Management and Budget Office January 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

An open forum on the FY 2007 Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) pilot will be held at the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) on April 14, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The PAR pilot allows agencies to explore different formats to enhance the presentation of financial and performance information and make this information more meaningful and transparent to the public. As an alternative to the traditional PAR, agencies that participated in the pilot had to prepare and submit to OMB three component documents. The component documents included an Agency Financial Report (AFR), an Annual Performance Report (APR), and a Highlights document that presents performance and financial information in a summary fashion. The purpose of the forum is to obtain feedback from individual users and stakeholders regarding the results of the pilot. Those interested in participating should respond to the questions listed below by e-mail to either Regina Kearney at rkearney@omb.eop.gov, or Pat Harris at pharris@omb.eop.gov by close of business March 28, 2008. Do the PAR pilot component documents (Annual Financial Report, Annual Performance Report, and Highlights): [cir] Provide an enhanced presentation of the financial and performance information in a more transparent way (i.e., information is presented in a manner that is user friendly and easy enough for a novice reader to understand)? [cir] Report financial and performance information more meaningfully (i.e., financial and performance data is reliable, relevant, and include measurable results linked to strategic goals)? [cir] Tailor financial and performance information to meet stakeholder needs? [cir] Report performance and financial results candidly and clearly articulate remedies to performance or financial shortfalls? Are the PAR pilot component documents easily accessible via the web and are they easy to use? Did the development of the PAR pilot component documents: [cir] Improve internal and external communications? [cir] Increase/decrease the burden on preparers? What are individuals' recommendations for improving performance and financial reporting?

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, May 22, 1995), this notice announces that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) submitted a request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for emergency clearance and review for emergency clearance collection for the Defined Benefits Technology Solution (DBTS) in support of the Retirement Systems Modernization (RSM) project at OPM. Approval of the DBTS is necessary to ensure timely administration of retirement benefits to both active and retired federal employees and their dependents. This also serves as the 60 Day Notice for full clearance review. Approximately 23,000 active federal employees will gain access to the DBTS starting in February 2008 and will have access to the tool; The subset of annuitants and other members of the public from this initial user group that will be using the tool starting in February can not be determined at the time of this submission however the audience will likely be significantly smaller than the active population. We estimate it will take approximately 20 minutes to complete most of the information collections associated with the DBTS. The majority of information collections for the DBTS are done via the internet using the Your Benefits Resources (YBR) Web site. The annual estimated burden is 2,733 hours. Comments are particularly invited on: Whether this information is necessary for the proper performance of functions on the Office of Personnel Management, and whether it will have practical utility; Whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; and Ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. For copies of this proposal, contact Mary Beth Smith-Toomey, OPM PRA and Forms Officer, at (202) 606-8358, Fax (202) 418-3251 or via e- mail to MaryBeth.Smith-Toomey@opm.gov. Please include your complete mailing address with your request.