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Trust Fund Accounting System (TFAS)

One of the most significant accomplishments during the early period of trust reform was the conversion to a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) accounting software system. In March 1998, OST contracted with a commercial vendor to use a modified version of its trust accounting system that provides basic collection, accounting, investing, disbursing, and reporting functions.

The Trust Fund Accounting System (TFAS) is an accounting and investment system that enables the automated production of account statements for individual Indians and tribal account holders. It also allows automated trade settlements, automated payments of financial asset income, daily securities pricing, and automated reconciliation. In addition, landownership and leasing accounts is being included in TFAS as part of BIA’s and OST’s TAAMS conversion project, to ensure that both systems contain accurate and complete information.

TFAS replaced a module in BIA’s Integrated Records Management System and two OST systems, which could not adequately perform trust accounting functions. TFAS was deployed in August 1998 and was fully operational in May 2000.