Advancing the FM Vision: the Role of ARC in the Transformation of Federal Financial Management

The vision of leadership is to transform federal financial management and the delivery of shared services in a way that creates greater value for customers, and for the millions of Americans who depend on us every day. At the center of advancing this priority in the Treasury Department's Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) is the Administrative Resource Center (ARC).

ARC delivers a full range of customer-focused, cost-effective shared services -  Financial Management, Procurement, Human Resources, and Travel -- to more than 70 federal agencies and 22,000 federal employees across the government. As one of the earliest Federal Shared Services Providers (FSSPs), ARC has had more than two decades to sharpen its craft. In that time, ARC was the first FSSP to move its core financial management system to a cloud-based environment and the first to onboard a Cabinet-level agency.

Reducing the Expense of Federal FM Operations

One of the ways Fiscal Service is pursuing the transformation of federal financial management is by expanding the role of ARC in delivering shared financial management solutions. Of vital importance is ARC's ability to cut the expense of government's financial management operations.

Over the next several years, ARC will invest in upgrades and enhancements to our integrated Oracle FM platform. Over the same period, ARC will spend on required compliance and mandates, including DATA Act and G-Invoicing. With 40 "45 Financial Management customer agencies sharing the investment, ARC's customers will pay only a fraction of what they would otherwise incur on their own. By 2023, we estimate an aggregate cost avoidance to the federal government of about $600M.

Driving Federal Programs to Optimum Efficiency

Given Fiscal Service's role in central accounting and reporting for the entire federal government, ARC is uniquely positioned to significantly improve compliance, efficiency, and process for customers and agencies government wide. Through economies of scale, standardization, and state-of the-art automation, ARC will set the benchmark as the government's most efficient financial processing operation.

Our goal is to free CFOs from lower-value activities like financial transaction processing and the maintenance of expensive information technology systems. CFOs should be able to focus more of their time and attention on higher-value activities like program finance and performance. They should be better positioned alongside agency leadership, driving federal programs to optimum efficiency.

Leveraging Technology to Increase Efficiency

Another way Fiscal Service is pursuing the transformation of federal financial management is by identifying and implementing technologies that show a potentially high return on investment. The most recent example is the Robotics Process Automation (RPA) project now under way.

RPA will automate repetitive, rules-based, labor-intensive tasks to increase capacity, cut costs, and improve service levels. We anticipate a reduction in total processing time and increased accuracy for all transactions. Not only will RPA increase financial management productivity and effectiveness for Fiscal Service, but it also has the potential to effect positive change for all agencies sharing ARC's financial management services.

Enhancing ARC's Capabilities

As we look toward the future, the focus will be on enhancing ARC’s capabilities by continuously pursuing technological advancements, implementing business process improvements, and working to improve the customer experience.

Last modified 10/19/18