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.
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.
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:
- prepare the financial statements and reports in accordance with the Chief Financial Officers Act and in conformance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and OMB Circular A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements [PDF]
- coordinate with the Office of Inspector General in planning for, and carrying out, the required annual financial statement audit
- respond to financial statement audit reports and prepare corrective action audit plans
- prepare monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports for both internal use and submission to the Department of Commerce, Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget
- perform analyses of financial reports and data to identify and analyze fluctuations, trends and unusual variances to provide an accurate reporting of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's financial condition and results of operations
- coordinate reporting of all financial information included in the USPTO Annual Performance and Accountability Report and the Department of Commerce Performance and Accountability Report
- ensure 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
- perform reviews of internal controls in accordance with the Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act and OMB Circular A-123 requirements.
Dennis Detar is currently 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 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
The following links provide more information for common FAQs to the Office of Finance:
