WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Department of the Interior announced today that it went live this week with its largest use to date of the Financial and Business Management System (FBMS). On Nov. 13, 2006, the department used FBMS to carry out financial transactions for the Minerals Management Service and the Office of Surface Mining.
Eventually FBMS will be delivered to nine bureaus and offices under the Department’s jurisdiction, consolidating more than 80 systems into a single system that will manage the department’s financial and administrative business processing.
“As the principal U.S. conservation agency and the steward for much of the nation’s natural resources, the Department of the Interior faces the challenge of providing a wide range of public services to its stakeholders while meeting fiscal and business demands,” said Tom Weimer, Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget. “The new Financial and Business Management System will help the department to become more efficient and customer-friendly to better serve the American public, land users, tribes, states and local governments.”
“The delivery of the system this week to the Minerals Management Service and Office of Surface Mining represents the culmination of many bureau and project accomplishments to date and is a major milestone,” said Bob Brown, Acting Deputy Chief Financial Officer for MMS. “We are eagerly anticipating the improvements that will come from using this new system.”
FBMS implements the modernization blueprint for financial management that is part of Interior’s “Enterprise Architecture” (the term for a tool for building the technology components used to deliver services and business support).
DOI has partnered with IBM Global Business Services to implement the Enterprise Resource Planning system—the technology system that is integrated to incorporate multiple business processes. FBMS incorporates processes like accounting, budgeting, funds management, procurement, property and other administrative functions into one tightly managed system.
Business processing in FBMS is streamlined to provide a smooth workflow across its bureaus and departmental areas, reducing redundancies. The Enterprise Resource Planning System is based on SAP® software.
“Beyond the financial savings and service enhancements, FBMS provides the department with greater governmental integrity and transparency,” said Daniel Fletcher, Interior’s Deputy Chief Financial Officer. “The ability to see and process financial and administrative data in real-time across organizational boundaries will allow DOI to plan more effectively and will facilitate cost management and budgeting decisions.”
“FBMS will bring fundamental and constructive change to the department in terms of how it conducts and manages its business,” said Nina Rose Hatfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Business Management and Wildland Fire. “The implementation of the Financial and Business Management System will help enable the department to ensure efficient and careful use of its resources while delivering the best possible performance for the American people.”