Fiscal Officers, Alternate Certifiers and H/R Partners,

Overview

In 1996, the Department of Accounts Payroll Service Bureau (the Bureau) was formed to achieve economies of scale through the centralization of certain administrative and payroll related functions while alleviating Agencies' administrative burdens.

In July 1996, the Bureau began operations, supporting approximately 1,780 employees in 17 Agencies. Since that time, it has grown to its present support level of approximately 25,000 employees in 66 agencies.

Standardized Processes and Forms - With the transition to HCM from legacy systems, Bureau business processes were reviewed and continue to be refined as we work together to proactively adapt to HCM processes and standardize services. This will be an ongoing process as we continue to refine business processes to adapt to HCM. For efficient and consistent handling, the Bureau utilizes standardized forms in all business processes, both for the Agency to communicate transactional handling and for the Bureau to communicate further handling needed by the Agency; Agency forms can be found in the Bureau Secure Portal Links section. Please note that each form usage description can also be found in the Secure Portal.

Use of Resource Guide - Please utilize the HCM Handling and Materials Required document (‘Document’) which serves as an important resource guide for Agencies to use when conducting their payroll and benefit-related functions. The Document delineates the procedures and actions for which Agency management and the Bureau are responsible in connection with the payroll/benefits processes, derived from and consistent with CAPP and best practices. The current version of the Document can be found on the Secure Portal Links section.

Partnership - Given that Agency Human Resource staff partner with Bureau staff to perform payroll, leave and benefits functions, the Bureau relies on its Human Resource counterparts to perform their assigned tasks in a timely, accurate and thorough manner in accordance with the procedures outlined.

The Bureau relies on participating Agency personnel to respond to Agency employee inquiries regarding pay and benefit information, which includes requests for employment verification, outside company requests for salary history, and to provide employee assistance when needed. Accordingly, tasks such as providing employee assistance services have not been factored into the Bureau staffing resource level or fee for services.

Policy Compliance and Internal Control – Please keep in mind that payroll is a compilation of Human Resource, Benefits Administration and Time and Attendance transactions pre-authorized by the Agency based on Agency assigned HCM security roles. As such, the Agency is responsible for internal controls or processes that relate to those internal updates. Those assigned with these roles are accountable for the appropriateness of entries made in HCM.

To facilitate our partnering, the Bureau relies on Agencies to adhere to DHRM policies, update HCM to authorize personnel actions and follow internal controls. For the Bureau to perform its responsibilities and for Agency Risk Management & Internal Control Standards (ARMICS) compliance, this authorization is evidenced by data entry into the Cardinal HCM System. Please note that Agency staff should have HCM display access to facilitate their responsibilities. If HCM display access is needed, please complete the HCM security forms available on the Cardinal website and submit to Cardinal for processing.

As an Agency participating in the Bureau, the HCM roles for Payroll Administrator, Absence Administrator, and EPR Only Entry have been solely assigned to the Bureau to perform tasks associated with these roles. As such, the Bureau has the responsibility for the accuracy of information entered by those with these roles. In addition to the above roles, the Bureau also maintains the TL Set Up and T and L Admin roles for the sole purpose of correctional transactional payroll entries that cannot be made by the Agency due to system limitations. Access to these roles is maintained by the Cardinal security team and are solely requested and authorized by the Bureau Director and/or Bureau Assistant Directors.

For control and accountability:

• Payments will not be made outside of the payroll system, however in the event such payment is necessary, the Agency will rely on the Bureau to calculate and provide net and gross payment calculations to the Agency in order for such payment to be made and will rely on the Bureau to convey Agency requests to State Payroll Operations, when needed.
• The Agency will rely on the Bureau regarding the best practices methodology and employee collection amount resulting from employee overpayments.
• The Bureau will provide key reports and reconciliations throughout the pay cycle to clearly identify changes made by the Agency HCM roles (HR Admin and Ben Admin roles, and Time and Attendance) that impact employee pay and those necessary updates made by the Bureau to override payroll transactions computed by HCM to correct or adjust pay.
• For Off-Cycle payrolls, the Fiscal Officer must provide additional authorization prior to confirmation for exceptional payment processing outside the normal payment process.
• Bureau employees with assigned roles are authorized to initiate necessary transactions for general deductions, banking and tax withholding set up, stop payments, net and gross pay balance adjustments, SPOT overrides when necessary for corrective action of pre-authorized Human Resource, Benefits Administration and Time and Attendance transactions, garnishment processing, paysheet update requests, annual reporting adjustments, and those with confirmation/certification authority will provide such authorizations, when requested to confirm these transactions appear to appropriately represent the necessary adjustments in the pay period.

The Bureau looks forward to continuing to provide services to the participating Agencies of the Commonwealth.

Bureau Secure Portal

The Bureau utilizes an automated web-based system or Secure Portal for the submission of sensitive materials. The web-based environment provides a means for Agencies to securely transfer sensitive information from Agency personnel to the Bureau. Fiscal and HR partners should have access to the Secure Portal for conveyance of materials and to access helpful resources.

Conveyance of Materials
Please convey all materials for processing via the Bureau Secure Portal. Conveyance via the Secure Portal ensures that all Bureau staff can access materials for processing rather than limited to the parties emailed directly.

Secure Portal Access
Fiscal Officers periodically review those with Secure Portal access and confirm access updates. Access changes (additions or deletions) are communicated via the Secure Portal Access form available in the Secure Portal. Please ensure the form is signed by the Fiscal Officer prior to conveyance via the Secure Portal.

Secure Portal Conveyance History
Within the Secure Portal, Agencies can view the materials that have been conveyed for processing. The Upload History is a useful tool that gives the user the ability to identify and confirm materials sent by filtering on the file description or selected date range.

Secure Portal Resources
There are a number of Bureau developed resources made available to participating Agencies found in the Secure Portal (Links section) to include:

• Direct Deposit Completion Examples and Agency Review Checklist
• Understanding the Employee Self Service Paycheck
• Exceptional Item Handling Guidance
• FAQ’s – Agency Handling of Terminated Employees
• FAQ’s – Agency Handling of Employee Pay Docking
• HCM Handling and Materials Guide, which delineates Agency versus Bureau responsibility
• 2024 Key Deadline Dates and Monthly Bureau Operations Calendar
• Various Forms to Request Handling Action