Financial Procedures for Discontinued Post Offices, Stations, Branches, or Community Post Offices

Management Instruction (MI) FM-130-2011-2, Closing the Financial Accountability of a Discontinued Post Office, Station, Branch or Community Post Office, provides com­prehensive instructions for the following:

n Closing the financial accountability.

n Disposition of postal equipment and systems appli­cations of a discontinued Post Office™, station, branch, or Community Post Office.

n Deactivation (permanently close) of the 10-digit unit finance number.

n Filling out the “Closing a Unit Checklist” (starting 60 days prior to the date of closing).

Financial Procedures

Upon approval to cease operations of a Post Office, sta­tion, branch, or Community Post Office, the outgoing postal official must perform a closeout of the unit’s financial accountability. If the objective is to consolidate multiple units, the financial accountability of the unit(s) approved to cease operations must be closed out. The outgoing postal official and a witness must ensure that an overall final finan­cial audit is performed and documented. Audit and close out financial accountabilities, including employee account­able cash and stamp credits, customer trust accounts, money orders, employee items, unit’s financial differences account (247/647), and Voyager and SmartPay purchasing card accounts.

Prior to the last day of business:

1. Conduct final counts and close out all cash and stamp credits for employees who will not be working on the last day of business.

2. Ensure there is no pending in-transit stock from or to the stamp distribution center (SDC)/stamp distribu­tion office (SDO) or other unit.

3. Clear as many as possible of the following:

a. Financial differences AIC 247/647.

b. All pending employee items (employee shortages, emergency salary, or travel advances).

4. Reconcile, as much as possible, the master trust bal­ances.

5. Use the Closing a Unit Checklist, and check off, as much as possible, the tasks associated with closing the unit. On the last business day, ensure all applica­ble tasks have been checked off.

Financial Accountability

For the last day of business, determine the financial accountability of a discontinued Post Office, station, branch, or Community Post Office. Go to the Accounting Data Mart (ADM) to find the reports as outlined in the MI. The outgoing postal official and a witness must perform and properly document a final financial audit of the overall unit’s accountability. To close out the financial accountabil­ity on the last day of business, use the Closing Out a Unit’s Accountability Forms, available as an MS Excel workbook on the Accounting website.

Accounting Website

Go to http://blue.usps.gov/wps/portal/accounting/library/fieldfinanceforms, under Closing Post Offices, to find the following:

n A link to PolicyNet to access the Management Instruction.

n Closing Out a Unit’s Accountability Forms — MS Excel workbook.

n Closing a Unit Checklist.

Management Instruction (MI) FM-130-2011-2, Closing the Financial Accountability of a Discontinued Post Office, Station, Branch, or Community Post Office, is available on the Postal Service™ PolicyNet website:

n Go to http://blue.usps.gov.

n In the left-hand column under “Essential Links”, click PolicyNet.

n Click MIs.

(The direct URL for this MI is http://blue.usps.gov/cpim/ftp/manage/f13020112.pdf).

— Delivery and Retail, Delivery and Post Office Operations, and Revenue and Field Accounting, Controller, 2-23-12