| Description: |
Receivables are established to account for amounts due from others as the result of performance of services by the agency, delivery of goods sold, the passage of time (e.g., interest earned), overpayments, or other actions. Receivables are accounted for as assets until funds are collected, or determined to be uncollectible in whole or in part. In addition, some receipts may be collected without the prior establishment of a receivable, as in the case of goods sold for cash. Federal debt management regulations are documented in several different sources. The Debt Collection Act of 1982 authorized agencies to charge interest, penalties, and administrative costs against delinquent non-Federal debtors, and on debts due from state and local governments. OMB Circular A-129, Policies for Federal Credit Programs and Non-Tax Receivables, prescribes policies and procedures for collecting non-tax receivables and sets standards for servicing these receivables and for collecting delinquent debt. DCIA established a framework for improved Federal debt collection by requiring agencies to take prompt action to recover debts, screen potential borrowers related to credit programs, and resolve outstanding debt through various options. DCIA centralized the management of delinquent non-tax obligations overdue by 180 days in the Department of the Treasury for administrative offset and cross-servicing. In addition, DCIA allows referral of the delinquent debt to the Department of Justice for litigation. To remain in compliance with these requirements, Federal agencies, unless otherwise precluded from statute, must accurately and timely report on receivables by submitting all required information on the TROR. Depending on an agency's system architecture, servicing and collection activities for some receivables may be supported by other systems that provide data to the Core financial system. This would be particularly appropriate for receivables resulting from large programs with complex data requirements, such as loan programs, grant programs, or fee-for-service programs. Servicing and collection of receivables with simpler requirements for supporting data, such as those resulting from erroneous payments, may be supported directly by the Core financial system with no support by other systems. Servicing of payroll collections (benefits, judgments, etc.), however, should be maintained in the payroll system and made available to the Core system for recording the general ledger impact. The Receivable Management function includes recording, billing, monitoring, and collecting amounts due the government whether previously established as a receivable or not. These activities must be supported by aging schedules, exception reports, and reports used to monitor due diligence efforts. |