Office of Finance
The Office of Finance supports the mission of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) by carrying out the following activities:
- Ensuring that customer fee payments are promptly, accurately, and efficiently recorded and deposited;
- Ensuring that federal employees, contractors, and vendors necessary to protect intellectual property rights are paid promptly, accurately, courteously, and in accordance with the law; and
- Providing audited financial statements and other financial management reports to the public, the Congress, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Secretary of Commerce, and USPTO management.
The Office of Finance is composed of four divisions: Activity Based Information Division, Financial Accounting Division, Financial Reporting and Analysis Division, and Receipts Accounting Division.
Mark Krieger is the director of the Office of Finance.
Activity Based Information Division
In 1997, the USPTO instituted the Activity Based Information (ABI) program to comply with prevailing federal Managerial Cost Accounting standards, and to provide timely, accurate and useful cost information to make informed management decisions across the organization. Today, USPTO’s ABI program is widely recognized to be one of the best in the federal government. Since the inception of the program, ABI methodologies have continuously improved and are consistently used in fee setting, budgeting, performance reporting, preparation of financial statements (Statement of Net Costs), and ad-hoc cost analyses and studies.
The ABI program is managed by the Activity Based Information Division within the Office of Finance. The ABI Division has primary responsibility for the following functions:
- Providing leadership in the area of cost management
- Ensuring compliance with relevant Managerial Cost Accounting standards
- Determining and reporting the costs of achieving internal and external performance goals
- Managing the ABI program and maintain the Activity Based Information System (ABIS) infrastructure
- Preparing quarterly reports and briefings on the cost of operations for executives and program managers
- Preparing quarterly Statement of Net Cost and supporting notes
- Providing cost input and analysis for the Annual Performance and Accountability Report
- Performing fee studies on a regular basis to inform the fee-setting process
- Performing ad hoc cost studies on proposed fee legislation and in response to OMB and Congressional inquiries and internal management requests.
Steve Porter is the director of the Activity Based Information Division.
Financial Accounting Division
The Financial Accounting Division provides timely processing of payment transactions to vendors, employees, and other government entities. The Financial Accounting Division processes these transactions in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act and performance guidelines provided by the OMB, the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, and the USPTO. Specific functions are as follows:
- Processing vendor invoices in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act
- Processing interagency transactions (e.g. IPAC transactions and transactions reported by other agencies on their SF-224s)
- Processing travel vouchers for employees upon completion of governmental travel
- Reimbursing employees for miscellaneous "out-of-pocket" expenses incurred on the USPTO’s behalf.
The Financial Accounting Division also provides customer service to the numerous program offices throughout the USPTO:
- Public Transit Subsidy Program: Provides Metrocheck farecards to qualified employees to promote the use of public transportation.
- Travel Support Services: Obtains passports, tickets, visas, etc. for USPTO employees going on governmental travel.
- Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program: Provides guidance to program offices on the financial aspects of this program.
Tom Hellmer is the director of the Financial Accounting Division.
Financial Reporting and Analysis Division
The Financial Reporting and Analysis Division provides accurate, timely, and useful financial information and services to support informed decision-making. The Financial Reporting and Analysis Division provides reporting and analysis to foster accountability for financial management and to ensure that adequate controls exist to safeguard assets and manage liabilities, revenues, and expenditures.
The primary responsibilities of the Financial Reporting and Analysis Division as follows:
- Preparing USPTO financial statements and reports in accordance with the Chief Financial Officers Act and in conformance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and OMB Circular A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements [PDF]
- Coordinating with the Office of Inspector General in planning for, and carrying out, the required annual financial statement audit
- Responding to financial statement audit reports and preparing corrective action audit plans
- Preparing monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports for both internal use and submission to the Department of Commerce, Treasury Department, and OMB
- Performing analyses of financial reports and data to identify and analyze fluctuations, trends and unusual variances to provide an accurate reporting of the USPTO's financial condition and results of operations
- Coordinating reporting of all financial information included in the USPTO Annual Performance and Accountability Report and the Department of Commerce Performance and Accountability Report
- Ensuring the financial information included in the USPTO Annual Performance and Accountability Report meets the Association of Government Accountants’ requirements for receiving the Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting
- Performing reviews of internal controls in accordance with the Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act and OMB Circular A-123 requirements.
Dennis Detar is the director of the Financial Reporting and Analysis Division.
Receipts Accounting Division
The Receipts Accounting Division serves as the central coordinator for fees processed throughout the USPTO, and is responsible for the following:
- Reconciling and depositing of fees to the appropriate financial institutions
- Administering and monitoring USPTO deposit accounts
- Processing patent maintenance fee-related payments and requests
- Coordinating, processing, and monitoring of customer refund requests
- Responding to a wide variety of customer inquiries.
To accomplish these activities, the Receipts Accounting Division is divided into the following three branches:
For additional information, see Receipts Accounting Division Branches.
Matthew Lee is the director of the Receipts Accounting Division.
Frequently Asked Questions
The following links provide more information and answers to Frequently Asked Questions to the Office of Finance:
