FAQs

There is statutory authority to submit vendor’s claims that are more than one fiscal year, but less than four years old to the Legislature. Only appropriated funds are eligible for payment under the Relief Bill. There must be sufficient authority remaining in the lapsed appropriation for the fiscal year of the claim to be included in the Relief Bill which is approved by the Legislature for payment. (A.R.S. § 35-191, C.) As with administrative adjustments, line item integrity is not lost. Every December, the ADOA-GAO sends letters to all agencies requesting invoices that meet the General Relief Bill criteria. Agencies submitting items for inclusion in this bill should be ready to testify before the legislature regarding their request, if necessary.

First and foremost, the accounting structure of an agency must be set up on AFIS. How the structures are established depend upon the applicable reporting requirements and controls. For example, the program structure is generally established according to how agencies submit their budgets. An agency may also set up an organization structure that may be based on the organization chart of the agency. Both types of structures are used to store and report financial information on state agencies. Your GAO liaison may assist you with any questions you may have relating to setting up or changing your agency’s structures. A current listing of GAO liaisons can be found on our website. Second, the agency must obtain AFIS application security to process accounting data up to and including obtaining Warrant Authorization Cards (WAC) to pick up vendor warrants. Please see the APPLICATIONS SECURITY section for more information. Processing accounting transactions on AFIS requires appropriate knowledge and understanding of the State’s accounting policies and procedures. The ADOA-GAO establishes these accounting policies and procedures and can be found in the State of Arizona Accounting Manual. Because AFIS is a complex accounting system, the ADOA-GAO also publishes an AFIS Reference Guide. Both of these manuals can be found on our website. It is highly recommended that persons involved in the processing of accounting transactions attend the AFIS training classes offered by ADOA through the Arizona Government University (AzGU). You may register for AFIS training classes on-line at http://www.azgu.gov or call the registrar at (602) 771-AzGU (2948).

If a budget unit director deems it necessary, he/she may request that a portion of an allotment amount be transferred from one quarter to another. Once reviewed and approval or disapproval is recommended by the OSPB, the Director of the Department of Administration may independently decide to approve or disapprove the request. See A.R.S. § 35-173 for more detail and the State of Arizona Accounting Manual for specific instructions for Allotment Adjustments.

The Governor has the authority to administratively move and, to a limited extent, control the allotment process. This authority may be used to reserve monies in the case of revenue shortfalls and to regulate spending by the State agencies.