NOAA Finance Office (External)

Check Receiving Guidance

Forwarding Customer/Partner Checks to NOAA Finance for Processing

In an attempt to reduce the amount of hard-copy checks delivered directly to the NOAA Finance Office in Silver Spring, Maryland, and to expedite the processing of those checks via Treasury, please see the below guidance for NOAA, BIS and EDA.

NOAA

Send your check, money order or cashier’s check made payable to NOAA along with any supporting documentation to the following address as applicable to your carrier for processing:


via United States Postal Service (USPS)

Department Commerce - NOAA

PO Box 979008

St. Louis, MO 63197-9000


via FedEx or UPS

Department of Commerce – NOAA

Attn: GA Lockbox 979008

1005 Convention Plaza

Saint Louis, MO 63101

Payments may also be made electronically via ACH or FedWire.

For questions, please contact Rodrigo Rojas Rodrigo.Rojas@noaa.gov or 301-444-2780 or Maria King Maria.King@noaa.gov or 301-444-2181


EDA or BIS

Send your check, money order or cashier's check made payable to EDA or BIS, along with any supporting documentation to the following address for processing:

via United States Postal Service (USPS), FedEx, or UPS

NOAA OCFO

Attn: Finance Office Travel Dept.

1305 East West Highway, SSMC4

Silver Spring, MD 20910


Payments can also be made electronically via Pay.gov or FedWire.

For questions, please contact Rodrigo Rojas Rodrigo.Rojas@noaa.gov or 301-444-2780 or Maria King Maria.King@noaa.gov or 301-444-2181

Vendor Payment Profile Form

The purpose of this form is to provide mandatory award and payment information to NOAA. This information is required as set forth in FAR 52.232-33, Mandatory Information for Electronic Funds Transfer Payment, the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. NOAA will use the information only for the purposes stated in the references cited above and will restrict access to the data to authorized personnel who will use it only for the specified purposes. Until this information is received, our payment office will not be able to make any disbursements to you.

NOTE: It is the vendors responsibility to contact a NOAA Finance Office whenever their banking information changes (i.e., bank mergers, account number changes, etc.).

Domestic or Foreign Vendors doing business outside the U.S. please use the Vendor Profile Form.

Submit forms to:

US Department of Commerce - NOAA
OFA, Accounting Operations Division (OFA231)
ATTN: SSMC4, Vendor File Administrator
1305 East West Highway
Silver Spring, MD  20910

Fax: (301) 713-3324

NOAA Finance Office Organizational Chart

NOAA Accounting Operations Division Contacts

NOAA Accounting Operations Division

The Accounting Operations Division (AOD) provides administrative payment, utilities and accrual processing, including billing if required, for travel/transportation, and services, supplies, and materials acquired through the use of contracts, purchase orders, reimbursable agreements, bankcards and convenience checks. AOD makes payments for all other services, supplies, and materials to support the various NOAA Line/Staff Office programs as well as the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) under a separate reimbursable agreement. The Division maintains effective cash and debt management programs which include a billing and collection system for monitoring reimbursable projects to ensure recovery of all costs, and is responsible for the maintenance and control of direct and guaranteed loans and other receivable records. The Division is also responsible for maintaining the Core Financial System (CFS) vendor file.  The Division provides advice to NOAA program managers on fiscal matters and provides financial information and analyses on matters of concern to NOAA managers and administrative staff. The Division supports the NOAA Finance Office in new financial program initiatives, requirements studies and special projects relating to financial payments, travel systems and payment program issues.  AOD consolidates operational financial and the Field finance unit’s data to prepare reports required by the Department, including the monthly Prompt Payment Act Report, EFT Report, Accelerated Payment Report and the Erroneous Payment Report. The division completes the annual Certification of Obligations process.

Erich Klein
Director, Accounting Operations Division
Phone: (301) 643-7116

Email: erich.klein@noaa.gov


Commercial Payments Branch

The Commercial Payables Branch processes NOAA, BIS and EDA purchase orders, telephone and utility orders, contracts, leases, training, fuel credit cards, SF-1221 foreign disbursement entries, and foreign payments. This includes one-time purchase orders, advance payment orders, recurring and non-recurring orders, blanket purchase orders and bankcards. The Branch prepares and distributes Form 1099s to all individuals and businesses receiving miscellaneous income from NOAA. The Branch is responsible for compliance with the Prompt Payment Act, partial payments, interest payments, voucher examination, voucher auditing, accounting functions (accruals, deobligations) and other related requirements. It utilizes the appropriate modules of the Department of Commerce (DOC) Business Applications Solution (BAS) Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) in the processing of the financial documents.  The Branch completes Treasury payment certification schedules, coordinates Treasury payment cancellations within AOD and processes Bank Card invoice transactions for reconciliation. The Branch also coordinates and performs prior year recovery research for NOAA line/staff offices as well as EDA and BIS.

Melanie Ly
Chief, Commercial Payments Branch
Phone: 301-444-2790

Email: melanie.ly@noaa.gov


Travel, Vendor Support and Government Branch

The Travel, Vendor Support and Government Branch processes grants, travel, transportation, relocation, employee reimbursement, IPACs, intra-governmental and vendor documents for payment for NOAA, BIS and EDA. The team uses appropriate modules of the Department of Commerce (DOC) Business Applications Solution (BAS) Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) and other applicable interfaced systems in the processing of the financial documents.

  • Government and Grants Team: Processes grant reservations, obligations and payments, and manages obligations and payments for intergovernmental purchases.
  • Travel and Transportation Team: Processes travel advances, vouchers and the centrally billed travel accounts for NOAA, BIS and EDA. The team also processes employee reimbursements as well as transactions related to gifts from donors who pay for official government travel. The team is responsible for compliance with the Prompt Payment Act, partial payments, interest payments, voucher examination, voucher auditing, accounting functions, and other related requirements. They also oversee permanent change of station relocation guidance and coordinate with the employee and contractors on the transfer of employees’ household goods, temporary storage, temporary quarters, home sale/purchase and tax reporting. The team issues Form W-2s to serviced employees who receive taxable income from a permanent change of station.  
  • Vendor Support Team: Works with the BAS Program Management Office (PMO) in the maintenance of EBS vendor and customer files.

Ikechukwu Osondu
Chief, Travel and Government Branch
Email: Ikechukwu.osondu@noaa.gov


Receivables Branch

The Receivables Branch maintains effective cash and debt management programs, including (1) providing debt servicing and monitoring for all of NOAA's direct and guaranteed loan programs; (2) providing debt servicing for NMFS and BIS Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) programs and NMFS Inspection and Collection Billing Module; (3) preparing bills for collection for all other miscellaneous receivables; (4) preparing the quarterly Treasury Report on Receivables (TROR) for all NOAA and BIS entities/appropriations. The Branch follows up on outstanding receivables and records deposits in the financial system. The team uses appropriate modules of the Department of Commerce (DOC) Business Applications Solution (BAS) Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) in the processing of the financial documents. The Branch also has sole responsibility for all of NOAA's, BIS' and EDA’s delinquent debt that is referred to the Department of the Treasury for cross-servicing.

Rodrigo Rojas
Chief, Receivables Branch
Phone: (301) 444-2780
Email: rodrigo.rojas@noaa.gov


Reimbursable Branch

The Reimbursables Branch provides administrative and accounting support for all NOAA, BIS, and EDA reimbursable agreements, including (1) agreement reviews, (2) data analysis, data entry and approvals in accounting systems, (3) billings and collections, (4) reconciliations and adjustments based on NOAA and DOC business rules and appropriation law. The team uses appropriate modules of the Department of Commerce (DOC) Business Applications Solution (BAS) Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) in the processing of the financial documents.

Clara Stevanovic
Chief, Reimbursable Branch
Phone: (301) 444-2150
Email: clara.stevanovic@noaa.gov