Core Financial System Requirements

The Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 requires government agencies to implement and maintain financial management systems that substantially comply with federal management systems requirements. These requirements have been spelled out by the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP) and the Office of Management and Budget. JFMIP intends for the requirements to promote understanding of key financial management systems concepts and requirements, to provide a framework for establishing integrated financial management systems to support program and financial managers, and to describe the specific requirements of individual types of financial management systems. This checklist is intended to help (1) agencies in implementing and monitoring their core systems and (2) management and auditors in reviewing core systems to determine if they substantially comply with the act. This checklist is not required to be used in assessing a core system. It is provided as a tool for use by experienced staff.