FAM No. 2006-06 (Conference Planning – Prepayment of Registration Fee)
)
June 13, 2006
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION MEMORANDUM NO. 2006-006 (II.G.1.)
To: Bureau Assistant Directors, Administration
Director, National Business Center
Bureau Finance Officers
Finance Officer, National Business Center
Director, Office of Acquisition and Property Management
From: Mona Williams /s/
Focus Leader, Asset and Debt Management
Office of Financial Management
Subject: Conference Planning – Prepayment of Registration Fee
Attached is a copy of pages 24597 and 24598, Federal Register, Volume 71, No.
80, dated Wednesday, April 26, 2006, which contains Federal Travel Regulation (FTR),
Amendment 2006-02. This amendment is a final rule and amends the FTR, 41 CFR
Parts 301-51 and 301-74, by clarifying that advance payment of discounted
conference fees to attend a conference or training seminar may be treated as an
allowable travel advance. The final rule also addresses situations when the
traveler fails to attend the conference and identifies the circumstances when
the registration fee must be collected from the traveler.
GSA has added Section 301-74.25 to the FTR to encourage agencies to take
advantage of early registration cost savings. The Department currently issues an
integrated charge card to qualifying employees for travel, purchase, and fleet
business lines. All training and conference registration fees are charged to the
charge cards purchase business line. The Department’s current process allows
early registration savings. The current procedure accommodates internal controls
ensuring approving official authorized attendance, relieving the attending
employee of responsibility for early payment of charge card bill with multiple
voucher submissions, and assists in reconciling registration fee paid with
conference/training travel voucher. This process assists the Department in
meeting performance metric for reduced delinquency rates, while earning rebates
from the charge card vendor.
GSA also added Section 301-74.26 to the FTR addressing the procedures for
registration fees paid in advance when the employee does not attend the
conference/training. A registration fee refund must be requested when an
employee fails to attend a conference. If a refund is not reimbursed, the
Department must absorb the advanced payment if failure to attend the event was
caused either by a Department decision or for reasons beyond the employee’s
control that are acceptable to the approving official. If a refund is not
reimbursed, and the employee’s failure to attend the event is due to reasons
deemed inexcusable by the approving official, the traveler must repay the agency
for the prepaid registration fee.
If you have questions or require additional information, please contact Tamara
Peyton, Office of Financial Management on (202) 208-6227.
cc:
Deputy Secretary
Chief of Staff
Attachment (HTML, PDF)
Prior Financial Administration Memorandums on this subject:
FAM 2001-04 (II.G.1.) Travel and Transportation Act - Revised Procedures
