities include, but are not limited to training, communication planning, fostering sponsorship and job design.

Citrix – The network technology providing connections between the end-user and certain database applications.

Commerce Administrative Management System (CAMS) - The Department of Commerce’s new financial and administrative management system that includes the following components: Core Financial System (CFS); Bankcard; and Labor

Commerce Purchase Card System (CPCS) – Interface deployed throughout DOC, including the NIST Customer Bureaus.  CPCS downloads monthly Quick Purchase Card transactions.

Commerce Standard Acquisition and Reporting System (CSTARS) - CSTARS is an enterprise-wide, automated procurement system, which will support e-Commerce, e-Business, and e-Government programs.  The goal of CSTARS is to provide a robust procurement/acquisition functionality powered by a COTS solution. 

Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) – Non-customized commercial software.

Competency – A group of related skills, knowledge, abilities, and behaviors necessary to perform a role (i.e., Accountant skills).  Competencies are an effective predictor of performance in a role or situation.

Competency Model – Summation of the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform roles within an organization.  Not all roles require every competency in the competency model.  A competency model gives an organization a common language to discuss performance.

Conference Room Pilots – System demonstration to stakeholders for comments.

Configuration Management - The process of identifying, managing, and revising components of a business capability and their relationships to one another in a controlled manner.

Core CAMS - Consists of the CFS and two administrative system interfaces: NFC Labor Distribution Module and Commerce Purchase Card System (CPCS).

Core Financial System (CFS) – (AR, AP, GL, BE, and Cost Allocation)

Corporate Information Systems (CIS) – The CIS stores summary financial information at NIST, reporting the results of financial processing to financial administrators within the Operating Units.

Cost Allocation -A systematic way of distributing costs across projects/tasks.

Cost Management – Management of appropriations, allocations and apportionments.

Cost System (Cost) – The Cost System, commonly referred to as “Cost”, is the heart of the current NIST Financial Management System that tracks and distributes detailed financial cost information.  Cost accepts batched input from multiple sources, including interface feeder files and manually entered Journal Voucher (JV) entries.  Cost feeds data to the CIS and provides financial data for the General Ledger entry.

D/R Flag – This is a field in CFS that indicates whether the project funding is direct or reimbursable.

Data Warehouse (DW) - The Data Warehouse is a storehouse of recent production data, organized logically and efficiently to promote fast queries and the development and execution of financial reports without affecting the daily operations of the production database.

Dunning Notices – Notification of a delinquent invoice.

e-Approval - This is a COTS software package designed to allow NIST to conduct business more efficiently by acting as a conduit between administrative systems.

Electronic Certification System (ECS) - The ECS provides Federal Program Agencies with the ability to create, certify and transmit payment schedules on a microcomputer, using ECS software. ECS calculates and validates a cryptographic Message Authentication Code (MAC) for each payment schedule.

Feeder Files - These sub-processes provide manually batched financial data files to the Cost System.

Financial Accounting and Reporting System (FARS) - Financial legacy system utilized by the NIST cross-serviced Bureaus.

Financial Information System (FIS) – The FIS System is comprised of three parts: Other Objects, Labor, and Solvency.

Fund Code – The code within the ACCS structure that identifies the type of funding to be used.

Funds Management – Executing appropriations, allocations, and apportionments.

Gap Analysis – An analysis of the difference between current performance and desired performance.  Gaps identify where changes must occur to raise performance.

General Journal (GJ) – A GJ is a manual entry to the General Ledger. (JV in Cost)

General Ledger (GL) - The GL is the system of record for NIST that manually captures financial data at a summary level.

Grants Management Information System (GMIS) - Designed to automate financial assistance workflow processes and to create and approve financial transactions related to grants and cooperative agreements.

Graphical User Interface (GUI) – GUI is a simplistic and efficient window modality and layout of a windows environment that provides point and click capabilities.

Integrated - The system user is able to have one view into the system, at any given user access level, and may obtain needed information efficiently and effectively through electronic means.

Interface – A system that interacts with another system in order to perform its own operations.

Invoice Master File - A file accessed during the matched run program containing all invoice data entered in the Invoice Data Entry System.

Job Design – Process of grouping tasks together to create roles.  Considers competencies needed to perform the role.  Typically completed when business processes are reengineered or if significant change occurs within the organization.

Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP) – An organization that mandates that every Federal Agency be responsible for establishing and maintaining a single, integrated financial management system.

Liaison Program - A program created to launch ongoing communication between the CAMS Implementation Team and the various stakeholder groups. 

Limitation Ledger - The Limitation Ledger is a “checkbook” for advance agreements reflecting the sponsor’s name, agreement number, cost accrued on agreement, receipts against the agreement, un-liquidated obligations, un-financed costs, and OA finance reports to send to customers.

Lookup Screens – Screens in CFS used to view and query specific information.  Lookup screens are for query only, no updates, changes, or deletes are allowed.

Maintenance Screens – Screens in CFS used to record essential information that an application requires to record and process a transaction. Access to maintenance screens are limited to designated CFS users.

Matched Documents - Indicates the cross-referencing required by the system in order to process a payment for a particular document. 

No-way match document: Invoice does not require any matching prior to payment.

• 2-way match document: Requires invoice to be matched with a purchase order for payment to occur.
• 3-way match document: Requires invoice to be matched with a purchase order AND a receiving ticket for payment to occur.
• 4-way match document: Requires invoice to be matched with a purchase order, receiving ticket AND acceptance transaction for payment to occur.

Most Efficient Organization (MEO) - The MEO refers to creating an organization that would most efficiently perform a commercial activity after a managed competition under A-76.

New Receiving and Inspection File (NEWRIF) - A file produced by the matched run program that contains AP data (obligations and accruals).

National Finance Center (NFC) Labor - NIST has outsourced its payroll processing to the NFC.

Obligation - Amount of an order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction, which requires payment at the same or a later time.

Object Class Code – A code within the ACCS structure that identifies the type of expense.

Operating Unit (OU) - Units that provide technical leadership for vital components of the nation's technology infrastructure needed by U.S. industry to continually improve its products and services within NIST.

Organization Code – A code within the ACCS structure that uniquely identifies an organization within a bureau.

Other Agencies (OA) – The OA process reviews, monitors and accepts reimbursable and advance agreements/contracts, and provides financial data for GL entry.

Payment Management – Management of all payable information.

Property Management System (PMS) - An Oracle based COTS package that tracks NIST’s property and equipment inventory.

Program Code – A code within the ACCS structure that refers the agency’s programs based on their budget submissions.

Program Management Plan (PMP) - A dynamic document serving as a primary resource for systems planning and decision-making across the NIST Deputy Chief Financial Officer landscape as it relates to the CAMS Implementation.

Program Management Office – An office within NIST that is responsible for administering the CAMS Program Plans and providing information to NIST management.  This office tracks program status, budget, and schedule, and provides this information to NIST management.  The CAMS program is managed by the DCFO and BSD.

Project Code – A code within the ACCS structure that accumulates cost in the CFS application. 

Project Type – Parameter utilized for further defining or categorizing projects.

Receipt Management – Management of all receivable information

Reimbursable - The reimbursable process includes establishing a project, recording the agreement and unfilled customer order, which determines the budget authority for a reimbursable customer, and accumulating costs against the reimbursable project.

Query - Function performed by entering criteria and executing a search to retrieve all records from the database table(s) referenced by the block(s).  Queries may be executed in transaction, maintenance, and look-up screens.

Quick Purchase System – System that administers bankcard purchases for selected NIST personnel for use in making allotted purchases of $10,000 or less and information contained within this system is uploaded to the CPCS.

Skills Assessment – Process of comparing the current skill sets of employees within the organization to needed skills, identifying gaps, and creating action plans to address the gaps. 

Stakeholder – Any group affected either directly or indirectly by the CAMS Implementation.

Standard General Ledger (SGL) - The United States SGL provides a uniform Chart of Accounts and technical guidance to be used in standardizing Federal agency accounting, which supports the preparation of standard external reports required by central agencies.

Standard Reference Data (SRD) - Scientific and technical databases developed by NIST.

Standard Reference Materials (SRM) - NIST ensures accurate and compatible measurements through the development, certification, and distribution of Standard Reference Materials (SRMs).

Store Inventory System (SIS) - The SIS tracks costs, issues, credits, receipts, and inventory adjustments for over 8,000 items.

Task Code – A code within the ACCS structure that allows information to be broken down to the task level of detail for each project.

Technology Architecture - The technology architecture consists of the delivery vehicles necessary to support the required business capability.

Title File – A file containing the data elements and authorizations of all the Cost Centers.

“To-be” – This is the process for determining the structure of the financial system following the CAMS implementation.  The goal of this process is to determine the status of current systems following the CAMS implementation and determine which business process should be changed to improve efficiency. This process will also include a “snapshot” that maps the current NIST financial management system functionality to the CAMS. 

Travel Manager - A travel system that automates the creation of travel authorizations and vouchers, thus increasing the percentage of vouchers that pass audit; to reduce the time taken to process travel requests through the implementation of electronic routing.

Travel Entry Program - System used in the NIST Travel Office to enter travel orders.

Unit Testing - The testing of an individual piece of the solution that ensures that the unit correctly implements the design specifications.

User Defined Field – A field within the ACCS structure that is currently populated with zeros in CFS but is available for use a bureau’s discretion to provide additional detail.

Working Capital Fund - A revolving fund that initially finances all NIST activities.