With the beginning of a new fiscal year, many agencies are processing Cost Accounting Modification (CAM) documents to modify or create new Program Periods in AFIS to track grant activity. The GAO would like to remind agencies that copying previous CAM documents is discouraged. Errors or unintentional changes can occur when copying previous documents that do not contain the most current data.

CAM documents contain “load details” buttons that load the existing data into CAM documents from the cost structure tables. These buttons simplify data entry and ensure that the most current data is in the CAM document. Agencies are encouraged to always create fresh CAM documents and use the “load details” buttons to simplify data entry and prevent errors.

A QRG on creating a new CAM to Add a new Program Period and a QRG on creating a new CAM to Modify an existing Program Period are available on the Federal/Cost Accounting section of the GAO website at: /federalcost-accounting