Spotlight on Business Mail Controls

The deadline for USPS^® to be in compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is fast approaching! SOX does not stop at the end of this fiscal year; USPS is required to operate in compliance with SOX permanently. One of the many benefits of SOX is that it helps us strengthen our financial practices. Part of this effort has been to improve the accuracy of our business mail acceptance (BMA), veri­fication, and payment procedures. The goal is to ensure that customers receive a full and accurate accounting that their mail is in the system and that USPS is paid correctly for all the mail it processes.

USPS has identified several key controls and processes that are critical to our financial success. In the pull-out sec­tion of this issue, you will find four posters that can be dis­played at your facility to remind staff about some of these important procedures. These posters highlight the follow­ing business mail processes:

n Business Mail Clearance Document (see page 3).

n PVDS Destination (see page 5).

n PVDS Origin (see page 7).

n DMU Vehicle Loading (see page 9).

For information about BMA controls and to access addi­tional resources for BMA policies and procedures, visit the BMA website at http://blue.usps.gov/bma/ and PVDS website at http://blue.usps.gov/procops/pvds/pvds.htm. You can also find out how your unit is performing on the BMA key controls by going to the SOX Compliance Scorecard page at http://blue.usps.gov/sox/sox_compliance_scorecard.htm on the SOX website.

We will continue to create value in the mail by giving customers greater assurance that their mail is verified and accounted for accurately. USPS’ financial accountability depends on you!

— SOX Management Controls and Integration,
Controller, 9-23-10