1. Purpose. This memorandum prescribes procedures for processing miscellaneous collections received by the Office of Financial Management, Accounts Receivable Branch (ARB) that cannot be identified.

2. Applicability. These procedures apply to collections that are not supported by documentation and cannot otherwise be identified by ARB. Miscellaneous collections do not include payments received from "regular" customers who routinely remit payments under reimbursable agreements, such as State and local governments. Miscellaneous collections include checks from individuals, companies, or foreign governments that do not reference billing or identification numbers on the check or do not include reference documentation attached to the check indicating the reason for the payment. These collections also include wire transfers processed through the Federal Reserve Bank that do not include a bill number or other identifying information.

3. Responsibility. The ARB is responsible for processing collections received against outstanding receivables and for crediting collections to the appropriate accounts when bills may not have been issued.

4. Procedures. The ARB receives several collections each week that cannot be immediately identified. When these collections are received, ARB does a review of the OBDT or ARHT/ARLT tables in Federal Financial System (FFS) attempting to identify a possible match of the collected amount to an outstanding receivable amount. If a match cannot be found, the collection is recorded in a suspense account while the ARB makes further attempts to determine where the funds should be credited.

   The following procedure is implemented pertaining to unidentified collections:

   1. Collections, such as checks, lockbox deposits, wire transfers, etc., received by ARB that cannot be identified based on the documentation received with the payment will be researched by ARB in an attempt to determine the bill number to be liquidated. The research will include a review of OBDT and ARHT/ARLT tables in FFS.

   2. The ARB will apply the collection against an outstanding receivable if the appropriate bill is identified.

   3. If an outstanding receivable is not identified as a result of this review, ARB will record the collection in a suspense account.

   4. The ARB will send an e-mail to Headquarters and Regional Fiscal Services offices requesting assistance in identifying the collection. Attached to the e-mail will be a copy of the check, wire transfer receipt document, and any other documentation received.

   5. If the collection is identified by one of the fiscal services offices, that office is to notify ARB by return e-mail and include the appropriate information such as the bill number, account number, etc., for processing the collection.

   6. If the collection cannot be identified within 15 working days from the date that ARB initiates the e-mail requesting assistance, ARB will refund the collection to the payor as unidentified.

5. Effective Date. This policy is effective with the release of this Instructional Memorandum.

/s/ Carol F. Aton, Chief
Office of Administrative Policy and Services