uspto.gov
Skip over navigation

Office of Finance

The primary mission of the USPTO is to build for the future and promote U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace by protecting and strengthening intellectual property rights world-wide. The Office of Finance supports this mission by:

  • 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
  • providing audited financial statements and other financial management reports to the public, the Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, the Secretary of Commerce, and USPTO management staff.

The Office of Finance is composed of the following divisions: Activity Based Information Division, Financial Accounting Division, Financial Reporting and Analysis Division, Financial Systems Division, and the Receipts Accounting Division.

Mark Krieger is currently the director of the Office of Finance.

Activity Based Information Division

In 1997, the USPTO instituted the Activity Based Information 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, financial statement (Statement of Net Costs) preparation, and ad-hoc cost analyses and studies.

The ABI program is managed by the Activity Based Information Division within the Office of Finance. The primary responsibilities of the ABI Division are to:

  • Provide leadership in the area of cost management
  • Ensure compliance with relevant Managerial Cost Accounting standards
  • Determine and report the costs of achieving internal and external performance goals
  • Manage the ABI program and maintain the Activity Based Information System (ABIS) infrastructure
  • Prepare quarterly reports and briefings on cost of operations for executives and program managers
  • Prepare quarterly Statement of Net Cost and supporting notes
  • Provide cost input and analysis for the Annual Performance and Accountability Report
  • Perform fee studies on a regular basis to inform the fee-setting process
  • Perform ad hoc cost studies on:
    • proposed fee legislation
    • OMB and Congressional inquiries
    • internal management requests

Steve Porter is currently the director of the Activity Based Information Division.

Back to top

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 Office of Management and Budget, Treasury, Department of Commerce and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Specific functions are as follows:

  • Vendor Payments - Process vendor invoices in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act.
  • Interagency Transaction Processing - IPAC transactions and transactions reported by other agencies on their SF-224s (i.e., 6653 transactions).
  • Travel Reimbursements - Process travel vouchers for employees upon completion of governmental travel.
  • Imprest Fund - Reimburse 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 - Provide Metrocheck farecards to qualified employees to promote the use of public transportation.
  • Travel Support Services - Obtain passports, tickets, visas, etc. for USPTO employees going on governmental travel.
  • Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program - Provide guidance to program offices on the financial aspects of this program.

Tom Hellmer is currently the director of the Financial Accounting Division.

Back to top

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 ensure that adequate controls exist to safeguard assets and manage liabilities, revenues, and expenditures.

The primary responsibilities of the Financial Reporting and Analysis Division are to:

Dennis Detar is currently the director of the Financial Reporting and Analysis Division.

Back to top

Receipts Accounting Division

The Receipts Accounting Division serves as the central coordinator for fees processed throughout the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Our services include:

  • 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; and
  • responding to a wide variety of customer inquiries.

To accomplish these activities, the Receipts Accounting Division is divided into the following three branches:

For further information, see Receipts Accounting Division Branches

Matthew Lee is currently the director of the Receipts Accounting Division.

Back to top

Frequently Asked Questions

The following links provide more information for common FAQs to the Office of Finance:

 

Back to top

United States Patent and Trademark Office
This page is owned by Office of the Chief Financial Officer.
Last Modified: 1/4/2010 12:52:22 PM