Innovation #21

Innovative Achievements

MMS IMPLEMENTS NEW AUDIT TRACKING SYSTEM

The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service has implemented a new Compliance Tracking System (CTS) designed to assist field audit offices in the coordination and planning of their work and to track the progress of individual audits. The new system represents MMS's first major improvement in an ongoing re-engineering effort that began last year.

"Coordination was the driving motivation behind this system. It provides major enhancements that will benefit both compliance efforts and royalty payors," stated MMS Director, Cynthia Quarterman. "We expect that this will be one of many substantial improvements in the Royalty Management Program stemming from the re-engineering effort."

The CTS is a user-friendly Windows interface for adding, updating and reviewing audit case information. One of its most important features is improved access to information through the use of one, centralized database. With the new database, the necessity to perform manual reconciliation on unconnected databases, located separately in each compliance office is greatly reduced.

In addition, information sharing and coordination among the various audit and compliance group participants are easier and faster in CTS. The centralized data base provides an up-to-date view of general case information for all audits in process that can be accessed by all offices. Also, multiple audit groups involved in a cooperative audit effort can use data from the system to coordinate with payors. This will benefit industry by eliminating duplicate requests for information.

Lucy Querques Denett, Associate Director of the Royalty Management Program recently acknowledged the efforts of RMP staff as well as representatives from the State and Tribal Accounting Committee who served on the team that designed and developed this system. "I am proud of the efforts and accomplishments of this team. The CTS demonstrates that a focus on re-engineering combined with teamwork can make a difference."

The new system was successfully implemented in March 1997 at all major Royalty Management Compliance Offices. Implementation will continue over the next few months to include audit residency sites and all state and Indian tribal audit locations. An intensive user training schedule will be a critical part of the implementation effort.

The MMS is the federal agency that manages the Nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf, and collects, accounts for and disburses about $4 billion yearly in revenues from offshore federal mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on federal and Indian lands.

-MMS-

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