Agencies offered free advice on using purchase cards

While some of the work it does for government agencies is strictly confidential, the MITRE Corp. has started giving away the secrets of its purchase card program.

The non-profit, Bedford, Mass.-based government contractor has developed a software tool to help employees master the nuances of purchasing card programs and stay up-to-date on the latest changes. The tool includes a certification quiz that federal agencies can use to make sure employees understand the rules governing agency-issued charge cards.

"The quiz helps us with our compliance," said Judi Pepper, MITRE's purchase card program manager. MITRE employees-who last year charged $9 million in expenses-take the quiz every two years to be re-certified as cardholders.

MITRE is making the quiz available free for federal agencies to copy via its Web site, at www.mitre.org/open_source/pcard. MITRE is also urging agencies to benchmark other aspects of its purchase card program, including intranet and video conferencing training, online program administration and Web-based transaction tracking.

"We are a not-for-profit corporation, and the government is our customer," said MITRE Chief Financial Officer Lewis Fincke. "We feel it's only the right thing to do to make this available to our customer on a non-fee basis. This is just another example of a great use of the Internet."