Table of Contents
U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Program Statement
OPI: FPI
NUMBER: 8533.03
DATE: 3/8/99
SUBJECT: Assignment of Accounts to FPI Chart of Accounts
1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE
To establish procedures and designate responsibility for assigning accounts to Federal Prison Industries’ (FPI’s) Chart of Accounts.
Each account number within FPI’s account numbering system is designed to comply with the U.S. Government Standard General Ledger (SGL) and consists of five hierarchical segments to facilitate an array of reporting needs. Procedures for assigning numbers vary according to the specific segment. The segments are divided as follows:
- Financial Accounting Number
- Product Group Code
- Factory/Location Code
- Cost Center
- Project Number
All five segments together will be referred to throughout this program statement as the account number. The account number structure appears as follows:
XXXX - XXXXXX - XXXX - XXX - XXXX
Financial Product Factory/ Cost Project
Accounting Group Location Center Number
Number Code Code
2. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
The expected results of this program are:
- FPI’s Chart of Accounts will provide a uniform chart of accounts and supporting transactions for standard factory and support accounting and the preparation of internal and external reports.
- FPI’s Chart of Accounts will meet all necessary criteria to be in compliance with the U.S. Government Standard General Ledger.
- FPI will maintain a single, corporate-wide account structure that gives financial management staff the ability to accurately consolidate accounting data derived from individual factory records and reports.
3. DIRECTIVES REFERENCED
- Treasury Financial Manual (TFM), Volume 1
- TFM Supplement No. 2, U.S. Government Standard General Ledger
- Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11, Preparation and Submission of Budget Estimates
- TRM 8501.01 Ledgers and Chart of Accounts (11/1/97)
4. STANDARDS REFERENCED
None.
5. FPI CHART OF ACCOUNTS
The FPI – Ledgers and Chart of Accounts Technical Reference Manual is uniquely designed to meet FPI’s internal and external reporting needs.
- FPI staff shall use the FPI Chart of Accounts to classify all financial transactions.
- FPI staff must have written approval from the Controller to use any account number not included in the FPI Chart of Accounts.
6. FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING NUMBER
The Financial Accounting Number is the four-digit number contained in the SGL for classifying financial transactions. Any FPI staff person, perceiving a need, may initiate a request for a Financial Accounting Number to be added to FPI’s Chart of Accounts. The following criteria must be met before a new number is created:
- the transaction cannot be properly classified in any existing account;
- there is a need to classify the transaction apart from other financial transactions for external or internal reporting and/or decision-making purposes;
- the need to classify the transaction separately is not an isolated event; that is, the account will continue to be used in the future;
- the account number is needed at factories throughout FPI or at Central Office; it is not isolated to a particular location.
a. Requesting a Financial Accounting Number. All requests for a Financial Accounting Number shall be submitted to the Deputy Controller in the Financial Management Branch (FMB). The following information shall accompany the request:
- justification for the accounting number (why it is needed);
- proposed number, including account number in the US Government SGL to which it correlates (crosswalks);
- brief description of the account (account name) and a definition describing its intended use;
- account type (i.e., asset, liability, owner’s equity, revenue, expense);
- object class code (reference OMB Circular A-11, Preparation and Submission of Budget Estimates);
- any restrictions on the use of the account (i.e., Central Office use only).
The Reporting Section of FMB shall provide assistance in completing the request.
b. After review by FMB staff, the Deputy Controller shall submit the request to the Controller for approval.
c. Upon the Controller’s approval, the Deputy Controller shall notify the following areas to include the new Financial Accounting Number into the appropriate financial systems:
- all field locations;
- Management Information Systems Branch (MISB);
- General Ledger and Reporting sections of FMB;
- Policy section of FMB for inclusion in the appropriate Technical Reference Manual.
7. PRODUCT GROUP CODE
The Product Group Code segment or product code is the second segment of the account number. This six-character segment allows financial transactions to be further classified according to the actual product line or grouping.
a. Requesting a Product Code
The Program Manager generally initiates requests for new product codes as new items are identified. Program Management staff, Planning, Research and Activation (PRA) staff, or field staff may initiate requests to change existing product codes. The request shall identify:
- the item,
- National Stock Number (NSN) if known,
- the location(s) where the item is to be manufactured, and
- other pertinent information as included in Attachment A.
Requests for additions/changes to product codes shall be submitted to the PRA Branch for approval.
b. PRA Branch Responsibilities
Upon receiving a request to add/change a product code, the PRA Branch shall review the request and, if approved, assign the item a number in accordance with the FPI Chart of Accounts structure. The PRA Branch shall process all approved requests and forward them to FMB, Sales and the Product Support Center (PSC) within 10 working days. PRA shall notify FMB if any changes in product codes result in needed modifications to reports produced by FMB for PRA.
c. FMB Responsibilities
Upon receiving an approved product code request, the Financial Manager shall add the product code to the financial management system FMB maintains, and modify any reports PRA identifies. The Financial Manager shall then notify the Policy Section of FMB and all field locations of the changes to FPI’s Chart of Accounts.
In addition, the Financial Manager shall notify MISB of the changes for inclusion in any affected database maintained by that Branch. The Financial Manager shall complete this process within five working days from receipt of the approved request.
d. PSC Responsibilities
Upon receiving an approved request to add/change a product code, the PSC shall assign the product an item number (if applicable) in the Electronic Corporate Item Master (ECIM) and download it to the affected factory(s). The PSC shall complete the change in the ECIM and the download within 10 working days from receipt of the approved request.
e. Field Location Responsibilities
Upon receipt of the product code change in the ECIM, the affected field location Business Manager shall ensure that the product code is added to the Management Control System (MCS) codes and parameters and that the necessary product code accounts are added to the local chart of accounts.
Business Managers shall notify the Financial Manager in FMB when the new product code has been added to their chart of accounts. Business Managers shall begin using new product codes on the first of the month following completion of the assignment process.
8. FACTORY/LOCATION CODE
The Factory/Location Code segment is a four-alpha character factory identifier that is used in the accounting number only in the Central General Ledger located in FMB in Central Office. This segment of the accounting number remains hidden at the field level.
a. Requesting a Factory/Location Code
When activating a factory at a new location, the PRA Branch shall submit a request to the Controller to assign that factory a Factory/Location Code. When creating a factory out of an operation within an existing factory, the Senior Program Manager shall make the request for a Factory/Location Code to the Controller.
b. Adding a Factory/Location Code to the Chart of Accounts
Upon the Controller’s approval and PRA’s concurrence, the FMB Financial Manager shall, in conjunction with the Manager of the FMB Policy section, select an appropriate mnemonic for the factory that is consistent with other factories at that location and within that program.
The Financial Manager shall then notify all field locations via GroupWise of the addition to the FPI Chart of Accounts. The Policy section shall include the addition in the next revision of the appropriate Technical Reference Manual.
9. COST CENTER NUMBERS
The Cost Center Number segment is the third segment of the account number. This three-character segment allows for the classification of overhead costs associated with particular activities.
a. Requesting a Cost Center Number
In order to standardize cost centers across FPI, requests to add or change cost center numbers shall be made to the appropriate Branch Manager as listed:
| Cost Center | Responsible Branch |
| Production | Program Management |
| Systems Administration | Management Information Systems |
| Quality Assurance | Quality and Engineering Support |
| Maintenance | Quality and Engineering Support |
| Business Office | Financial Management |
| Supt. of Industries | Financial Management |
| Warehouse | Financial Management |
| Recycling | Financial Management |
| Purchasing | Material Management |
b. Approval of Cost Centers by Controller
After review and approval of the cost center by the applicable Branch Manager, the request shall then be forwarded to the Deputy Controller in FMB who shall review the request to determine consistency with the FPI Chart of Accounts. If the cost center is found to be consistent, the Controller shall then approve it for addition to FPI’s Chart of Accounts.
c. Upon approval of the cost center, the Financial Manager in FMB shall enter the number into FPI’s financial system in FMB, and then notify the field that the new cost center has been added to FPI’s Chart of Accounts. In addition, the Financial Manager shall notify the Policy section of FMB so that the cost center can be added to the next revision of the Technical Reference Manual.
10. PROJECT NUMBER
The Project Number is the final segment of the account number. This four-character segment is used to accumulate costs for all capital expenditures, specific general and administrative expenses, and selected projects.
- All requests for Project Numbers shall be made through the appropriate AW(I&E)/SOI or Branch Manager to the Budget Officer in FMB.
- The Budget Officer shall assign a Project Number to all Machinery and Equipment, and Building and Improvement projects authorized in the FPI Annual Operating Plan.
- Upon the assignment of a Project Number, the Budget Officer shall notify the Financial Manager in FMB for input into the Central General Ledger. In addition the Budget Officer shall notify the affected locations and branches, as well as the Policy section of FMB for publication in the next revision of the Technical Reference Manual.
- For capitalized projects, the Business Manager shall close out the project number in the beginning of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the project was completed.
The project number shall be closed by crediting the appropriate account and project number and debiting the same account minus the project number.
Example: A machine was purchased and placed into service in August. On October 1, the following journal entry is made to close the project number:
1751-000000-ASFT-000-0000 $15,000
1751-000000-ASFT-000-F906 $15,000
To close out project code F906.
/s/
Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, Director
DATE
MEMORANDUM FOR UNICOR DATABASE MANAGEMENT
PRODUCT SUPPORT CENTER, ENGLEWOOD, CO
THROUGH: BRANCH MANAGER
PLANNING, RESEARCH & ACTIVATION
FROM: Name, Position, Factory/Location Code
SUBJECT: Request for Entry/Update/Discontinue of Product Code and Finished Good Item Number into Corporate Item Master Database
ITEM NUMBER _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(Do not exceed 15 characters)
() Add Item () Update Item () Discontinue Item
DESCRIPTION/DISCONTINUE:
(Do not exceed 40 characters per line. If description is longer than 40 characters, the last character of the first line must be an asterisk (*). The description will then continue on to line 2 in the Spec. Text field.
NATIONAL STOCK NUMBER: _ _ _ _ – _ _ – _ _ _ – _ _ _ _
DRAWING NUMBER: REV: ()
SPECIFICATION NUMBER: REV: ()
UNIT OF MEASURE
()EA ()FT ()LB ()SH
()RL ()SO ()OZ ()GA
()Other “Define-”
PRODUCT CODE: _ _ _ _ _ _
WAREHOUSE:
()DGDI ()EPDI ()FTDI ()MTDI
()SFDI ()TXDI ()VCDI
STOCK LOCATION(S): _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _
(Specify stock locations to add)
VERTICALLY INTEGRATED: ()YES ()NO
Published Feb 6, 2025 by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA | Last Updated by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA on Feb 11, 2025 at 9:20 am