Office of the Chief Financial Officer (2020 Presidential transition)
| Book 3 - Organization Overview
|
|---|
| Entire 2020 DOE Transition book As of October 2020 |
The Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) is responsible for management and financial integrity of DOE programs, activities, and resources through development, implementation, and governance of Department and government-wide policies and systems for budget administration, including development and execution; finance and accounting; internal controls; financial policy; corporate business systems; strategic planning; performance measurement; and, interface with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Government Accountability Office (GAO), DOE Inspector General (IG), Department of Treasury, and Congress.
Mission Statement
Stewardship of financial and business operations for the Department of Energy by an empowered workforce using technology and analytics. Mantra: Empowered People, Financial Stewardship, Performance Focus.
Budget
| Fiscal Year | Budget |
| FY 2019 enacted | $48,912,000 |
| FY 2020 enacted | $52,000,000 |
| FY 2021 request | $53,591,000 |
Human Resources
FY 2020 authorized full-time equivalents (FTEs): 220
History
The Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990 established the CFO position at 24 agencies, including DOE. Under provisions of the CFO Act, the CFO reports directly to the Secretary and is responsible for overseeing financial management activities relating to programs and operations of the department, and developing and maintaining an integrated agency accounting and financial management system.
Functions
Financial Management
CFO oversees DOE financial management operations and serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary and other Departmental officials on matters relating to DOE financial resources. CFO also develops DOE financial management policies, manages consolidated financial and accounting operations, manages the annual financial statement audit, prepares consolidated financial statements, oversees annual internal control reviews and DOE risk profiles consolidation, payment integrity program, and serves as the liaison to the payroll service provider.
Budget
CFO is responsible for and assures the financial integrity, formulation, execution, and analysis of the DOE budget. CFO serves as the liaison to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and to the Congressional Appropriations Committees for all matters related to the DOE budget. In addition, CFO budgets for and manages the DOE Working Capital Fund (WCF).
Financial Policy and Audit Resolution
CFO establishes and maintains financial, accounting, and budgetary policies that support the execution of the Department’s mission. The Office also leads resolution of audit findings and coordination with audit organizations (DOE Inspector General and Government Accountability Office) to improve Departmental operations.
Corporate Business Systems
CFO develops and maintains corporate business systems, including the integrated agency-wide financial accounting, contracts administration, human resources, and various related data management systems.
Strategic Planning
CFO leads development of the DOE strategic plan, priority goals, and performance measures and monitors progress.
Risk
Through the Chief Risk Officer (CRO), CFO provides Departmental support to assess risk and propose mitigation strategies through integration of risk concepts into strategic planning, and risk identification and mitigation activities in collaboration with DOE’s Program and Functional Offices, Field Offices and National Laboratories.
Performance and Data
Under supervision of the CFO, the Chief Performance Officer (CPO) collates and assesses data to assist in recommending improvements for Department-wide programs, issues, and initiatives, and proposes systems and tools to track progress towards agency and Administration goals. The CFO also serves as the DOE Chief Data Officer and chairs DOE’s Data Governance Board, which is responsible for coordinating policy and governance of the Department’s key data assets and execution of the Federal Data Strategy.
Recent Organization Accomplishments
- Analyzed and consolidated Headquarters and Under Secretary Risk Profiles for consolidated DOE FY 2020 Risk Profile.
- Maintained a clean audit opinion for 14 straight years.
- Tracked Program and Functional office activity and obligations for CARES Act funding of $100M for the Office of Science and NNSA for resources to fight the coronavirus outbreak as well as $28M for IT- related activities.
- Led preparation of the Department’s FY 2022 budget request to OMB.
- Began joint pilot to implement Robotic Process Automation solutions for automating corporate business processes.
- Revised Audit Coordination, Resolution and Follow- up Order to streamline audit follow-up processes.
- Implemented three-year review plan for Financial Management Handbook and completed major updates.
- Conducted mid-year update of DOE Management Priorities for year-end reporting.
Recent awards and acknowledgements:
- A-123 Management of Entity Risks and Internal Controls Application (AMERICA) received a Secretary’s Honor and Gears of Government Awards
- DOE FY 2019 AFR recognized with best-in-class award from the Association of Government Accountants
Leadership Challenges
Implementing Recent Legislation
Implementing or carrying out the increasing number of unfunded, external administrative mandates, including extensive reporting requirements.
- Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act requires expanded federal financial reporting beginning May 2017 and reporting was again expanded with the COVID reporting beginning with June 2020 data;
- Program Management Improvement Accountability Act (PMIAA) requires establishment of program portfolios and improved recruiting of program managers to improve program management government- wide;
- Payment Integrity Information Act (PIIA) of 2019 reorganizes and revises several existing improper payments statutes, which establish requirements for federal agencies to cut down on improper payments made by the federal government;
- Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) that requires expanded information technology reporting; and,
- Foundations of Evidence-Based Policymaking Act which requires development and execution of an annual learning agenda, a department- wide evaluation plan, capacity assessments for conducting evaluations, an open data plan, and data maturity assessments.
Updating Business Systems
Ongoing replacement of legacy systems and implementation of new systems to increase DOE integrated financial management.
Hiring Qualified Candidates
Ability to attract and hire qualifies candidates to fill vacancies to reach full FTE allotment.
Critical Events and Action Items
Critical events or actions that will take place within the first 3 months of the next Presidential term.
3-month events
- DOE started FY 2021 operating under a continuing resolution (CR) through December 11, 2020; there is a possibility for an extension to that CR for six months or full-year or for consideration of an amended FY 2021 Request based on revised priorities.
- Potential consideration of additional COVID-19 relief and/or economic stimulus proposals.
- Deliver the FY 2022 President’s Budget Request (PBR) – February 2021.
6-month events
- Update the DOE financial statement audit Management Representation Letter if changes have occurred.
- Provide to Department of Treasury any subsequent changes to what was provided on the Government- wide Management Representation Letter that have occurred from the date of DOE’s financial statement audit opinion was issued.
- Begin preparation of FY 2022-26 Strategic Plan and Agency Priority Goals.
12-month events
- Develop and send to OMB FY 2023 budget request – expected September 2021.
- Close out FY 2021 financial reporting and complete FY 2021 financial statements to support an independent audit.[1]
Organizational Chart
Links
Internal
- Department of Energy
- Department of Energy: Transitions 2020-organization overviews table of contents
- Office of the Chief Financial Officer
External
References
- ↑ DOE. (2021). Transitions 2020: Organizational Overviews. US Department of Energy.