4 FAH-3 H-500
PAYROLL, TIME AND ATTENDANCE, AND LEAVE ACCOUNTING
4 FAH-3 H-510
GENERAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
(CT:FMP-99; 08-30-2018)
(Office of Origin: CGFS/FPRA/FP)
4 FAH-3 H-511 GENERAL
(TL:FMP-18;
05-14-2003)
Information common to all topics covered in 4 FAH-3 H-500, such as
scope and applicability, relevant authorities, applicable internal controls,
and definitions of commonly used terms is found in 4 FAH-3 H-512
through 519. The general policies and procedures covered in 4 FAH-3 H-500,
Payroll, Time and Attendance, and Leave Accounting, apply to the Department and
other agencies where uniform regulations apply.
4 FAH-3 H-512 GENERAL
POLICY
(CT:FMP-99;
08-30-2018)
a. It is the
policy of the Department to pay employees on a biweekly basis 12 days after the
end of the pay period, in accordance with applicable law and regulations and
generally accepted accounting procedures.
b. The
Department will electronically issue Form DS-1216, Earnings and Leave Statement
to each employee, domestically or abroad, on a biweekly basis. The employee is
responsible for verifying the accuracy and correctness of the Earnings and
Leave Statement and reporting any errors in a timely manner to the timekeeper
and/or supervisor.
c. Salaries
and allowances of U.S. citizens paid through Consolidated American Payroll
Processing System (CAPPS) are paid in U.S. dollars while locally employed staff (LE staff) and American
citizens (AMCITs) paid through the LE staff
payroll system are paid in the currency of the country in which employed
except as otherwise authorized by 4 FAH-3
H-556.2, Exceptions.
d. The
Department will use electronic funds transfer to make payroll and annuity
disbursements to employees, personal services contractors, and annuitants
wherever feasible.
e. The
Department will report each U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens
earnings and deductions to the Internal Revenue Service, state tax authorities,
and/or Social Security Administration and will issue a W-2 Statement to the
individual annually.
4 FAH-3 H-513 SCOPE
4 FAH-3 H-513.1 Description and Purpose
(TL:FMP-18;
05-14-2003)
Chapter 4 FAH-3 H-500 is
issued pursuant to policy stated in 4 FAM 500, Payroll, Time and Attendance,
and Leave Accounting, and contains the regulatory information and procedures
applicable to the areas of payroll, tax reporting and the Foreign Service
Retirement and Disability Fund. It includes information on maintaining daily
attendance and leave records, computing, vouchering and paying salaries to U.S. citizen employees, Foreign Service National employees, AMCITS, and personal services
contractors, tax reporting, and the maintenance of the Foreign Service
Retirement and Disability Fund.
4 FAH-3 H-513.2 Organization and Layout
(TL:FMP-18;
05-14-2003)
The organization of 4 FAH-3 H-500 reflects
the various functions that comprise the areas of payroll, tax reporting, and
the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund. 4 FAH-3 H-500 is organized
as follows:
(1) 4 FAH-3 H-510,
General Policies and Proceduresprovides information common to all topics
covered in this chapter such as scope and applicability, the authorities, the
automated payroll systems used, definitions of common terms, the standard forms
used, and the internal controls applicable;
(2) 4 FAH-3 H-520,
Attendance and Leaveprovides information on timekeeping functions including
the maintenance of time and attendance, and leave records, and responsibilities
associated with such maintenance and reporting requirements of the time and
attendance, and leave records;
(3) 4 FAH-3 H-530,
Pay and Allowances Computationprovides information on the different types of
compensation, rules related to the computation of gross pay and allowances, and
accounting and reporting of the computed compensations;
(4) 4 FAH-3 H-540,
Payroll Deductions, Contributions, and Adjustmentsprovides information on the
mandatory and voluntary employee deductions and other adjustments to be
computed and withheld from the employees compensation and the rules related to
such withholdings, any salary overpayments made, and waivers of collection of
such overpayments; and
(5) 4 FAH-3 H-550,
Vouching and Payment of Salaries and Allowancesdescribes the basis of
vouchering, personnel to be vouchered, method of vouchering, and the time and
method of paying salaries, benefits, and allowances.
4 FAH-3 H-514 APPLICABILITY
(TL:FMP-18;
05-14-2003)
a. 4 FAH-3 H-500 is the
single, authoritative, and comprehensive source for the Departments guidance
and should be referenced on all matters relating to payroll processing, tax
reporting, and Foreign Service retirement. It is intended for use both at
posts abroad and domestically by Department bureaus and offices, and by other agencies
serviced by the Department.
b. Unless
otherwise stated, references made to the Department refer to worldwide
operations of the Department.
4 FAH-3 H-515 DEFINITIONS
4 FAH-3 H-515.1 Definitions of Documents, Processes,
and Actions
(CT:FMP-99;
08-30-2018)
Administrative workweek: A period of seven
consecutive calendar days beginning on a day and hour established in advance
under 3 FAM 2330,
Hours of Work.
Allowance: An allowance refers to money or
equivalent value, furnished or made available, in addition to prescribed rates
of pay, to cover such items as housing expenses, educational expenses, or
travel.
AMCIT: U.S. citizen who is not a family
member of a U.S. Government employee who is hired at post of residence into an LE staff position and whose compensation and
benefits are prescribed by a local compensation plan and paid through the LE staff payroll system (Foreign Service Act
section 311(c)(1)).
Base pay or basic pay: As defined in 5 CFR
531.202 for purposes of computing premium pay limitations, severance pay,
terminal leave, life insurance, retirement, and Thrift Savings Plan. Base pay
means the employees scheduled annual rate of pay increased by any applicable
locality-based comparability or special law enforcement adjustment.
Basic workweek: The basic workweek is
established for an employee under 3 FAM 2330,
Hours of Work, or as the LE staff local
compensation plan directs.
Bonus: An LE
staff benefit payment that occurs on a specified date or dates.
Compensation to persons under LE staff local
compensation plan: Established under section 408 of the Foreign
Service Act consists of a basic salary rate and, in some instances, an adjusted
basic rate. The adjusted basic rate is the basic rate adjusted for certain
monetized benefits. If there is an adjusted basic rate, it is paid for work
during the basic workweek but is not used for computation of premium pay,
bonuses, payment to retirement systems, severance pay, etc. The basic rate is
applicable for these purposes.
Consolidated American Payroll Processing System
(CAPPS): Refers to the automated payroll system that is used to
process payroll data for U.S. citizen employees, U.S. citizen personal services
contractors, and all consular agents.
Country of employment: The country where
that employee was appointed, permanently assigned, or employed by the U.S.
Government, whether in or outside the United States.
Deductions/withholdings: Refer to both the
mandatory deductions and voluntary deductions that are made from the gross pay
of an employee, such as deductions towards retirement, Thrift Savings Plan,
U.S. Social Security programs, U.S. Federal, state, and local income tax, and
health and life insurance.
Employee: Refers to an individual
appointed into the civilian service of a Government agency (including chiefs of
mission and members of the Foreign Service of the United States).
Foreign area: Any area (including the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) situated outside the United States, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the possessions of the United States.
Foreign Service National employee (FSN):
An employee appointed under section 303 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980. An
FSN employee is a non-U.S. citizen directly hired by a U.S. Mission, including
third-country nationals (TCNs) but excludes official residence staff as well as
consular agents, or an AMCIT, unless otherwise indicated.
Locality annual rate of pay: As defined in
5 CFR 531.602.
Locally employed (LE) staff payroll system: Payroll systems operated
by the Financial Service Centers (FSCs) to pay Foreign Service National
employees, personal services contractors, and AMCITs.
Outpatient medical emergency assistance:
Advance of pay assistance to employees working outside their country of
employment who must pay immediately in full for the costs of outpatient
treatment.
Overtime: Authorized and performed work of
full-time, part-time, and intermittent tours of duty performed by permanent or
temporary employees in excess of 40 hours in an administrative workweek or
eight hours in a day, whichever is greater and except as otherwise provided in 3 FAM 3133,
Overtime. For LE staff, overtime is work
performed in addition to the individuals basic workweek.
Pay: Current salary at time of request;
that is, the basic pay of an employee exclusive of all allowances,
differentials, or other additional compensation minus mandatory deductions
(Federal, state, and local income taxes, U.S. Social Security taxes,
retirement, basic life insurance, health insurance, salary offset for
indebtedness, garnishments and court-ordered bankruptcy payments).
Pay of U.S. citizen personal services contractors:
Governed by the terms of the contract. The contract may provide a stated
annual rate adjusted for such monetized benefits as health insurance to create
an adjusted annual rate to be used for hours worked during the basic workweek.
The stated annual rate base for hours in excess of the basic workweek is the unadjusted
rate.
Pay period: Refers to a time period which
covers two administrative workweeks for all employees except those hired on an
other-than-annual basis, for whom a pay period is in accordance with the terms
of the appointment.
Permanent resident alien (PRA): A person
who holds a U.S. green card. Note that an LE
staff employee or personal services contractor who holds a U.S. green
card is subject to U.S. income and Social Security tax withholding unless a
totalization agreement provides Social Security Tax exemption. A PRA working
in the United States such as an FSI language tutor is subject to applicable
Federal, state and city tax withholding.
Personal services contractor (PSC): An
individual contracted personally to perform an identifiable task under the
supervision and control usual to government employees rather than to furnish an
end item of supply (Federal Acquisition Regulations 37.101 and 37.104). This
employer/employee relationship may involve a U.S. citizen payrolled through
CAPPS, or a Foreign Service National payrolled through the LE staff payroll system:
(1) Summer hires or other temporary employment of
dependents of Foreign Service employees usually involve an employer/employee
relationship requiring a part-time, intermittent or temporary (PIT) appointment
or a personal services contract (PSC). For the test for employer/employee
relationship used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for taxation purposes,
see Publication 15 or Publication 15A under the IRS website at www.irs.gov;
(2) When an employer/employee relationship exists
with a U.S. citizen employee or a U.S. permanent resident alien, appropriate
U.S. income and Social Security tax withholding is generally required and
payment should be effected through the CAPPS or LE staff payroll
systems. CAPPS also performs withholding of applicable state and city income
taxes; and
(3) The compensation, benefits, and other
entitlements of a personal services contractor are determined by the terms of
the contract in accordance with Federal Procurement Regulations rather than by
the entitlements of employees appointed to the Federal service.
Post: The place designated as the official
duty station of the employee, regardless of whether the employee is detailed
elsewhere or resides at another place with the authorization or approval of the
head of the agency.
Premium pay: Premium pay for U.S. citizen
employees means additional pay authorized under Chapter 55 of 5 U.S.C., for,
e.g., overtime, night, holiday, Sunday work, and standby duty. Any premium pay
for a U.S. citizen PSC is set forth in the contract. Premium pay for Foreign
Service National employees, personal services contractors, and AMCITs is as
prescribed in the local compensation plan.
Rate of basic pay: As defined in 5 CFR
531.202 for purposes of computing premium pay limitations, severance pay,
terminal leave, life insurance, retirement, and Thrift Savings Plan. Base pay
means the employees' scheduled annual rate of pay increased by any applicable
locality-based comparability or special law enforcement adjustment.
Scheduled annual rate of pay: As defined
in 5 CFR 531.301.
Special law enforcement adjustment annual rate of pay:
As defined in 5 CFR 531.301.
Third-country national (TCN): An
individual who is neither a citizen of the United States nor of the country in
which employed, who is employed on a limited appointment or personal services
contract, and who is eligible for return travel at U.S. Government expense to
his/her home country or country from which recruited.
Timekeeping: Refers to the task of
recording or maintaining the hours worked by an employee or personal services
contractor.
Tour of duty: The hours of a day and the
days of an administrative workweek that make up an employees regularly
scheduled basic workweek (5 CFR 610.102).
Up to three months: Not more than six
biweekly pay periods.
U.S. citizen employee: A U.S. citizen
appointed to the Foreign Service or Civil Service by the Department (and other
agencies where uniform regulations apply). The term replaces the previously
used American employee. The term as used in 4 FAH-3 H-500,
Payroll, Time and Attendance, and Leave Accounting, excludes AMCITs unless
otherwise indicated.
4 FAH-3 H-515.2 Definitions of Positions and Titles
(CT:FMP-71;
04-23-2013)
Certifying officer: An accountable officer
who has been designated to certify vouchers for payment. The certifying
officer must make such examination of the facts underlying a voucher as is
necessary, taking into consideration the underlying systems and controls, to
provide reasonable assurance that payment is correct and proper. Since the
officer certifying the payroll voucher relies on confidence in the management
controls of the payroll process and the absence of any information to the
contrary, any event creating an insufficiency of funds requires immediate
notification to the certifying officer.
Management officer: An officer of the
Department who is responsible for the day-to-day operations in a domestic
office or bureau or at a post abroad.
Time and attendance (T&A) approving official:
An officer of the Department who is responsible for reviewing, verifying and
approving biweekly T&A records for employees in an office before the
T&A data is transmitted to the appropriate payroll system. This should be
the official most knowledgeable of the time worked and absence of the employees
involved, normally the immediate supervisor.
Timekeeper: An employee who has been
assigned the task of discharging the time and attendance as described in the
Timekeepers Handbook.
4 FAH-3 H-515.3 EmployerEmployee Relationship
(TL:FMP-18;
05-14-2003)
a. For U.S. Federal
Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and income tax withholding purposes the term
"employee" includes any individual who, under the usual common law
rules applicable in determining the employer-employee relationship, has the
status of an employee. IRS rules are found in Publication 15, Circular E,
Employer's Tax Guide, and Publication 15-A, Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide,
which can be found at www.irs.gov.
b. In addition
to common law employees, the FICA includes statutory employees for purposes of
withholding for social security and Medicare. These include:
(1) Agent drivers and commission drivers who deliver
food, beverages (other than milk), laundry, or dry cleaning for someone else;
(2) Full-time life insurance salespersons;
(3) Home workers who work by guidelines of the person
for whom the work is done, with materials furnished by and returned to that
person or to someone that person designates; and
(4) Traveling or city salespersons who work full time
for one firm or person getting orders (items for resale or use as supplies in
the customer's (retailers, wholesalers, contractors, or operators of hotels,
restaurants, or other businesses dealing with food or lodging) business) from
customers.
4 FAH-3 H-516 LEGAL
AUTHORITIES
(CT:FMP-71;
04-23-2013)
The principal legal authorities are:
(1) United States Code (U.S.C.) Title 5Government
Organizations and Employees;
(2) U.S.C. Title 22Foreign Relations and Intercourse;
(3) U.S.C. Title 26Internal Revenue Code;
(4) The Foreign Service Act of 1980 as amended (22
U.S.C. 3900 et. seq.);
(5) 48 CFR 37.101 and 37.104 (Federal Acquisition
Regulation (FAR));
(6) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended
(29 U.S.C. 200);
(7) Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, as amended
(31 U.S.C. 3701-3719);
(8) 31 U.S.C. 3512;
(9) The Privacy Act of 1974;
(10) 26 CFRInternal Revenue;
(11) Statements of Federal Financial Accounting
Concepts and Standards;
(12) GAO/AIMD-00-21.3.1Standards for Internal Control
in the Federal Government (1999);
(13) Joint Financial Management Improvement Program
(JFMIP), Financial Systems Requirements Documents;
(14) GAO-03-352GMaintaining Effective Control over
Employee Time and Attendance Reporting (2003);
(15) SR-99-5Human Resources and Payroll Systems
Requirements (1999), issued by the JFMIP;
(16) Treasury Financial Manual (TFM), Volume I (ITFM),
including:
(a) Part 3Payrolls, Deductions, and Withholdings (1
TFM 3);
(b) Part 4Disbursing (I TFM 4);
(17) OPM Directives;
(18) 5 CFRAdministrative Personnel; and
(19) 22 CFRForeign Relations.
4 FAH-3 H-517 PAYROLL
SYSTEMS
(TL:FMP-18;
05-14-2003)
a. It is the
policy of the Department to maintain automated payroll processing systems that
conform to the standards and requirements prescribed by GAO. The automated
payroll system will be fully documented in systems manuals, which conform to
and supplement the requirements prescribed in this chapter.
b. A serviced
agency must provide its regulations to support any deviation from the
application of Department policy and procedures in 4 FAM 500, Payroll, Time and
Attendance, and Leave Accounting and 4 FAH-3 H-500.
4 FAH-3 H-517.1 Standardized Systems
(CT:FMP-71;
04-23-2013)
A minimum number of automated payroll systems must be used.
The payroll systems should interact with the personnel, accounting, general
ledger, and financial management systems. Any new system proposed or major
revision to a current system must be reviewed by CGFS/GFMS for compliance with
4 FAM and 4 FAH-3 before it can be implemented.
4 FAH-3 H-517.2 Types of Payroll Systems
4 FAH-3 H-517.2-1 Consolidated American Payroll
Processing System (CAPPS)
(TL:FMP-18;
05-14-2003)
a. CAPPS pays U.S.
citizen employees, U.S. citizen personal services contractors (PSCs), permanent
resident aliens employed in Washington in teaching and translation, and
consular agents.
b. It is the
policy of the Department that compensation for personal services be paid
through a payroll system rather than through a voucher system. Personal
services include all summer hires and temporary employment of dependents that
constitute an employee/employer relationship.
c. Master file
data on employees is derived through an interface with the personnel system
except for part-time, intermittent, and temporary employees abroad who are
entered by the FSCs from the post created Form SF-50, Notification of Personnel
Action, serviced agency personnel abroad entered by the FSCs from Authority to
Pay cables, and PSCs manually entered at the FSCs abroad and by allottees under
direction of CAPPS staff, domestically, from Form JF-62, Personal Services
Contracting Action, created by the allottee.
d. The period
of work and leave for each employee is derived from a biweekly T&A
submission. Payment will not be made absent a submission except:
(1) In the event Washington telecommunications
problems prevent receipt of the file, scheduled hours will be paid with any
necessary adjustment in the following pay period;
(2) In the absence of a T&A record for a specific
employee with a domestic organization code, scheduled hours may be paid for one
pay period upon the timekeepers verbal confirmation followed by a manual
T&A report; and
(3) In the absence of a T&A record for a specific
full time permanent employee with an abroad organization code, scheduled hours
may be paid for up to three pay periods upon timekeeper's verbal confirmation
followed by a manual T&A report due to the extended intransit nature of
worldwide transfers.
e. Payments are
charged to the appropriation/allotment as indicated by the personnel or
contracting action.
4 FAH-3 H-517.2-2 Locally Employed
(LE) Staff Payroll
System
(CT:FMP-99;
08-30-2018)
a. The LE staff payroll system compensates personnel in
accordance with the local compensation plan authorized in section 408 of the
Foreign Service Act.
b. The payment
is processed by the Financial Service Centers (FSCs) from post-created Forms
SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, or JF-62, Foreign National Personal
Services Contracting Action, through the LE staff
payroll system pursuant to time and attendance reporting. Absence of a
T&A report for a specific individual prevents any biweekly payment to that
individual. However, an FSC may pay
scheduled hours for one pay period when a posts T&A file is not received
or is not readable. Corrections should be effected in the following pay
period. Any payment to LE or AMCIT staff
of an evacuated post must be authorized by the regional bureaus executive
director biweekly.
4 FAH-3 H-517.3 Payroll Data to be Maintained on
System
(TL:FMP-18;
05-14-2003)
The automated payroll systems must maintain the following
kinds of data:
(1) Permanent data or fixed data for each employee
such as salary, allowance rates, differential rates, deduction and contribution
information, etc., as detailed in 4 FAH-3 H-530,
Computation of Pay and Allowances, and 4 FAH-3 H-540,
Payroll Deductions and Contributions;
(2) T&A data submitted on a biweekly basis for
each employee which can be used to compute biweekly earnings, leave taken, and
compensatory time balances;
(3) Information on the cumulative gross earnings,
deductions, allotments of pay, net pay advances, and leave balances on a pay
period basis for each employee. This accumulation is maintained on either a
tax year or a leave year basis; and
(4) Care should be taken to ensure that supplemental
compensation payments, made outside the normal processing of payroll, be
retroactively reflected in the payroll systems.
4 FAH-3 H-518 FORMS
(CT:FMP-71;
04-23-2013)
a. The U.S.
Code (31 U.S.C. 3511) authorizes the Comptroller General of the United States,
after consulting with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget, to prescribe for each executive agency, the
principles, standards, and related requirements for accounting, including the
use of standard forms.
b. The use of
standard forms is mandatory unless exempted by law or by the Directives
Management Staff (A/GIS/DIR). Advance approval is required for adoption of
agency forms in place of standard forms.
4 FAH-3 H-519 MANAGEMENT
CONTROLS
4 FAH-3 H-519.1 Scope
(TL:FMP-4;
06-15-1995)
a. Management
controls are operational checks and balances that ensure that a task will be
carried out as planned in the most efficient and effective way possible. The
Departments Management Control Handbook provides details on management control
objectives and procedures.
b. This section
does not include the specific management controls related to the Foreign
Service Retirement and Disability Fund.
c. In the
payroll processing area, management controls refer to those checks and balances
that ensure that:
(1) The entire process, of the recording and
maintenance of T&A records, the computation of pay, and the reporting of
amounts paid and amounts withheld, is carried out effectively and efficiently;
(2) All applicable laws, regulations, and policies
are being complied with;
(3) Resources are being safeguarded; and
(4) Accurate and reliable accounting information is
being generated.
4 FAH-3 H-519.2 Authority
(CT:FMP-99;
08-30-2018)
Management controls are required to comply with existing
statutes, regulatory agencies directives and departmental Directives. The
major authorities for management controls are:
(1) The Accounting and Auditing Act of 1950, as
amended, which requires the Comptroller General to prescribe principles,
standards, and related requirements for accounting to be observed by each
Federal agency. The head of each agency is responsible for establishing and
maintaining systems of accounting and management controls;
(2) 31 U.S.C. 3512(b);
(3) OMB Circular A-123, as amended;
(4) GAO/AIMD-00-21.3.1 Standards for Internal
Control in the Federal Government (1999); and
(5) Department of States Management Control
Directive (See 2
FAM 020, Management Controls).
4 FAH-3 H-519.3 Requirements
(TL:FMP-4;
06-15-1995)
GAO/AIMD-00-21.3.1, Standards for Internal Control in the
Federal Government (1999), discusses management control standards of reasonable
assurance, supportive attitude, competent personnel, control objectives,
control techniques, documentation, recording of transactions, execution of
transactions, separation of duties, supervision, access to and accountability
for resources, and prompt resolution of audit findings. Some aspects are
discussed further as they relate specifically to payroll.
4 FAH-3 H-519.3-1 Documentation
(TL:FMP-4;
06-15-1995)
There should be complete, accurate, and easily accessible
documentation for the use of all persons involved in payroll processing. The
documentation should include policy as well as procedures manuals, workflow
descriptions, and systems manuals. The documentation must reflect current laws
and regulations and must be revised and updated for changes in the regulations,
tax rates, and so on.
4 FAH-3 H-519.3-2 Training
(TL:FMP-4;
06-15-1995)
Personnel engaged in pay, leave, and allowance activities
must be adequately trained in the documented policies and procedures applicable
to the area to enable them to perform operations efficiently, effectively, and
economically and to identify and resolve inconsistencies in payroll related
information that is submitted, processed, and reported.
4 FAH-3 H-519.3-3 Audit Trail Maintenance
(TL:FMP-18;
05-14-2003)
a. To maintain
an audit trail, any corrections or adjustments to data in official records must
be approved, in writing or through electronic signature, by an authorized
official.
b. A record of
all changes made after documents have been approved and certified must be
maintained in accordance with Departmental records retention policy.
c. Changes
made to data must be made in such a way that an audit trail is maintained to
provide reference to documents which show the original and the new data and the
authorization for the change.
4 FAH-3 H-519.3-4 Separation of Duties
(TL:FMP-4;
06-15-1995)
a. In
accordance with prudent management control practices, the following operations
should be segregated from one another:
(1) Authorization of pay and entitlements;
(2) Recording of T&A data;
(3) Payroll computations;
(4) Certification of payments;
(5) Recording of payroll data in the accounts;
(6) Distribution of pay;
(7) Review of payroll transactions;
(8) Automated system development;
(9) System testing;
(10) System implementation; and
(11) System maintenance.
b. At
bureaus/offices and posts with limited staff, duties might overlap. In such
instances, there should be a system of checks and balances and active
supervision to ensure that responsibilities are being properly carried out.
c. Posts
abroad with limited staff might require, in situations other than those
referred to above, the same individual to perform conflicting functions. In
such instances, if these practices cannot be met, an alternate system must be
approved by the current next higher level of management and documentation
retained in post files for audit purposes.
4 FAH-3 H-519.3-5 Recording and
Maintaining Time and Attendance Records
(TL:FMP-4;
06-15-1995)
There should be procedures to ensure that the timekeeping
function is carried out effectively and accurately. All recorded T&A data
should be promptly reported to the payrolling office to enable the prompt
computation and payment to the employees and personal service contractors. The
intent is to facilitate processing and to maintain updated information on
attendance and leave records for computation, review and audit purposes.
4 FAH-3 H-519.3-6 Management Controls for Computerized
Payroll Operations
(TL:FMP-18;
05-14-2003)
Periodic preventive maintenance steps must be taken on
hardware and software to ensure the efficient working of the automated payroll
system. Systems requirements documents, issued by the Joint Financial
Improvement Program, provide more detailed guidance.
4 FAH-3 H-519.3-7 Pay Controls
(TL:FMP-4;
06-15-1995)
Overall control procedures should be incorporated and
performed regularly to provide reassurance that payroll data is correctly
processed; for example, use of master control totals for data elements by
computing such totals on certain fields before payroll transactions are
entered, adding totals computed from transactions entered during the cycle, and
comparing to the grand total at the completion of the processing cycle.
4 FAH-3 H-519.3-8 Restricted Access
(TL:FMP-4;
06-15-1995)
Access to the following must be restricted to authorized
personnel:
(1) Payroll data and records (contains information
protected by the Privacy Act of 1974); and
(2) Payroll processing equipment and operations and
related software.
4 FAH-3 H-519.3-9 Management Compliance Audits
(TL:FMP-18;
05-14-2003)
a. Periodic
risk assessment of payroll operations will be conducted in accordance with the
Departments Management Control Program. Assessment findings may indicate the
need for more in-depth review of existing controls.
b. Management will
ensure on a continuing basis, through internal review of payroll operations,
that established policies and procedures are adhered to. Management will
ensure that reviews are timely and are staffed by individuals possessing
adequate payroll knowledge and review skills.
c. At all
supervisory levels diligence is required to ensure that management controls are
functioning.