GFEBS TRAINING

GFEBS Reports Training: Status of Funds and Open Commitments

GFEBS reports training is Module 03 of the instructor-led GACS course on GFEBS, the General Fund Enterprise Business System. It covers Status of Funds (SOF), detailed financial reports, Open Commitment Reports, commitments and obligations, transaction research, fund balances, and using reports to support budget execution and decisions. It is designed for DoD Resource Management, Budget, and Financial Management personnel and can be taught on-site or as live remote training.

What the GFEBS Reports module covers

The GFEBS Reports module lists seven items:

  • Status of Funds (SOF)
  • Detailed financial reports
  • Open Commitment Reports
  • Reviewing commitments and obligations
  • Transaction research
  • Reviewing and analyzing fund balances
  • Using reports to support budget execution and decisions

Two goals from the course's training objective line up closely with this module: researching financial information, and running and interpreting reports. As with the rest of the training, the module is based on actual GFEBS transactions and the challenges users face every day, not generic system overviews. Reports training is supported by a trainer with 14 years of hands-on GFEBS experience and an additional 8 years of hands-on SAP FI/CO experience. GACS itself is a private company and an independent training provider, not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Department of Defense or the U.S. Army.

Reports training can be customized for new users, experienced analysts, or a combination of skill levels. For newer users, a request might stress running reports and reading the results. For experienced analysts, it might stress transaction research and analyzing fund balances. For a mixed group, say roughly how many people are at each level.

Status of Funds (SOF) and detailed financial reports

Status of Funds (SOF) heads the module's list, followed by detailed financial reports. The training objective names running reports and interpreting them as two separate things, and a team can be comfortable with one and unsure of the other. Before you request, ask where your attendees stand:

  • Do they know which report to run for a given question?
  • Can they read the results with confidence?
  • Do they know where to look next when a figure needs explaining?

It also helps to separate the people who run reports from the people who use the results, and to say who is who in your request. Together, these answers give GACS something concrete to discuss when it follows up about topics.

Open Commitment Reports, commitments and obligations

Open Commitment Reports come next, together with reviewing commitments and obligations. If reviewing open commitments is a regular task in your office, list it first in your request, and mention how often the review happens and who takes part.

GACS also lists Open Commitment & Reimbursable Reporting as a capability beyond the core course. If reimbursable work feeds into your team's reporting, mention that as well, so the follow-up can cover whether it belongs in your training.

Transaction research and fund balances

The module also covers transaction research and reviewing and analyzing fund balances. Both tie back to the objective of researching financial information.

A useful step before requesting is to list the kinds of balance and transaction questions your analysts answer each week. Keep the list general and leave out any sensitive figures. Shared during the follow-up, it shows which parts of this module deserve the most attention for your group. If only a few people on your team do this kind of research, name their roles so the request shows who needs this part.

Using reports to support budget execution and decisions

The module ends with using reports to support budget execution and decisions. When you write your request, describe in plain words which decisions your reports support, who reads them, and what they need from each report. That helps tie the request to the work your team actually does. If certain report questions come up at the same point every month or quarter, note that pattern too, since it shows when the skills are needed.

GACS also offers budget execution training. A team that both executes the budget and reports on it can ask for budget execution and GFEBS Reports in the same request.

Reporting capabilities beyond the core course

Three reporting-related items appear beyond the core course:

  • Open Commitment & Reimbursable Reporting
  • Business Objects
  • Business Intelligence

These are listed capabilities rather than parts of the core module. If your team works with Business Objects or Business Intelligence, name them in your request so they can be part of the conversation about topics. If you are not sure whether a piece of reporting work falls inside the module or among these capabilities, describe the work and leave the sorting to the follow-up.

Delivery options for reports training

Reports training can be delivered on-site at your location, as Virtual Instructor-Led live remote training, or as Small Group Training for budget, resource management, or financial management teams.

If the people who run reports and the people who read them work in different places, the live remote option can bring them into one class. A budget or resource management team that wants training centered on its own reports can ask for small group training. If you have not settled on a format, say so; delivery is one of the things GACS discusses when it follows up. Each option is described under Delivered where your team works on the home page.

How to request GFEBS reports training

Use the request form to ask for training or a quote, and tick GFEBS Reports as a topic. Before you submit:

  • decide whether the attendees are new users, experienced analysts, or a combination of skill levels;
  • choose the delivery option you prefer;
  • estimate how many people will attend and note any dates that work;
  • add related needs, such as budget execution or the reporting capabilities above;
  • if you are weighing GFEBS Reports against a wider set of modules, say so.

When your notes are ready, send them through Request GFEBS Training. GACS then follows up at the email address you entered to discuss topics, dates, and delivery.