Budget System Modernization (BSM)
Investment ID: 014-000000003
Overview
Program Title
Budget System Modernization (BSM)
Agency
Description
Budget System Modernization will consolidate the systems the Department of State uses to plan, apportion, allocate and formulate budgets using common budgeting practices, improving operational efficiency and effectiveness.
Type of Program
Major IT Investments
Multi-Agency Category
Financial Management
Investment Detail
BSM allows the Department to consolidate multiple budgeting functions into a single, integrated platform. Budgeting starts from Congress and OMB to internal planning within the Department. The Department has a very complex funding structure, which requires the central office to plan and distribute the funds among many bureaus, and report to OMB and Congress regarding those plans. BSM provides tools to facilitate these processes. BSM integrates these planning and funding distribution activities with the accounting system. The first BSM project replaced a legacy system. A new IT asset, the Integrated Budget Intelligence System (IBIS) was created for only those business functions that could not be incorporated into existing systems. That first project, for which the legacy system can retire in FY 2020, primarily addresses the business needs of the central budget office and the domestic bureaus. IBIS allows bureaus to send funds to posts, but not to manage them at post. BSM leveraged the SMART system to distribute official cables rather than extending IBIS overseas for the sole purpose of providing documents.
In addition to the complex funding structures, the Department's worldwide Financial Management footprint at almost every overseas Mission requires the extension of those plans from bureaus to overseas posts. The second BSM project, the Integrated Budget Execution (IBEx) project will initially replace a number of non-standard spreadsheet processes used to share information between the Bureaus and overseas posts. Currently, bureaus disseminate budget targets by sending spreadsheets or posting on SharePoint sites. Then, at posts, the methods and quality of monitoring the use of funds vary widely. As Financial Management Officers (FMOs) move from post to post, they have to learn how the local staff manage funds. Even within a single post, the summary level display of one fund may vary from that of another fund. The IBEx project will create software tools, but also, through working closely with stakeholders, provide standardized methodologies. This should make things easier for FMOs, as well as others (e.g., auditors). Moreover, it is certainly in direct support of the Department's fourth Strategic Goal: Ensure Effectiveness and Accountability to the American Taxpayer. The Bureau of Budget and Planning is the central budget office and the BSM sponsor.
In addition to the complex funding structures, the Department's worldwide Financial Management footprint at almost every overseas Mission requires the extension of those plans from bureaus to overseas posts. The second BSM project, the Integrated Budget Execution (IBEx) project will initially replace a number of non-standard spreadsheet processes used to share information between the Bureaus and overseas posts. Currently, bureaus disseminate budget targets by sending spreadsheets or posting on SharePoint sites. Then, at posts, the methods and quality of monitoring the use of funds vary widely. As Financial Management Officers (FMOs) move from post to post, they have to learn how the local staff manage funds. Even within a single post, the summary level display of one fund may vary from that of another fund. The IBEx project will create software tools, but also, through working closely with stakeholders, provide standardized methodologies. This should make things easier for FMOs, as well as others (e.g., auditors). Moreover, it is certainly in direct support of the Department's fourth Strategic Goal: Ensure Effectiveness and Accountability to the American Taxpayer. The Bureau of Budget and Planning is the central budget office and the BSM sponsor.