Working Capital Fund
The Agency's Working Capital Fund (WCF) is authorized by Section 635(m) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended. The fund finances, on a reimbursable basis, the costs associated with providing administrative support to other agencies under the International Cooperative Administrative Support Services (ICASS) program overseas. Under ICASS, each agency pays a proportionate share of the cost of services it has agreed to receive. Working through inter-agency councils at post, all agencies have a voice in determining the services the USAID mission will provide, defining service standards, reviewing costs, and determining funding levels. The WCF is a no-year fund that permits unobligated monies to be carried over from one year to the next, an advantage that provides fiscal flexibility and increases opportunities to establish multi-year planning. It also enables managers to make long-term decisions without the constraints of the annual fiscal year cycle.
USAID-provided services include building operations, information management, administrative supplies, non-expendable property management, travel services, and customs clearance. At the end of FY 2005, 11 USAID missions used the WCF to offer administrative services.
During FY 2005, gross receipts into the WCF totaled approximately $9 million. While virtually all funds were required to cover the actual cost of providing service, over time the Agency anticipates that modest surpluses will accumulate through charging depreciation to customers and proceeds from the sales of assets. Missions will invest these surpluses in infrastructure improvements to further increase the effectiveness and efficiency with which services are delivered.
As a result of a Department of State-USAID pilot initiative to consolidate administrative service activities, in FY 2005, USAID obtained more services from State ICASS and took over as a service provider for a limited number of administrative activities in three more missions. The pilot has now been superseded by a broader review of duplicative services in many more missions, with the possibility that four to eight more USAID missions will receive Working Capital Funds in FY 2007. The review seeks to reduce the combined cost of the two current administrative platforms.
The WCF receives a portion of its income from deposits of rebates from the use of Federal credit cards. These funds are dedicated to management oversight of existing Working Capital Fund missions, training, and assistance with start-up costs for missions ready to provide ICASS services.
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