MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
It pleases me to present the fiscal year (FY) 1998 financial report for the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The Department of the Interior's Office of the Inspector General has independently audited this report and has issued an unqualified audit opinion. This is USGS's third consecutive year receiving an unqualified opinion which indicates the emphasis we place on data integrity, financial reporting, and overall financial management.
Barbara J. RyanWe have made noticeable changes to this year's report. For the first time we are reporting our Statement of Changes in Net Position by responsibility segment. We have also added the required Statement of Financing. We completed a comprehensive review of our construction and maintenance needs, and those results are presented in the notes to the financial statements. Finally, we have added a supplemental stewardship report that accentuates USGS research and development efforts.
USGS made three significant systems conversions in FY 1998 to improve our accounting systems and enhance data integrity. We converted to a new version of our accounting software that can process transactions for the year 2000. This is a significant step toward making all USGS mission-critical systems year 2000 compliant. We also converted our existing general ledger accounts and balances to the government wide standard. This effort resulted in more reliable postings for our financial transactions and will improve our internal and external financial reporting. The third conversion was to a new, more efficient Department wide payroll system.
USGS actively supports the financial management goals of the Department of the Interior. Our previously mentioned unqualified audit opinion supports that Departmental goal, and the pace with which we correct identified audit findings likewise meets Departmental goals. The number of payments we make electronically is almost 50% higher than the Departmental average. We have reduced our number of late payments by over 20% this fiscal year; for the last six months of the year we exceeded the Departmental goal by about one-third, and we are working diligently to continue that trend. We have also referred essentially 100% of our delinquent debt to the Department of the Treasury for collection and offset, likewise in support of Departmental goals.
We intend to continue to review and improve our financial management practices next fiscal year. Procurement initiatives include the issuance of new credit cards throughout USGS and the automatic interfacing of centralized procurement transactions with our accounting system. We will expand our emerging financial database to include other indicators of administrative performance, such as operating plans, performance goals, and personnel data. The various provisions of the Debt Collection Improvement Act, including debt transfer and payment by electronic means, will be fully implemented in FY 1999. We will continue implementing government wide accounting standards that will enhance the integrity of our financial data. Finally, we will continue to support Departmental financial management goals, including those mentioned previously, but especially the planning and reengineering efforts associated with our migration to a new financial management system.
Our past accomplishments and the challenges we have set for next year demonstrate our commitment to improving financial management and our support for USGS mission to provide science for a changing world.
Barbara J. Ryan
Chief Financial Officer and
Associate Director for Operations
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