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1.  Purpose.  This memorandum prescribes procedures for processing miscellaneous collections received by the Office of Accounting and Financial Management, Receivables Management Section (RMS), which cannot be identified.

2.  Applicability.  These procedures apply to collections that are not supported by documentation and cannot otherwise be identified by RMS.  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 RMS 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 RMS receives several collections each week that cannot be immediately identified. When these collections are received, RMS performs a review of reports generated from the official financial system in an attempt to identify a possible match of the collected amount to an outstanding receivables amount.  If a match cannot be found, the collection is recorded in a suspense account while RMS makes further attempts to determine where the funds should be credited.

The following procedure is implemented pertaining to unidentified collections:

A.  Collections, such as checks, lockbox deposits, wire transfers, etc., received by RMS that cannot be identified based on the documentation received with the payment, will be researched in an attempt to determine the bill number to be liquidated or account number to be credited.

B.  The RMS will apply the collection against an outstanding receivable if the appropriate bill or account number is identified by RMS with the appropriate cost center/Branch of Fiscal Service (BFS) office confirmation by e-mail.

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

D.  The RMS will send an e-mail to BFS offices requesting assistance in identifying the collection.  Attached to the e-mail will be a copy of the check, wire transfer receipt document, and/or any other documentation received.

E.  If the collection is identified by one of the BFS offices, the office is to notify RMS by return e-mail and include the appropriate information such as the bill number, account number, etc., for processing the collection.

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

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

Questions regarding collections can be directed to Pamela Meara, Chief, Receivables Management Section, at 703-648-7647 or e-mail: pmeara@usgs.gov.

___/s/Karen D. Baker          _________                                             30 March 2009

Karen D. Baker                                                                                   Date
Associate Director for Administrative Policy and Services

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