§ 2.28 - Chief Financial Officer.

§ 2.28 Chief Financial Officer.

(a) The Chief Financial Officer, under the supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture, is responsible for executing the duties enumerated for agency Chief Financial Officers in the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, Public Law 101-576, 31 U.S.C. 902, and additional specified duties, including:

(1) Report directly to the Secretary regarding financial management matters.

(2) Oversee all financial management activities relating to the programs and operations of the Department and component agencies.

(3) Develop and maintain an integrated accounting and financial system for the Department and component agencies, including financial reporting and internal controls, which -

(i) Complies with applicable accounting principles, standards, and requirements, and internal control standards;

(ii) Complies with such policies and requirements as may be prescribed by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB);

(iii) Complies with any other requirements applicable to such systems; and

(iv) Provides for complete, reliable, consistent, and timely information which is prepared on a uniform basis and which is responsive to the financial information needs of Department management and for the development and reporting of cost information, the integration of accounting and budgeting information, and the systematic measurement of performance.

(4) Make recommendations to the Secretary regarding the selection of the Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the Department, and selection of principal financial officers of component agencies of the Department.

(5) Direct, manage, and provide policy guidance and oversight of Department financial management personnel, activities, and operations, including:

(i) Prepare and annually revise a Departmental plan to:

(A) Implement the 5-year financial management plan prepared by the Director of OMB under 31 U.S.C. 3512(a)(3); and

(B) Comply with the requirements established for agency financial statements under 31 U.S.C. 3515 and with the requirements for audits of Department financial statements established in 31 U.S.C. 3521(e) and (f).

(ii) Develop Departmental financial management budgets, including the oversight and recommendation of approval of component agency financial management budgets.

(iii) Recruit, select, and train personnel to carry out Departmental financial management functions.

(iv) Approve and manage Departmental, and approve component agency, financial management systems design or enhancement projects.

(v) Implement and approve Departmental, and approve component agency, asset management systems, including systems for cash management, credit management, debt collection, and property and inventory management and control.

(6) Prepare and transmit, by not later than 60 days after the submission of the audit report required by 31 U.S.C. 3521(f), an annual report to the Secretary and the Director of OMB, which shall include:

(i) A description and analysis of the status of financial management of the Department.

(ii) The annual financial statements prepared under 31 U.S.C. 3521.

(iii) The audit report transmitted to the Secretary under 31 U.S.C. 3521.

(iv) A summary of the reports on internal accounting and administrative control systems submitted to the President and the Congress under the amendments made by the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act of 1982 (31 U.S.C. 1113, 3512).

(v) Other information the Secretary considers appropriate to inform fully the President and the Congress concerning the financial management of the Department.

(7) Monitor the financial execution of the budget of the Department in relation to projected and actual expenditures, and prepare and submit to the Secretary timely performance reports.

(8) Review, on a biennial basis, the fees, royalties, rent, and other charges imposed by the Department for services and things of value it produces, and make recommendations on revising those charges to reflect costs incurred by the Department in providing those services and things of value.

(9) Access all records, reports, audits, reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or other material that are the property of the Department or that are available to the Department, and that relate to programs and operations with respect to which the Chief Financial Officer has responsibilities, except that this grant allows no access greater than that permitted under any other law to records, reports, audits, reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, or other material of the Office of Inspector General.

(10) Request such information or assistance as may be necessary for carrying out the duties and responsibilities granted by the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-576), from any Federal, State, or local governmental entity.

(11) To the extent and in such amounts as may be provided in advance by appropriations acts, enter into contracts and other arrangements with public agencies and with private persons for the preparation of financial statements, studies, analyses, and other services, and making such payments as may be necessary to carry out the duties and prerogatives of the Chief Financial Officer.

(12) Designate the Department's Comptroller of the Department Working Capital Fund.

(13) Establish Departmental policies, standards, techniques, and procedures applicable to all USDA agencies for the following areas:

(i) Development, maintenance, review and approval of all departmental, and review and approval of component agency, internal control, fiscal, financial management and accounting systems including the financial aspects of payment management and property systems.

(ii) Selection, standardization, and simplification of program delivery processes utilizing grants, cooperative agreements and other forms of Federal assistance.

(iii) Review and approval of Federal assistance, internal control, fiscal, accounting and financial management regulations and instructions proposed or issued by USDA agencies for conformity with Departmental requirements.

(iv) Section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (21 U.S.C. 862) as it relates to grants, loans, and licenses.

(14) Establish policies related to the Department Working Capital Fund.

(15) Approve regulations, procedures and rates for goods and services financed through the Department Working Capital Fund which will impact the financial administration of the Fund.

(16) Exercise responsibility and authority for operating USDA's financial and subsidiary management systems and related administrative systems including: Departmentwide payroll and personnel information systems, statistics, administrative payments, billings and collections, and related reporting systems that are either requested by the agencies or required by the Department.

(17) Manage the National Finance Center (NFC).

(18) Provide management support services for the NFC, and by agreement with agency heads concerned, provide such services for other USDA tenants housed in the same facility. As used herein, such management support services shall include:

(i) Personnel services, as listed in § 2.24(a)(4)(x), and organizational support services, with authority to take actions required by law or regulation to perform such services; and

(ii) Procurement, property management, space management, communications, messenger, paperwork management, and related administrative services, with authority to take actions required by law or regulation to perform such services.

(19) Exercise responsibility and authority for all matters related to the Department's accounting and financial operations including such activities as:

(i) Financial administration, including accounting and related activities.

(ii) Reviewing financial aspects of agency operations and proposals.

(iii) Furnishing consulting services to agencies to assist them in developing and maintaining accounting and financial management systems and internal controls, and for other purposes consistent with delegations in paragraph (a)(13) of this section.

(iv) Reviewing and monitoring agency implementation of Federal assistance policies.

(v) Reviewing and approving agencies' accounting systems documentation including related development plans, activities, and controls.

(vi) Monitoring agencies' progress in developing and revising accounting and financial management systems and internal controls.

(vii) Evaluating agencies' financial systems to determine the effectiveness of procedures employed, compliance with regulations, and the appropriateness of policies and practices.

(viii) Promulgation of Department schedule of fees and charges for reproductions, furnishing of copies and making searches for official records pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

(ix) Monitoring USDA implementation of section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (21 U.S.C. 862) as it relates to grants, loans, and licenses.

(20) Establish Department and approve component agency programs, policies, standards, systems, techniques and procedures to improve the management and operational efficiency and effectiveness of the USDA including:

(i) Increased use of operations research and management science in the areas of productivity and management.

(ii) All activities financed through the Department Working Capital Fund.

(21) Develop Departmental policies, standards, techniques, and procedures for the conduct of reviews and analysis of the utilization of the resources of State and local governments, other Federal agencies and of the private sector in domestic program operations.

(22) Represent the Department in contacts with OMB, General Services Administration, GAO, Department of the Treasury, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Commerce, Congress of the United States, State and local governments, universities, and other public and private sector individuals, organizations or agencies on matters related to assigned responsibilities.

(23) Establish policies related to travel by USDA employees.

(24) Provide budget, accounting, fiscal, and related financial management services, with authority to take action required by law or regulation to provide such services for:

(i) The Secretary of Agriculture.

(ii) The general officers of the Department, except the Inspector General.

(iii) The offices and agencies reporting to the Assistant Secretary for Administration as a Working Capital Fund activity.

(iv) Any other offices or agencies of the Department as may be agreed.

(25) Develop, promulgate, and coordinate Department-wide policy concerning nonprocurement debarment and suspension.

(26) Prepare and submit to Congress reports on conferences sponsored or held by the Department or attended by employees of the Department (7 U.S.C. 2255b).

(27) Administer the debarment authorities in section 14211 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2209j) in coordination with the Director, Office of Contracting and Procurement and Property Management.

(28) Redelegate, as appropriate, any authority delegated under paragraphs (a)(1) through (27) of this section to general officers of the Department and heads of Departmental agencies.

(29) Provide Departmentwide guidance on implementation of prize competition authority in section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719); develop guidelines to ensure that judges appointed for prize competitions under that authority are fairly balanced and operate in a transparent manner (15 U.S.C. 3719(k)(3)).

(30) Settle claims not otherwise provided for under 31 U.S.C. 3702(a) or another provision of law.

(b) The following authorities are reserved to the Secretary of Agriculture:

(1) Approval of prize competitions that may result in the award of more than $1,000,000 in cash prizes under section 24(m)(4)(B) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719(m)(4)(B)).

(2) [Reserved]

[79 FR 44110, July 30, 2014, as amended at 80 FR 58338, Sept. 29, 2015; 83 FR 61311, Nov. 29, 2018]