Certifying Officer Rights - Lesson 5

Certifying Officer Rights Laws for Certifying Officers Training for Credit Card Payments Beginning of the Lesson There are certain rights that Certifying Officers have. We'll look at the rights of Certifying Officers in more detail in this lesson. We will also talk about how to ask for relief from pecuniary liability and the things that should be taken into account when doing so. Expectations for the Lesson Final Learning Goal: Find out what the Certifying Officer can and can't do to limit their financial liability. When this lesson is over, you'll be able to: • • • • Find out what the Certifying Officer can and cannot do. Know how a Certifying Officer can be released from financial responsibility, which can include getting some of a loss back. Write down what will happen if the request to release financial liability is turned down. Find the things that don't have anything to do with releasing someone from financial responsibility. Types of Fraud There are two different types of fraud that can happen with the Purchase Card program and cause a wrong payment. These are them: 1. A third party, like a merchant or someone outside of Gmail, whose account has been hacked. 2. The government (cardholder, billing official, or someone else). We will now talk about what the Certifying Officer can do to stop these kinds of fraud. Right to There are three things that Certifying Officers can do to keep the certification process honest and limit their own financial liability. These are they: 1. The choice to not certify a payment 2. The choice to make a decision ahead of time 3. The option to look for more backup materials Any of these rights can cause the certification of a payment to be put off. We are going to look at each of these three rights in more depth. Choice to Not Verify a Payment If the Certifying Officer has doubts about the validity or accuracy of a payment voucher, they can choose not to certify it. When the Certifying Officer looks over the voucher, he or she can decide not to certify payment if the payment voucher certification package (Bank Invoice/Cardholder Certified Transactions) doesn't seem to support a valid and legal payment. Certifying Officers have to follow the rules set out in the GSA contract for the bank that issues the cards. The contract might say that the transaction has to be certified and then disputed (see US Code Title 10. Section 2784Cbl Q). Before getting certified, it's important to have all the paperwork that backs up a position. The Certifying Officer is still financially responsible even if they dispute a transaction. If there is government or internal fraud, the Certifying Officer needs to get in touch with the right command representatives and/or the department in charge of criminal investigations right away. If the Cardholder made a purchase without permission, the bank will not accept the dispute. The cardholder will have to pay the government back for the purchase that wasn't authorized. Choice to Make a Decision Ahead of Time By law and rule (31 U.S.C. 3529 and 32 CFR Part 282.Appendix F), the Certifying Officer can ask for a decision ahead of time before certifying a payment voucher that seems sketchy. All requests for early decisions must go through the General Counsel of the relevant Component. If you are a DFAS certifier and want to make an advance decision, you will need to go up the chain of command to the DFAS Office of General Counsel. Choice to Look for More Backup The Certification Officer can ask for more proof to support a different payment that doesn't seem to make sense. Looking for Relief from Financial Liability Once an incorrect payment has been found, diligent collection efforts will be launched. If attempts to collect the debt fail, the Certifying Officer will still be financially responsible for the unpaid amount and may ask for relief from this responsibility. Based on this request, four things could happen: • • • • Partially recovered money or financial liability relief was given. No partial recovery or financial liability relief was given. There was no recovery or financial liability relief. No recovery or financial liability relief was denied. Successfully getting paid back If the payment is recovered, the Certifying Officer is no longer financially responsible. If the Certifying Officer is responsible for any unpaid amount, he or she can ask to be released from that responsibility by writing a statement explaining how the evidence shows that he or she was not negligent. The request goes up the right chain of command and is then sent to DFAS Headquarters to be looked at. Requests for help may have to wait until the outcome of efforts to collect debts from the recipient. In all cases, the longest delay that can happen is one year from the date that liability was put on the Certifying Officer. As long as no money is recovered, the same statement can be sent in saying that evidence shows the Certifying Officer wasn't careless. Personal funds equal to the amount of the loss must be sent if help is not asked for. Giving Relief If there is proof that the wrong payment wasn't caused by a Certifying Officer's carelessness, then the payment may be refunded. Proof that the Certifying Officer followed official Department of Defense rules, policies, and procedures, such as local standard operating procedures, could help prove that there was no negligence. Following orders is not proof that someone was not careless or acting in bad faith. No help will be given if the payment wasn't for a legal obligation or if it broke a law that says payments aren't allowed. If a request for rehearing is granted, the person is not legally responsible. Things that can't be used as a reason for relief Things that can't be used as a basis for the review of supplementary information • • • • • • Heavy workload and a lack of staff Good Work History Length of Service Not enough supervision, training, or experience Extra Tasks Having Money Problems Orders to Follow About the Lesson We talked about the Certifying Officer's rights in this lesson. If a certification officer has any doubts or questions about a voucher, they can ask for more proof or refuse to certify it. They can also ask for a decision ahead of time. This lesson also talked about relief of liability, which includes getting some of your loss back and the part that negligence plays in this process. A person's workload, lack of training or experience, and personal financial situation are some of the things that don't matter when it comes to giving relief.