Bates, Regensberg, Stewart & Sanchez
Carson National Forest
THE USDA FOREST SERVICE’S
ABQ SERVICE CENTER (ASC)
Introduction:
Forest Service & ASC Inception


The founding of the National Forest System and the
Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, has its roots in the last quarter of the 19th
century. Established in 1905 to provide quality water
and timber. Over the past 100+ years has expanded
to included national forests and grasslands.
The ABQ Service Center was established in 2004 as
part of the centralization and migration of all budget
and finance processes for the Forest Service.
History of the Forest Service
1891
1900s
2000s
• The national forests (at first called forest reserves) began with the
Forest Reserve Act of 1891, which allowed the president to establish
forest reserves from timber covered public domain land.
• Congress established the Forest Service in 1905 to provide quality
water and timber for the Nation's benefit. The FS has since
expanded to cover national forests and grasslands.
• The ASC Budget & Finance Center was established to consolidate
and migrate all budget and finance processes to Albuquerque.
Forest Service Goals:

The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain
the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s
forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present
and future generations by “Caring for the Land and
Serving People”.
Value Chain: ASC Primary Processes

Budget & Finance Division
 Consists
of 16 Branches. Some of these branches are:
 Internal
Quality Audit (IQA)
 Reimbursable s &Advanced Collections Agreements (RACA)
 Travel (GovTrip, Transfer of Stations, Temp Duty Station)
 Payments (Grants & Agreements, Misc/Service Wide
Agreements)
 Property & Working Capital Fund (Prop/WCF)
Inbound Logistics

Data that is provided and directed to Budget and
Finance operations come from the following sources:
 Field
 This
 CFO
Operations
is the primary source of data used by B&F operations.
Direction
 Forest Service Direction
 USDA Direction
Operations

Internal Use Software (IUS) – This a segment of the
Personal Property section. We will focus in on this to see
an example of one of the many operations at the ASC.

IUS reconciliation process for budgeting and financial
reporting
Formerly a manual process that was automated. The automated
process was implemented in March 2010
 The manual process took hours and days to complete, and the
automated process is complete in just minutes.
 The manual process consisted of pulling information from
secondary systems manually and inputting the collected
information into separate spreadsheets. The automated process
pulls the information from the systems simultaneously and
reconciles all IUS projects at once rather than one at a time.

Outbound Logistics

Once data is processed at the ASC Budget and
Finance division, the following are some of the many
customers/main users of this information:
 Field
personnel and Contractors
 Branch Chiefs
 Internal and External Auditors
 CFO and USDA
 Local Governments
 Federal Government
Value Chain: Support Processes




Firm Infrastructure
Human Resources Management
Technology and Systems Development
Procurement
Firm Infrastructure

Associate Deputy Chief for Business Operations/Chief
Financial Officer (ADC/CFO)
ASC Leadership Team
 Program Areas

Financial Operations
 Financial Reporting and Reconciliation
 Budget Execution


Customer Service
Customer Support Call Center
 Technology Support Group
 Training Team

Human Resources Management

HR Internal (Intranet) Website:
 https://connecthr.gdcii.com/Pages/connectHR.aspx
 One
of the first Forest Service processes to be fully
automated
 Employees can manage/view:
 Personal
information,
 Employee benefits,
 Work schedules,
 Payroll,
 Non-Taxable Withholdings/Other Misc Deductions
 Etc…
Technology and Systems Development







CPAIS - Corporate Property Accounting Information
System
BRIO – report generator from FFIS (Foundation
Financial Information System)
WorkPlan – Forest Service Project Planning System
INFRA – Tim - Timber Reporting System
PROP – Personal Property System which is currently
being integrated into CPAIS
ACL – Audit Command Language System
INFRA – SUDS – Special Uses Database System
Procurement


Data is one of the most
valuable inputs in the
organization.
Human resources are
equally invaluable
Future Plans





Meeting future conservation challenges through
synthesis of long term silviculture and range
management research.
Identify ways to improve communication within the
organization.
Provide science-based applications and tools for
sustainable natural resources management.
Provide and sustain benefits to the American people.
Sustain and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities.
Recommendations




Identify training needs (ongoing) to improve the
skills of end-users.
Identify interdependencies between data, software
and hardware requirements.
Continue to integrate new information technology.
Incorporate clear links between the workforce plans
and the strategic plan, and describe how the
workforce plans will help the Forest Service achieve
it’s goals.
Conclusion



Gives employees access to more self-service
options.
Can now share data with customers and the public
in a more effective and timely manner.
Consolidate internal planning, budget and
performance information.
References:
 http://www.fs.fed.us/research/efr/
 https://connecthr.gdcii.com/Pages/connectHR.aspx
 http://www.fs.fed.us/aboutus/
 http://mgmt450.wikispaces.com/VALUE+CHAIN+P
ROJECT