CDFM Module 1 flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Antideficiency Act

Law prohibiting obligations or expenditures in advance of, or in excess of, an appropriation, and prohibiting acceptance of voluntary services except in emergencies involving safety of life or property.

Purpose, Time, Amount

The three legal tests every obligation must satisfy: it must be for the authorized purpose, within the period of availability, and not exceed the amount appropriated.

Bona Fide Needs Rule

An appropriation may be obligated only for a genuine need arising during its period of availability; severable services may cross fiscal years up to twelve months under statutory authority.

Miscellaneous Receipts

Collections from the public that are deposited into the Treasury general fund rather than credited to an appropriation, unless a statute specifically authorizes crediting to the account.

Fiscal Year

The federal accounting period beginning 1 October and ending 30 September; the President's Budget is due to Congress the first Monday in February.

Spaces Versus End Strength

Spaces are authorized positions; end strength is a ceiling on the number of people. Fill rate compares on-board personnel to authorized positions.

Man-Year Planning Factor

A standard conversion of 1,780 productive hours per work year, used to translate workload requirements into full-time equivalent position requirements.

Inherently Governmental Function

A function so intimately related to the public interest that it must be performed by government personnel, not by contractors, as identified in the FAIR Act inventory.

Position Management

The control of organizational structure, grade levels, span of control, and supervisory ratios to ensure positions are efficiently organized and properly classified.

PPBE Phases

Planning sets strategy and guidance, Programming builds the POM, Budgeting converts programs into appropriations, and Execution obligates and disburses funds against the plan.

Program Objective Memorandum

The programming document in which a component proposes resource allocation for the future years, constrained by fiscal guidance and adjudicated through issue teams.

Future Years Defense Program

The six-year resource summary (budget year plus five) that records approved program and budget decisions and is updated as decisions are made.

Continuing Resolution

Legislation funding agencies at prior-year rates when appropriations lapse; it generally prohibits new starts and production rate increases during its coverage.

Budget Authority Versus Outlay

Budget authority is legal permission to incur obligations; an outlay is the actual cash disbursement made to liquidate an obligation.

Expired Versus Cancelled Phase

After its period of availability an appropriation is expired for five years, permitting outlays and upward adjustments but no new obligations; then it is cancelled and closed.

Learning Curve Formula

Unit cost Y = aX^b, where a is first-unit cost, X is cumulative quantity, and b = log(learning rate)/log 2; an 80 percent curve reduces unit cost 20 percent per doubling.

Then-Year Versus Constant Dollars

Then-year dollars include projected inflation; constant dollars remove escalation to a base year. Analyses must use one basis consistently throughout.

Break-Even Quantity

The volume at which two alternatives have equal total cost, computed as the difference in fixed costs divided by the difference in variable cost per unit.

Fund Balance with Treasury

The aggregate of an agency's appropriated, revolving, and trust fund balances held by Treasury; USSGL account 1010, reconciled through the Treasury trial balance system.

Budgetary Versus Proprietary Accounting

Budgetary accounting tracks commitments, obligations, and expenditures; proprietary accounting tracks assets, liabilities, and net position. The two sets must reconcile.

Accounting Equation

Assets equal liabilities plus net position; net position comprises cumulative results of operations and unexpended appropriations for federal entities.

Prompt Payment Act

Requires agencies to pay vendors interest on invoices paid late, generally after thirty days from receipt of a proper invoice, unless a valid dispute exists.

GAO Green Book

Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, organized around five components: control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring.

Middle Tier of Acquisition

An Adaptive Acquisition Framework pathway for rapid prototyping or rapid fielding, generally completed within five years, using tailored rather than full statutory documentation.

Firm-Fixed-Price Contract

A contract type placing cost risk on the contractor, who must deliver at a set price regardless of actual costs; suitable when requirements are well defined.

Cost Allowability Tests

A contractor cost is allowable only if it is reasonable, allocable to the contract, and compliant with Cost Accounting Standards and FAR Part 31 cost principles.

Cost Performance Index

CPI equals earned value divided by actual cost; a value below 1.0 indicates the work is costing more than planned.

Termination for Convenience

Government ends the contract for its own benefit; the contractor recovers costs incurred, reasonable profit on work performed, and settlement expenses.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Compares alternatives that achieve the same fixed output by ranking them on cost per unit of effect, avoiding the need to monetize benefits.

DMAIC

The Six Sigma improvement cycle: Define the problem, Measure current performance, Analyze root causes, Improve the process, and Control the gains.

Value Stream Mapping

A lean tool that diagrams process steps and information flow to identify the eight wastes and target non-value-added activity for elimination.

Balanced Scorecard

A performance framework measuring financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth perspectives, blending leading and lagging indicators.