Improper Payments Information Act and Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act

The Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) defines requirements to reduce improper and erroneous payments made by the Federal government. OMB also has established specific reporting requirements for Executive Branch agencies with programs that have a significant risk of erroneous payments and for reporting on the results of recovery auditing activities. A significant erroneous payment, as defined by OMB, is an annual erroneous program payment that exceeds both 2.5 percent of the program payments and $10 million.

AOC is a Legislative Branch office and, as such, is not sub- ject to this Act or the related OMB guidance. As a result, AOC has not adopted policies implementing this law. Nonetheless, as part of its multi-year effort for implementing its Internal Control Program and conducting reviews of its internal controls and financial systems (using FMFIA as a general reference tool), a formal annual assessment will be developed to identify any programs where significant erroneous payments may have occurred within AOC. As part of this effort, AOC will refer to the Improper Payments Information Act for general guidance.

The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 (IPERIA) requires the OMB to submit to Congress an annual report regarding the operation of the Do Not Pay Initiative. The AOC uses the Department of Treasury’s IPP for centralizing its invoice payment process. IPP is a secure online platform which incorporates Do Not Pay for the Federal agencies using this system.

In Focus

AOC Expanding Use of Shared Services

In recent years, AOC has increasingly relied on federal shared services. Shared services pertain to common support services, such as payroll, that are performed on a centralized basis by one federal agency for other agencies. Taking advantage of shared services allows AOC to achieve administrative and operational efficiencies, reduce agency costs through economies of scale and standardization, and better focus on its mission.

Examples of shared services implemented at the AOC include:

• Since FY 2012, AOC has used the Treasury’s Web-based Invoice Processing Platform (IPP), a secure electronic invoicing system that allows AOC to simplify vendor invoice management and payments. While AOC is not subject to the Prompt Payment Act, IPP helps AOC eliminate late vendor payments and quickly resolve invoicing problems. In FY 2014, 93 percent of AOC’s payments were on time and averaged 15 days to process (down from 23 days in FY 2013).

• In FY 2014, AOC began the phased migration of AOC’s Human Resources Information System (HRIS) to Treasury’s HR Career Connector—Treasury’s primary human resource system that provides a broad range of applications, services and information. The HRIS Staffing Module has been implemented at the AOC to support developing and posting vacancy announcements directly to USAJOBS. The initial investment is projected to achieve an annual savings of $3 million plus deliver improved customer service.

Looking ahead, AOC will continue pursuing shared services opportunities. Viable options must meet AOC requirements, have an acceptable impact to AOC mission and customers and represent a sound business case. For example, the planned migration of the AOC’s financial data into the Legislative Branch Financial Management System shared services environment at the Library of Congress is projected to achieve an annual savings of almost $1.4 million.

For more information on IPP: www.ipp.gov.