FAQs
1) What is a portal? (Date posted – 6/9/04)2) What is a dashboard? (Date posted – 6/9/04)
3) What is the frequency of financial information updates? (Date updated – 12/26/07)
4)What will happen to the FDW, DISCAS and MARS historical data? (Date posted – 12/26/07)
5) How is IDW user training being conducted? (Date posted – 12/26/07)
6) How soon after month end will data be available? (Date updated – 12/26/07)
7) Can ad-hoc reports be created? (Date posted – 12/26/07)
8) Who should have access to the IDW? (Date updated – 12/26/07)
9) Are there any access restrictions on data (Date posted – 6/9/04)
10) Are contractors able to access the IDW? (Date posted – 6/9/04)
11) Can data be exported to other software packages? (Date posted – 6/9/04)
12) Can graphs and charts be created in IDW? (Date posted – 6/9/04)
13) Is the B&R code still be available for reporting? (Date posted – 6/9/04)
14) What are the hours of operation? (Date updated – 12/26/07)
15) How are the DOE funds being controlled? (Date posted – 12/26/07)
16) How much money do I have left? (Date posted –12/26/07)
17) What was changed in IDW Version 2 (V2)? (Date posted –12/26/07)
Answers
1) Question: What is a portal?(Date posted – 6/9/04)
ANSWER: A portal is an intranet web page that allows users to easily access, extract, and organize information from information systems (like a data warehouse) and other websites.
2) Question: What is a dashboard?Date posted – 6/9/04)
ANSWER: A dashboard is a term for a desktop view that identifies important information to the operator in simple, graphical form, much like the dashboard of an automobile.
3) Question: What will be the frequency of financial information?(Date updated – 12/26/07)
ANSWER: The frequency of data in the IDW depends on the source systems that provide the data. STARS is the primary source of data for the IDW. STARS data, with the exception of some monthly transactional data, along with data from the other source systems are loaded into the IDW on a nightly basis.
4) Question: What will happen to the FDW, DISCAS and MARS historical data? (Date posted – 12/26/07)
ANSWER: The FDW, DISCAS (for HQ and NNSA) and MARS historical data are available in the IDW. DISCAS historical data for Oak Ridge is scheduled to be loaded into the IDW at a future date. The historical data can be queried or reported using the Discoverer Viewer and Discoverer Plus report writers.
5) Question: How is IDW user training being conducted? (Date posted – 12/26/07)
ANSWER: IDW online Discoverer Viewer user training and Discoverer Plus user training are available on the IDW log on page. IDW training instructors provide workshops or training classes at Headquarters or field offices periodically. Training includes navigating through the portal, customizing the portal, refreshing standard reports, and writing custom reports. IDW instructors give lectures or presentations on special topics when necessary. IDW Plus users must take a one-day class in order to be qualified as a Plus user.
6) Question: How soon after month end will data be available? (Date updated – 12/26/07)
ANSWER: Once all STARS modules are closed for the month and the final AFP is received from the FDS system, month-end data will be available in IDW. STARS and IDW both send out status messages to the users at month-end. IDW users can expect receiving month end data around the 8th working day of the following month.
7) Question: Can ad-hoc reports be created? (Date updated – 12/26/07)
ANSWER: Ad-hoc reports can be created by IDW Plus users using Oracle Discoverer Plus report writing software..
8) Question: Who should have access to the IDW? (Date updated – 12/26/07)
ANSWER: Executives, budget & financial managers, key individuals and any one whose job description requires access to financial information in every organization should have access to the IDW. Some of the key individuals are responsible for creating IDW reports for their organizations or field offices after receiving the IDW Plus user training.
9) Question: Are there be any access restrictions on data? (Date updated – 12/27/07)
ANSWER: There are no access restrictions on the data in IDW. DOE-wide information is available.
10) Question: Are contractors able to access the IDW? (Date updated – 12/26/07)
ANSWER: Any DOE support service contractor, with the exception of integrated contractors, may be granted access to the IDW as long as a DOE federal employee sponsors the contractor's need for access. .
11) Question: Can data be exported to other software packages? (Date posted – 6/9/04)
ANSWER: Users are able to export data to other software packages (excel, pdf, etc.).
12) Question: Can graphs and charts be created in IDW? (Date updated – 12/26/07)
ANSWER: Graphs and charts can be produced in the IDW.
13) Question: Is the B&R code still available for reporting? (Date updated – 12/26/07)
ANSWER: The B&R code is still available for IDW reports.
14) Question: What are the hours of operation? (Date updated – 12/26/07)
ANSWER: The IDW Hotline Support hours of operations are:
Monday – Thursday 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM. (EST)
Friday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (EST).
15) Question: How are the DOE funds being controlled? (Date posted – 12/26/07)
ANSWER:In STARS, a summary balance is kept at the detail segment and roll-up parent level;
however, the dollars must be entered/stored in the child accounts. For Roll Up segments, when
the funding is entered, it is possible for one child account to hold all of the dollars without
affecting the ability of the other child accounts to obligate funds.
STARS maintains summary balances for allocations (in accordance with the summary template for allocations)
for detail segments and roll-up parents. These summary balances are then compared with obligations
for funds control.
Summary obligation balances, which are summarized by (rolled up to) the six AFF segments below, are
compared against summary allocation balances for the detail and roll-up segments. A Funds Check Exception
is issued whenever a summary obligation balance would exceed a summary allocation balance.
When an Obligation is entered into STARS:
- Funds are checked by:
- Fund,
- Appropriation Year,
- Allottee,
- Reporting Entity Parent,
- Object Class Parent (TRVL/NTRVL), and
- Program Congressional Control Parent (legacy Obligational Control Level B&R).
16) Question: How much money do I have left? (Date posted – 12/26/07)
ANSWER:
- You cannot check funds at levels lower than the STARS allocation template. Reports that are run at the “child level” for Roll Up Groups or Total AFF Segments, can and will be misleading! However, you can look at your obligations, costs and payments at those levels.
- Reports run at a level higher than the STARS allocation template will show reliable summary
numbers that can be used for management purposes, but you will need the rest of the
6 AFF Segments that are used for control purposes. Here’s an example of why:
- If you omit Appropriation Year from your report but include the other 5 Control segments, you will see the Total dollars available regardless of the FY they were appropriated to you. This report may be perfect for senior management; however, it will be insufficient for you to enter an obligation or adjust allocations. You will need to know the breakout by appropriation year.
- STARS only looks at allocations, not your AFP. So compare your allocations to your AFP, to ensure your AFP is fully allocated.
- Control Level B&R – The Obligation Control Level B&R is analogous to the STARS Congressional Control roll-up parents within the program segment. Although the descriptions contain the OCL B&R, the funds must be assigned to one or more child accounts in a Congressional Control parent.
- Assistant Secretary – Within the program segment, Assistant Secretary is the name of a hierarchy, but it is not a roll-up group. It is not used for summary balances or funds control. New reports for funds control have been developed and appear on the IDW Portal under the STARS tab.
- Standard Funds Control Reports - Use the Funds Control (FCTL) Group of reports to determine your organizations funds availability and answer the question “How much money do I have left” question. Report FCTL011 has been used in many training sessions.
- Custom Funds Control Reports – There are three key things to keep in mind:
- For parameters: only include the 6 Funds Control elements in your report and never use the child value as a parameter for roll-up segments (i.e. Program and Reporting Entity), and never use Total segments as parameters either (i.e. local use, Project, WFO, etc.).
- If you use more than the 6 funds control segments in your report, ensure your audience knows not to look at the detail lines for determining funds availability (only obs, costs, pmts), and include sub-totals for the funds control segments.
- If you use less than the 6 funds control segments in the detail of your report, then the report can still be used to determine your organizations funds availability, but remember that it is rolled up, so that when you talk to EFASC/STARS you know to break it out by all 6 funds control segments.
17) Question: What was changed in IDW Version 2 (V2)? (Date posted – 12/26/07)
ANSWER: IDW V2 was implemented, with modified measures that closely align to STARS. Many measure names and some definitions changed slightly. Changes included:
- When determining how much money you have left - STARS includes commitments, so you must use the Unobligated/ Uncommitted Allocations measure in IDW.
- Prefix for dollar fields are changing -- YTD (year-to-date) becomes CY (current year); Ending Balances becomes YTD; LTD (Life-to-date) becomes ITD (Inception-to-date).
- Some new measures were added, including measures needed for Reimbursable work reports as well as Interest on Payables (Invoices).
- For Disc Plus Users: The following Business Areas were removed:
- “Common Management Reports”
- “STARS-IDW Reconciliation”
- Use the following instead: - “Payables Subledger Information”
- “Purchasing Subledger Information”
- “Cumulative SGL Detail” .
