United States

Office of Personnel Management

Office of Merit Systems Oversight and Effectiveness

Digest of Significant Classification Decisions and Opinions

March 1992

No. 16-02

Standard:	Financial Management Series, GS-0505 (June 1963)

Factor:	N/A

Issue:	Series coverage

Identification of the Classification Issue

The series coverage of the Financial Management Series, GS-0505, has previously been discussed in Digest Number 5, dated September 1984, and Number 9, dated January 1987. However, two recent appeals indicate that there may still be some confusion among agency classifiers concerning the intended coverage of the GS-0505 series.

Case #1

This case resulted from the Office of Personnel Management's adjudication of a position classifi cation appeal. The agency had placed the appellant's position in the GS-0505 series based on the determination that the appellant's principal duties involved managing the financial resources of a major organization of the agency. The Office of Personnel Management audit revealed that the appellant's duties involved supervising the work of subordinate budget analysts and an accounting technician who were involved in formulating and executing the organization's budget. The appeal decision addressed the issue of whether the appellant's duties were broad enough to be covered by the Financial Management Series, GS-0505.

Resolution

While the appellant's position involved some responsibility for three of the required functions of financial management (budgeting, accounting, and managerial-financial reporting), the Office of Personnel Management determined that two of these functions, accounting and managerial- financial reporting, did not match the intent of the GS-0505 criteria in that they did not involve the scope or level of complexity described in the standard. First, the accounting function was being performed by one GS-7 Accounting Technician who was responsible for assisting in the management control of funds by reviewing documents to ensure that funds were used for appropriate purposes and to prevent over-obligations. The appellant did not have responsibility for the broader professional accounting duties described in the GS-0505 standard, such as planning an accounting program within delegated limits; developing, devising, and/or adapting accounting systems; analyzing the results and interpreting the effects of transactions upon the financial resources of the organization; applying accounting concepts to solve problems, render advice, or to meet other needs of management; and managing a total accounting program, including supervision of subordinate accountants, accounting technicians, voucher examiners, payroll clerks, and similar supporting personnel. Second, while the appellant's responsibility for managerial-financial reporting involved the production of a number of recurring budget and financial reports, she was not responsible for reports on nonfinancial data such as program operation evaluation, statistical, and other work performance reports as described in the GS-0505 standard.

The Office of Personnel Management concluded that the limited scope and complexity of the work supervised by the appellant precluded classification of the position in the GS-0505 series. Because the appellant's responsibilities involved directing, coordinating, and supervising the work of subordinate budget analysts and advising managers on budgetary matters, the appellant's position was properly classified in the Budget Analysis Series, GS-0560.

Case #2

This case resulted from an appeal to an Office of Personnel Management region. The agency had classified the appellant's position in the GS-0505 series despite the fact that the appellant was not responsible for two of the six typical accounting function components listed under the Components of the Work of Financial Managers section of the standard, and was only marginally responsible for two other components. The most important of the accounting components not performed by the appellant was management of a total accounting program, including supervision of accountants and other supporting technician and clerical positions. A separate finance and accounting organization, not under the appellant's supervision, provided operational accounting services. The agency concluded that, because the appellant and his staff maintained a "systemic relationship" with the finance and accounting organization and used operational accounting data in developing information for decision-making alternatives in the management and execution of the organization's mission, the appellant's position contained the essential characteristics of financial management as reflected in the GS-0505 standard.

Resolution

The Office of Personnel Management found that it is the intent of the GS-0505 standard to exclude positions that do not have management authority over all of the critical elements of a financial management system. Any other kind of relationship with activities carrying out the key functions of financial management does not require the kind of managerial authority necessary to design, establish, and maintain a broad and integrated system of financial management characteristic of positions in the GS-0505 series. Without such authority, a manager cannot effectively integrate all of the critical functions into a cohesive system of financial management that contributes to the overall management of the organization. Inclusion of positions in the GS- 0505 series that do not have supervisory responsibility for all of the critical functions would be tantamount to redefining the coverage of the series. Moreover, to be credited with any one of the key functions (i.e., accounting, budgeting, and managerial-financial reporting) a position must have responsibility for all of the components listed in the standard for the function, or for equivalent components. Otherwise, the position would not encompass the full scope of financial management activities required by the standard. Thus, the Office of Personnel Management found that the appealed position was excluded from the GS-0505 series.