Certifying Officer Pecuniary Liability - Lesson 4

Certifying Officer Pecuniary Liability Laws for Certifying Officers Training for Credit Card Payments Introduction of the Lesson The Certifying Officer Legislation (COL) says what the pecuniary liability is, and this lesson explains it. Targets for the Lesson Final Learning Goal: Understand what "pecuniary liability" means according to the Certifying Officer Legislation (COL). When this lesson is over, you'll be able to: • • Explain what "pecuniary liability" means. Explain how the Certifying Officer can be held financially responsible for wrong payments. Not Authorized Payments It is assumed that the Certifying Officer was not doing her or his job properly if an incorrect, illegal, or improper payment happens after the Officer certified the payment voucher. To fight the assumption of negligence, a Certifying Officer must show strong proof that he or she wasn't careless or that their actions didn't lead to the wrong payment. Investigators need to find out if there was a mistake in the payment, and if there is evidence that the Certifying Officer wasn't at fault or careless, debt collection steps need to be taken. For more information, see DoD FMR Volume 5, Chapter 6. Financial Responsibility for Oneself Pecuniary ability is the Certifying Officers' personal financial responsibility for payments that are wrong, which could be illegal, improper, or theorem t. People will be more careful to avoid mistakes and theft if they are responsible for them. In the end, it helps protect the U.S. Government from mistakes and dishonesty by Certifying Officers. When there is a mistake in a payment, the Certifying Officers are automatically held responsible. Usually, the amount of financial responsibility is found while the wrong payment is being investigated. It is equal to the wrong payment minus any money that is recovered from the payee (bank). About the Lesson Financial liability that automatically attaches to the Certifying Officer whenever a mistaken payment is made is called pecuniary liability. In order to be found not guilty of fraud, Certifying Officers must show that they were neither negligent nor the direct cause of the error.