USPTO Performance and Accountability Report - U.S. Patent and ...

OMB Financial Management Indicators
The OMB prescribes the use of quantitative indicators
to monitor improvements in financial management.
The USPTO tracks other financial performance
measures as well. The table above shows the USPTO’s
performance during FY 2012 against performance
targets established internally and by OMB and the
government-wide Metric Tracking System (MTS).
Prompt Payment Act
The Prompt Payment Act requires Federal agencies
to report on their efforts to make timely payments to
vendors, including interest penalties for late
payments. In FY 2012, the USPTO did not pay interest
penalties on 99.4 percent of the 7,080 vendor
invoices processed, representing payments of
approximately $590.4 million. Of the 39 invoices that
were not processed in a timely manner, the USPTO
was required to pay interest penalties on all
39 invoices. The USPTO paid $7 in interest penalties
for every million dollars disbursed in FY 2012.
Virtually all recurring payments were processed by
EFT in accordance with the EFT provisions of the Debt
Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
Civil Monetary Penalty Act
Financial Performance Measure
There were no Civil Monetary Penalties assessed by
the USPTO during FY 2012.
Debt Collection Improvement Act
The Debt Collection Improvement Act prescribes
standards for the administrative collection, compromise,
suspension, and termination of Federal agency
collection actions, and referral to the proper agency
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FY 2012
Target
for litigation. Although the Act has no material effect
on the USPTO since it operates with minimal delinquent
debt, all debt more than 180 days old has
been transferred to the U.S. Department of the
Treasury for cross-servicing.
Biennial Review of Fees
FY 2012
Performance
Percentage of Timely Vendor Payments (MTS) 98% 99%
Percentage of Payroll by Electronic Transfer (OMB) 90% 100%
Percentage of Treasury Agency Locations Fully Reconciled (OMB) 95% 100%
Timely Reports to Central Agencies (OMB) 95% 100%
Audit Opinion on FY 2012 Financial Statements (OMB) Unqualified Unqualified
Material Weaknesses Reported by OIG (OMB) None None
Timely Posting of Inter-Agency Charges (USPTO) 30 days 16 days
Average Processing Time for Travel Payments (USPTO) 8 days 7 days
The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 requires a
biennial review of agency fees, rents, and other
charges imposed for services and things of value it
provides to specific beneficiaries as opposed to the
American public in general. The objective of the
review is to identify such activities and to begin
charging fees, where permitted by law, and to periodically
adjust existing fees to reflect current costs
or market value so as to minimize general taxpayer
subsidy of specialized services or things of value
(such as rights or privileges) provided directly to
identifiable non-Federal beneficiaries. The USPTO is
a fully fee-funded agency without subsidy of general
taxpayer revenue. The USPTO uses Activity Based
Costing (ABC) to calculate the cost of activities
performed for each fee, and uses this information to
evaluate and inform when setting fees. When appropriate,
fees are adjusted to be consistent with legislative
requirements to recover full cost of the goods
or services provided to the public as with the administrative
trial proceedings established in the AIA.
Consistent with the provisions of the AIA, the USPTO
expects to continuously assess fees, on at least a
biennial basis after the initial fee adjustments anticipated
for the Spring 2013. Section 10(c) of the AIA
directs the USPTO to consult the PPAC and TPAC,
respectively, annually on the advisability of reducing
fees set or adjusted under Section 10(a).
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