Financial software put to test

Joint Financial Management Improvement Program

Aiming to improve commercial financial management software, a governmentwide organization has come out with an improved version of the test used to determine if vendors can sell their wares to the federal agencies. The Joint Financial Management Improvement Program recently completed the new evaluation test that is used to measure how commercial software meets the government's financial software requirements.

The certification test is an essential piece of the overall effort to urge agencies to use commercial software and move away from government-designed systems. The test enables vendors to get the certification that allows them to sell their commercial financial management systems to federal agencies.

JFMIP is the governmentwide organization responsible for setting standards for agencies' financial management systems. It includes the General Accounting Office, the Office of Management and Budget and the Treasury Department. JFMIP completed the system requirements earlier this year, and it has now completed the test that will be used to evaluate those requirements.

The new test is more robust than the initial one, said Stephen Balsam, a JFMIP staff member. The initial test incorporated about 500 transactions, the results of which people had to check. The new test is more automated and requires vendors to run more than 1,500 transactions, he said.

The test and the requirements documents are designed to provide vendors with a set of base guidelines for government agencies. Agencies must test the systems further for any unique requirements, Balsam said Oct. 1 during a JFMIP forum in Washington, D.C.

The test is the first large-scale update in three years. Financial management products that passed the original test were given three-year certifications. Those certifications are set to expire.