Financial Management and Budget Standardization

Overview

Financial management and budget standardization (Standardization) includes standardizing business processes and data elements. It enables the government to communicate financial information in a consistent and reliable manner to support the efficient and effective management of government programs and the use of taxpayers' money. The Department of the Treasury's Financial Management Service (FMS), a central agency, is taking a proactive approach to Standardization.

To achieve Standardization, FMS's Enterprise Data Architecture (EDA) group is working to harmonize data across the government by:

• Defining common data elements [ISO 11179];
• Establishing and maintaining standard XML schema interfaces internally between FMS applications and externally between government agencies' systems.

To be effective, Standardization must be applied governmentwide. Therefore, government agency cooperation is necessary to achieve the benefits of Standardization. FMS intends to work closely with government agencies to implement financial Standardization on a governmentwide basis.

This Web site explains the road map to FMS's Standardization strategy, provides the timelines for FMS and agencies, and highlights the achievements in moving the government toward Standardization.