National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Active Weather for the West, Warming in the East

The potential for heavy snow at higher elevations in the western U.S. will continue for many spots through the weekend. In the meantime, the eastern half of the continental U.S. will transition to above normal temperatures ahead of a pair of cold fronts next week that will bring readings back to closer to normal as we approach Thanksgiving Day. Read More >

Guidance Used by the NWS OCFO/OCAO:

The NWS OCFO/OCAO is responsible for issuing guidance for financial planning and compliance as well as workforce and human capital management. The team strives to ensure that all portfolios, offices, and regions of the NWS have access to the relevant instructions needed to achieve the organization’s mission.

During weather-related emergencies, annual spend planning, annual property inventory, and annual labor forecasting, it is critical that the policies managed by the OCFO/OCAO provide proper internal controls and adequate information. 

The resources below are some of the knowledge repositories that the OCFO/OCAO not only follows, but also recommends to the field: 

The NOAA Personal Property Management Branch Website, linked here, contains guidance on:

  • Managing Historical Assets, Personal Property, and Construction Work in Progress
  • Utilizing the Property Accountability System Software
  • Conducting the Annual Inventory 

The Federal Acquisition Regulations, linked here, contains guidance on: 

  • Federal Procurement laws and compliance
  • Contract Management 

The Commerce Acquisition Manual, linked here, contains guidance on: 

  • Contract Management 
  • Government Purchase Card Utilization 
  • Acquisition Planning 

The NWS Directives Website, linked here, contains guidance on: 

  • All OCFO/OCAO Internal Policies for Organization Management    
  • All OCFO/OCAO Internal Policies for Financial Management    

The NOAA Finance Website, linked here, contains guidance on: 

  • Financial Systems Support      
  • Operations Support    
  • Financial Process Business Rules    
The Office of Human Capital Services Website, linked here, contains guidance on: 
  • Employee Benefits and Resources
  • Human Resources Systems     
  • Workforce Planning Policies        

The NWS OCFO/OCAO also leverages the NWS Internal Governance as a cornerstone for developing enterprise guidance. The Governance is an NWS-wide document that defines the roles, responsibilities, and business processes of the NWS. The Governance was developed to guide the organization following the restructuring of the NWS budget and the reorganization of NWS Headquarters in 2014 and serves the purpose of bridging the gap between external policies and resources to the internal NWS culture, management, and decision-making process.

As an internal guide to managing enterprise initiatives, the Governance is a document with useful information on a wide range of topics including organizational management, strategy development, and budget planning. Contributors from many NWS offices and several areas of expertise have made the Governance into a comprehensive guide for the OCFO/OCAO and other offices to implement external and internal guidance.