Systems | TFX: Treasury Financial Experience

Central Accounting and Reporting System (CARS)

Section 3440—Entities' Reporting Responsibilities and Requirements

Reporting requirements set forth in this chapter apply to all departments, entities, and corporations of the federal government. It is each entity's responsibility to:

Follow the policy and requirements set forth in this chapter, and
Incorporate those requirements in its financial system procedures and as part of the overall audit activities.

3440.10—Financial Accounting and Reporting Requirements

Entities that deposit, hold, and/or invest funds outside of the U.S. Treasury, must record those transactions to specific USSGL accounts and report these amounts in their audited financial statements. In addition, entities must submit those amounts in their ATBs to the Treasury for inclusion in the audited Financial Report of the United States Government. For additional information on USSGL accounting and reporting, access the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) website.

3440.20—Central Accounting and Reporting Requirements

Treasury issues regular and special reports to the President, Congress, and the public on the sources of government receipts for the purposes of reporting on the expensing of public funds and the government's overall financial position. In addition, Fiscal Service compiles and publishes several reports, including the Monthly Treasury Statement of Receipts and Outlays of the United States Government and the Combined Statement of Receipts, Outlays, and Balances of the U.S. Government, on the cash operations and the budget receipts/outlays of the federal government. Policies and procedures in this TFM chapter also ensure that the cash-based publications report on the cash and investments held outside of the U.S. Treasury.

The Central Accounting and Reporting System (CARS) i.e., Statement of Transactions, enables the Secretary to fully disclose and report all federal entities' cash on hand, cash on deposit with TGAs/non-TGAs, and investments in federal/non-federal securities.

3440.30—Federal Account Symbols Requirements

Entities use Treasury Account Symbols and Business Event Type Codes to report on cash and investments held outside of the U.S. Treasury and changes in non-federal securities. They submit data to the Treasury using the following Business Event Type Codes (BETCs):

Funds Held Outside the Treasury, Credit – FHOTXC; Adjustment to Funds Held Outside the Treasury, Credit – FHOTXCAJ; Funds Held Outside the Treasury, Debit – FHOTXD; Adjustment to Funds Held Outside the Treasury, Debit – FHOTXDAJ are used to report cash held outside of the U.S. Treasury, for both budgetary accounts and deposit funds,
Change in Non-Federal Securities, Credit – CNONFSC; Adjustment to Change in Non-Federal Securities, Credit – CNFSCAJ; Change in Non-Federal Securities, Debit – CNONFSD; Adjustment to Change in Non-Federal Securities, Debit – CNFSDAJ to report the investments and changes in non-federal securities (market value) for both budgetary and non-budgetary accounts, and
Offset of Change in Non-Federal Securities, Credit – OCNONFSC, Adjustment to Offset of Change in Non-Federal Securities, Credit – OCNFSCAJ, Offset of Change in Non-Federal Securities, Debit – OCNONFSD, and Adjustment to Offset of Change in Non-Federal Securities, Debit – OCNFSDAJ are used as a contra account to report budgetary investments and changes in non-federal securities.

Entities also report on the cash and investments held outside of the U.S. Treasury using existing budgetary account symbols, or a deposit fund account, as appropriate. See Appendix 1 for pro-forma central accounting and reporting entries typical of most federal transactions involving cash and investments held outside of the U.S. Treasury. For additional information regarding BETCs and related GTAS edits and validations, review the BETC Guidance posted on the Fiscal Service website under the GWA Reporting section.

Governmentwide Treasury Account Symbol Adjusted Trial Balance (GTAS)

Section 4755—GTAS Requirements

GTAS requires reporting proprietary and budgetary USSGL account balances. Details can be found by visiting the GTAS website.

4755.10—GTAS System Access

To obtain system access, users may contact the GTAS Treasury Support Center.

4755.20—GTAS Reportable Data

The Financial Report includes the data from the GTAS submissions for all federal entities into a set of reclassified financial statements. All federal entities must submit all changes to the reclassified financial statements through GTAS. Note the preference is to submit the changes through a resubmission of the ATB. If this is not possible, then adjustments should be submitted through the GTAS manual adjustment process. The GTAS data must reconcile to the federal entity’s audited financial statements.

4755.30—GTAS Super Master Account File

The Super Master Account File (SMAF) contains the valid TAS balances and attributes for budgetary as well as proprietary ATB submission.

Fiscal Service will be collaborating with entities to confirm attributes on the SMAF through the SMAF Attribute confirmation process. Details can be found by visiting the GTAS website.

4755.40—Adjusted Trial Balance

Federal entities must prepare and submit pre-closing GTAS ATB at the TAS level using USSGL accounts and attributes. Non-executive federal entities that have not adopted the USSGL must crosswalk their general ledger accounts to the USSGL accounts before transmission.

The GTAS ATB must include accounts with the required attributes, and USSGL account balances must reflect the pre-closing adjusting entries needed to produce financial statements. The total sum of debit balances must equal the total sum of credit balances in the GTAS ATB. Report amounts in dollars and cents.

Significant entities and other entities must use the same USSGL data on the GTAS ATB that they use to prepare the current FY audited federal entity consolidated financial statements due to OMB. For detail on the specific requirements for the submission, please refer to the GTAS website.

4755.50—General Fund Receipt Accounts

Federal entities that classify amounts on their CTA report in General Fund Receipt Accounts symbols using their three-digit agency trading partner AID also must submit a GTAS ATB, and must prepare federal entity financial statements that include the General Fund receipt activity.

4755.60—Department of the Treasury Managed Trust Fund Accounts

Fiscal Service’s Funds Management Branch provides the lead program entity a monthly GTAS ATB, or equivalent, for the Department of the Treasury's managed trust fund activity located at Fiscal Service for each of the Department of the Treasury's managed trust funds listed in Figure 1. The monthly GTAS ATB prepared by Fiscal Service contains collection and disbursement transactions that are recorded in the Department of the Treasury managed trust funds as well as investment activity and balances. The monthly GTAS ATB will be provided to the lead program entities no later than the fifth workday after the end of the applicable month. The program entities are responsible for recording appropriated amounts from the trust funds and reporting the final Department of the Treasury's managed trust fund ATB in GTAS.

Fiscal Service uses USSGL accounts from the USSGL TFM Supplement for current year reporting, with the proper attributes. The lead program entities identified in Figure 1 must include the Department of the Treasury managed trust fund ATB data in their GTAS Submission. Please email the Funds Management Branch with questions regarding the Department of the Treasury's managed trust fund accounts to UTF@fiscal.treasury.gov.

4755.70—GTAS ATB Reports Transmission Methods

Each GTAS ATB preparer must submit the ATB data using the bulk file transfer method in GTAS. Federal entities must submit GTAS ATB for each active TAS (these include the TAS with no transactional activity but are active for CARS, see the Frequently Asked Questions for details). By certifying the GTAS ATB data, an entity is verifying the TAS is valid and its USSGL balances are accurate. For specific detail on GTAS ATB submissions, please refer to the GTAS website.

4755.80—Proprietary Balances in Canceled Accounts

GTAS will establish a default TAS (“C” domain value for availability type). The system-generated “C” TAS will have three components: the three-digit AID, availability type “C,” and a four-digit main account. The GTAS system will provide a “C” TAS on the GTAS Super Master Accounts File for each fund family represented on the SMAF. Federal entities may choose one or more “C” TAS on the SMAF to report assets.

If a federal entity is using a default fund symbol of its own creation, they must use the new “C” account in its place. However, if federal entities are using a current-year fund symbol, an “X” fund, or some variation of an active account, they may continue. Federal entities may also decide on their own when to move these assets from the original purchasing fund but must be accomplished no later than the federal entity’s final GTAS submission for period 12 of the fifth FY after the period of availability has expired.

Please see the FY 2025 TFM Year-end Closing Bulletin for a complete listing of FY 2025 reporting and submission dates.

Intra-governmental Key Dates may be found on the GTAS website.

GTAS Deadlines may be found on the GTAS website.

Figure 1: Department of the Treasury Managed Trust Funds

Department of the Treasury Managed Trust Fund	Federal Entity/Department
Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance	HHS
Federal Hospital Insurance	HHS
Vaccine Injury Compensation	HHS
Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance	SSA
Federal Disability Insurance	SSA
Airport and Airway	Department of Transportation (DOT)
Sports Fish Restoration and Boating	Department of the Interior
Oil Spill Liability	DHS
Highway	DOT
Black Lung Disability	DOL
Unemployment	DOL
Hazardous Substance Superfund	Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Leaking Underground Storage Tank	EPA
Inland Waterways	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Harbor Maintenance	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
South Dakota Wildlife Restoration	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research	Independent Agency
U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund	DOJ

Contact Us: Bureau of the Fiscal Service

Detailed Contacts

Direct inquiries and deliver documents required by this chapter to:

Department of the Treasury
Bureau of the Fiscal Service
Financial Reports Division
financial.reports@fiscal.treasury.gov

Also, deliver documents required by this chapter to:

Carolyn Voltz, CPA
Government Accountability Office
USCFS@gao.gov

Carol S. Johnson, Policy Analyst
Office of Management and Budget
Office of Federal Financial Management
csjohnson@omb.eop.gov
MAX.gov

Scott Bell, Senior Staff Accountant
Department of the Treasury
Office of the Fiscal Assistant Secretary
robert.bell@treasury.gov

Legal Counsel Responses:

Department of Justice
Legal.Letters@usdoj.gov