Treasury, OMB announce new office

The Treasury Department and Office of Management and Budget announced the opening of a new federal financial management office on Monday. Located in Treasury, the Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation is responsible for improving and streamlining how the government processes financial transactions and information.

The effort aims to reduce costs and increase the transparency of financial information.

"It is time to stop the increasing cost of financial operations and systems in the government today," Danny Werfel, OMB controller, said in a statement. "The Treasury Department's new office will play a critical role by initiating common, simpler, and lower-cost solutions for basic financial management activities, such as accounts payable and reporting."

In a joint announcement, OMB and Treasury declared the processes that agencies use to conduct financial transactions and prepare reports "fragmented, expensive and inefficient." The administration estimates efforts to streamline financial operations will yield hundreds of millions in savings.

The fiscal 2011 budget provides $17 million for the new office to develop shared, governmentwide solutions for financial management services such as invoice processing, cash collections and interagency agreement management. Providing central, automated solutions will increase efficiency and reduce unnecessary paperwork, Treasury and OMB said.

According to Dick Gregg, acting Treasury fiscal assistant secretary, the office will work to meet President Obama's mandate to develop innovative solutions to significantly reduce costs and improve service governmentwide.

"Through the Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation, all agencies will work closely with Treasury and OMB to chart a new course for financial management," Gregg said in a statement.