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Global Assignment Management System

Save Time. Reduce Chaos.

Manage organise and execute tax program deliverables for your global workforce and their assignments. Automation, collaboration and task tracking means you can take quicker actions and make smarter decisions. You can be confident your business is getting the maximum value and efficiency from all its resources, allowing you to focus on the qualitative aspects of assignments. This is provided at no additional cost.

Benefits of our assignment management software

• Teamwork: Improve accountability, eliminate silos and get better visibility into progress
• No reiteration: Automatically gathers relevant information and carries forward info year on year
• KPI based reporting: Bespoke reporting dashboards and tools provide snapshots across your entire company
• Shortened process times: Optimises the number one resource available – time – and gives you the momentum to move on to new projects consistently
• Vendor management: Automatically triggers global workflows with BDO when you submit a new authorisation for an assignee
• Global compliance/real-time visibility: Automatically triggers global workflows with BDO when you submit a new authorisation for an assignee

Transform how you manage and administer your mobile workforce with:

• Role based accessibility and responsibility
• Mobile responsive platform
• Organise documents in one place
• Assignment cost projections*
• Real-time reporting/graphical representation: customised dashboards and tableau reporting
• Custom email notifications and document templates
• Single source for assignment-related information such as global tax return authorisation lists
• Bulk upload: assignees, assignments and documents.

Mobile Employee Experience: assignee portal

Employee app that ensures your workforce never miss a deadline

• On the go: accessed on tablet, computer or via mobile app meaning they can complete tasks in the office, travelling, at home or trekking up a mountain
• Pre-populates relevant information and carries forward information year on year
• Tax calendar: check in and verify
• Intelligent tax organisers.

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Assignment management software and compliance in global mobility

It’s the old story: the business wants someone to go on assignment as soon as possible, and the global mobility team find themselves, once again, educating them that things aren’t as simple as buying a flight and sending the person on their way. We all know the technicalities that need to be dealt with before assignments can go ahead, as well as how critical (and time-consuming) it is to get the compliance piece right. Assignment management software (AMS) can be a key enabler for global mobility teams to rise to the challenges posed by the ever-increasing compliance demands.

Where are your assignees? It’s an obvious question and yet one that even now not all companies can answer – and something many found out the hard way at the outset of the pandemic in spring 2020. AMS also allows companies to keep on top of the demographics of their assignment population, enabling you not only to know where your assignees are, but also (crucially for DE&I purposes ) who they are. 

Fundamentally, it is only once you know who and where your assignees are and what information you have on them (and perhaps more importantly, what information you don’t) that you can start considering how you measure up with regards to compliance. From enabling reminders based on key dates (visas/work permits/social security agreements that need renewing) to generating alerts when certain conditions are met, there is a lot that solid tracking can help promote.

Workflow 

Many companies will have informal processes and practices already in place to try and ensure consistency of policy application, but often such processes are not (or cannot be) enforced across the organisation. AMS allows companies to formalise these processes and bring rigour and added efficiency to how the global mobility function works, regardless of where the user is based. From a compliance perspective, relying on structured workflow means that process steps relying on prompt action and target dates being met, like immigration practices, are complied with in a timely fashion.

Workflow design can also bake data privacy into everyday work processes by securing personal data, restricting who has access to it, safeguarding how it is shared, and ensuring users follow the agreed process when dealing with it. Workflow can also involve exception management , allowing mobility teams to identify potential non-compliance issues before they escalate into real trouble.

Data analytics

Harnessing the power of technology has relieved GM teams from scrambling to compile their reports from multiple spreadsheets, and instead relying on professional reporting tools. Indeed, with greater pressure to make data count , the general trend with AMS has shifted from simply reporting on the raw data to using more sophisticated analytics, allowing greater slicing across demographics, policies, costs, time periods etc, and making it easier to report on your KPIs.

Of course, while easier access to data and analytics can be viewed as a positive from a business perspective, it also needs to be considered in the context of data privacy. This means reviewing who has access (and to what information) and the mediums used for communicating the data. Good data analytics design also ensures that personal data is not unnecessarily exposed.

Integrations

Greater adoption of technology across various aspects of global mobility has led to a proliferation of systems for various functions that can be hosted either in-house or by external providers. A wide network of APIs between different systems tends to make life easier for everyone. In addition to gaining efficiencies from eliminating duplicated effort and reducing user errors, there are compliance benefits as well.

From a data privacy perspective, interfaces offer a more secure medium for data transfer than e-mail. They can eliminate unnecessary access to data being transferred, or indeed any access when it is not required. Interfaces can also be used to improve communication with both internal and external stakeholders, and they can work in conjunction with workflow to improve and streamline key compliance processes; for example, around immigration applications or tax filings.

Assignee experience

Another benefit of AMS is how it can involve assignees in the process and allow greater transparency of their assignment. Intuitive assignee portals empower assignees to update their own information; view, share and download assignment documents; get information on company policies and the global mobility function; and make assignment-related requests to the business. Companies can also make other content available to assignees, such as country guides and briefs on immigration, tax and labour law in the host country, with a view to improving awareness of the compliance requirements. Not only do assignee portals improve the overall employee and assignee experience , they also ensure that sensitive information is shared in a secure environment. 

Tax is a significant component of the cost of an assignment, and yet some companies are still happy to use rough estimates when it comes to predicting potential tax liabilities. Assignment management software gives users the ability to calculate more  accurate hypothetical taxes and tailor them to an assignee’s personal circumstances. AMS can also be used to initiate, communicate, and manage the logistics of tax reconciliations and filings with your external tax services providers to ensure timely actions in line with the relevant legislation. 

There is no doubt that stricter compliance requirements will continue being a headache for global mobility professionals. However, with sufficient planning and greater use of technology, they need not be feared. Indeed, it could be argued that, if handled correctly, these challenges could prove to be the impetus for companies to embrace new and better ways of working – as well as showcasing the importance of the GM function within organisations. 

Find out more about ECAEnterprise , as well as our range of online calculators and tools for expatriates . Please get in touch if you’d like a free personal demo or to discuss your requirements.

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Global Assignment Best Practice

• Anne Morris
• 3 October 2019

IN THIS SECTION

When planning and preparing for a global assignment, there are numerous factors that have the potential to contribute to its overall success, with benefits both for your business and for the assignee. The following guide looks at best practice for employers when deploying personnel overseas, from the employee experience to the flexibility of different types of global assignment.

The employee experience in global assignments

A good employer will recognise that at the heart of its business are its people. As such, ensuring a positive employee experience for overseas assignees can be crucial the success of a global assignment.

As an employer responsible for sending an employee overseas, you will have a legal duty of care, not to mention a moral responsibility and vested financial interest, to ensure the wellbeing of that individual. In particular, when planning a global assignment, caretaking the health and safety of the overseas assignee should be paramount.

Any assessment of travel risks must be tailored to the nature of the work to be undertaken, the attributes of the employee and any factors specific to the host destination. The importance of researching the country and region in which the assignee will be working, and keeping abreast of any imminent changes, cannot be underestimated here.

Even relatively safe destinations can quickly become high-risk regions due to health, safety, security, political or social reasons, not to mention the possibility of natural disasters, so it is important to stay fully informed of changing risks and to be able to relay such information to assignees working remotely.

It is also important to educate each overseas assignee in advance of their global assignment about the location in which they will be working, not least arranging security briefings and training on hostile environment awareness for those travelling to high-risk destinations, as well as educating all assignees on any legal and cultural differences, even for low-risk destinations.

Preparing assignees for cultural integration can often be key to ensuring not only the safety and security of these individuals, but also their overall wellbeing and happiness, on both a professional and personal basis. This could include, for example, the use of pre-deployment programs such as cross-cultural training and intensive language classes. Any training and classes could also be extended to family members accompanying the employee on their global assignment.

You may also want to consider putting in place a benefit and support program, both prior to departure and throughout the lifecycle of the assignment, from deployment through to repatriation.

As such, by creating a safe and supported working environment from the outset, this can significantly alleviate the risk of failure and help to avoid early repatriation, ensuring the global assignment is a success for everyone involved.

The use of technology in global assignments

When conducting business on an international scale, this can give rise to a number of challenges, not least in sourcing suitable data to make informed decisions, both in advance and during the lifecycle of a global assignment. Here, the use of technology can play a crucial role in guiding your global mobility policies and management decision-making.

In particular, where implemented effectively and used correctly, data and predictive analytics tools can prove to be invaluable in gaining insight into operational costs and overall return on investment, as well as employee placement and key performance indicators.

In particular, analytics tools can be used in the following ways:

• Cost analytics – to establish a cost model for your global assignment
• Workforce analytics – to connect the talent in your recruiting database to the skillset needed for your global assignments
• Assignee identification analytics – to focus on the cost drivers of sending the right assignees to the right location
• Employee retention analytics – to predict which overseas assignees are at risk of early repatriation or attrition and which candidates, and/or global assignments, are at a higher risk of failure
• Exposure analysis – to quantify the various levels of exposure to any penalties associated with non-compliance

In fact, with the benefit of these types of analytics tools, together with other forms of technology, global mobility is becoming far easier to achieve in the digital age, and to do so successfully.

It can significantly lessen many of the legal and administrative pressures when managing a mobile workforce, especially when it comes to tax and immigration compliance in a highly regulated environment. Furthermore, technology can also play an important role in enhancing the individual performance of overseas assignees.

When planning and preparing for a global assignment, although the focus will primarily be on selecting the right assignee for the particular assignment and location in question, including their individual qualifications and capabilities, by offering the employee the right tools to do their job to the best of their ability, technology can help to maximise the prospects of a successful outcome.

Indeed, by investing in technology, an employer can not only maximise the productivity of an overseas assignee, but also monitor their progress and even measure assignee experience.

Further, the use of technology through, for example, mobile devices and secured wireless networks, can be extremely effective in maintaining regular communication with overseas assignees, ensuring that they don’t feel disconnected from the company or work colleagues back home. This can be crucial in avoiding early repatriation and the potential failure of the global assignment overall.

Needless to say, however, it is vital that you keep abreast of technological advancements, from connectivity to up-to-date software, to ensure that your overseas assignees can carry out their work cost effectively and efficiently, and that the use of technology is aligned to your organisational objectives and overall mobility goals.

The importance of return investment in global assignments

For you as the employer, global assignments can equate to profitable expansion into both new and existing markets, significantly boosting the global revenue, as well as the reputation, of your business. Furthermore, by sending existing employees abroad, as opposed to recruiting overseas, this can help to streamline operations and expedite growth.

That said, cost control can play a key role in the commercial viability of a global assignment, not least when factoring in the potentially significant cost of both deployment and repatriation of the overseas assignee.

However, global assignment management is not only about number crunching. It is equally about the potential return on investment in various other ways. In fact, overseas assignments can be an excellent way of developing top talent within your organisation, by offering key individual employees a career pathway to more senior promotion.

In particular, the international experience can help train promising and ambitious individuals for leadership, managerial and executive roles, as well as giving them invaluable insight and new industry knowledge to help develop your business back in the UK.

Further, for the individual employee, on both a professional and personal basis, the benefits of working abroad can be significant, not least in terms of potential career progression, increased salary or compensation, as well as the possibility of an international travel experience for their whole family.

As such, given that the overall success of the global assignment will inevitably include the successful repatriation and retention of your top talent at the end of the assignment, you will need to consider what initiatives to implement to alleviate the risk of losing key employees.

In addition to the promise of career progression and a suitably senior role to come back to, useful initiatives could include the use of competitive relocation and repatriation packages, ensuring that your overseas assignees are happy to repatriate and return home. As previously indicated, this should also include the cost of suitable benefit and support initiatives to ensure the overall wellbeing and happiness of your employees.

Understandably, you may feel cautious about controlling the cost of a global assignment, but this must be balanced against the need to attract and retain talent to ensure the continuity and success of your business in the long-term.

Flexibility in global assignments

When determining the potential success of a global assignment, you will also need to consider the nature and duration of the task to be undertaken and the best way in which this can be achieved, from the use of frequent business travel and short-term assignments to long-term assignments and relocation. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Needless to say, each of these different types of global assignment has different benefits and risks, although business travel is likely to prove the most straightforward and cost effective choice in many cases. Here, individual employees can attend conferences and meetings, close a deal, sign new business and network. Indeed, networking can be one of the most lucrative ways to support business growth.

Senior executives and managers can also use extended business trips to undertake various different global assignments, including opening a new office or setting up a new division, without the costs associated with other types of global mobility, and without the same personal and practical challenges of relocating to another country.

In respect of short or long-term assignments, these can be a good way of gaining invaluable insight and industry knowledge to help progress your business back in the UK. The long-term global assignment, in particular, can also be extremely effective in establishing a foothold in strategic and emerging markets. This type of assignment can provide new sales opportunities, new customer bases and significantly increased revenue. It can even enhance your reputation and global influence as a corporate organisation.

However, where you are looking to fill skills gaps or to manage operations overseas, you may want to consider the possibility of permanent relocation, not least because this can often prove to be much more cost effective than the traditional long-term assignment with the associated costs of repatriation. That said, any relocation package will need to include sufficient incentive to attract a suitable candidate to move abroad on a permanent basis.

Key take-aways 

The management of global assignments can be one of the hardest areas for employers and HR experts to master, not least when trying to control costs whilst adapting to the shifting demands of the global business environment. As such, there is a very high failure rate for global assignments.

Further, the consequences of an unsuccessful global assignment can be far-reaching for your business, not only in terms of loss of revenue and wasted expenditure, but the potential loss of key personnel and top global talent from within your organisation.

It is, therefore, imperative that you understand and address the following key global assignment success factors:

• Make a full assessment of any travel risks, tailored to the individual assignee, the specific assignment and the host destination in question, keeping abreast of any changes that may impact on this.
• Educate each overseas assignee in advance of their global assignment about the locations in which they will be working, including but not limited to any safety and security issues, as well as any legal and cultural differences.
• Always ensure the overall wellbeing of your overseas assignees at all times, from deployment through to their return home, as such alleviating the risk of early repatriation. This could be through the provision of cross-cultural training, intensive language classes and/or an ongoing benefit and support program.
• Ensure that you adequately incentivise your overseas assignees so as to avoid losing key employees from within your workforce, for example, through attractive relocation and repatriation packages, as well as a suitably senior role to return home to.
• Utilise data and analytics tools to make informed management decisions in respect of global assignments, from cost control to non-compliance.
• Keep abreast of technological advances that may maximise the productivity of an overseas assignee, or otherwise enhance any profitable business growth.
• Consider the flexibility offered by different types of global assignment, from business trips to permanent relocation, not only with regard to the nature and duration of the task to be undertaken, but also with regard to the personal and professional needs of the prospective candidate who may be undertaking this assignment.

Needless to say, this list is not exhaustive, with a plethora of other factors that may come into play when planning and preparing for a global assignment.

Guidance for HR & employers

For advice and guidance on managing  global assignments,  or any aspect of global mobility programme strategy and implementation, contact us .

About DavidsonMorris

As employer solutions lawyers, DavidsonMorris offers a complete and cost-effective capability to meet employers’ needs across UK immigration and employment law, HR and global mobility .

Led by Anne Morris, one of the UK’s preeminent immigration lawyers, and with rankings in The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners , we’re a multi-disciplinary team helping organisations to meet their people objectives, while reducing legal risk and nurturing workforce relations.

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Global Assignments Enhance Employee Development

For the first time in years, building international management experience has appeared as one of the top two reasons for sending employees on international assignments, Brookfield Global Relocation Services (GRS) discovered, based on responses from global mobility professionals representing 143 companies worldwide. Brookfield GRS provides employee relocation, assignment management and mobility-consulting services for multinational organizations.

This finding is borne out in the experience of Joy Hill, global mobility manager at Brown-Forman, the spirits company that produces Jack Daniels and many other well-known brands. Developing high-potential employees and meeting business needs are the top two reasons employees at Brown-Forman are sent on international assignments, she said.

Brookfield’s 2015 Global Mobility Trends Survey report found that the need to move talent internationally is not diminishing (88 percent of respondents expect their expatriate population to either increase or stay the same this year) and that dealing with cost pressures, compliance mandates, measuring return on investment (ROI) and assignees’ spousal needs have become top priorities.

“All of the data suggests that talent will be in short supply in the next five to 10 years and that the mobility of the talent that is available will be important in order to address the talent shortage,” said Gill Aldred, director of consulting services at Brookfield GRS. “Mobility has a role by partnering with talent management in a formal way so that the identification and preparation of good candidates for international assignments is approached with more structure and is supported by the resources it needs to be effective.”

Seventy-seven percent of respondents believe that having international assignment experience has real value. Respondents reported that international assignees are promoted faster (43 percent), achieve higher performance ratings (19 percent) and receive more frequent compensation increases (17 percent) than those without such experience.

Hill found these metrics to ring true at Brown-Forman. “Given that most of our expats are high potentials, I would agree, but I believe it comes down to the organization’s objectives for the expat assignment,” she said. For example, those sent on assignment to fill an immediate business need may not necessarily be in line for a faster promotion or increased compensation, as that action can be viewed as a normal course of business, she added.

International assignments also represent value to the organization, Aldred said. “There are clear advantages to assignees, and by extension to the company, in completing a successful international assignment. Companies can target retention efforts towards those who have gained valuable international experience, which supports a company’s overall strategy to retain high-performing and highly invested-in employees.”

Organizations can also brand themselves as employers of choice for Millennials who actively seek international opportunities, Aldred said.

More Work to Do

While the value of international experience is recognized, only half (49 percent) of mobility practitioners indicated they have an active link to talent management in their organization, and a majority of respondents said they lack talent-based tools related to mobility, such as preassignment candidate assessments and repatriation programs.

More than three-quarters (78 percent) of respondents do not utilize any type of candidate assessment for selecting individuals to go on international assignments. “In terms of ensuring that the company’s high-stakes, high-investment assignments start off with the best possible chance for success, a candidate assessment makes sense,” Aldred said. “For a key strategic leadership role, an employee’s technical skills and experience may be paramount for success, but assessing the employee for the right mix of adaptability and global communication skills is also critical,” she added.

A large majority of respondents said that they have not identified a candidate pool of high-potential, ready, willing and able candidates for international assignments (81 percent); don’t have a formal career-management process in place for assignees (82 percent); and don’t have repatriation programs linked to retaining international assignees (86 percent). Nearly one-quarter (22 percent) reported having no initiatives at all in place to reduce international assignee attrition rates.

“Respondents that reported a formal reporting relationship between mobility and talent rather than only a strong link between the functions also reported a number of positive practices, including more often having formal career-management processes in place and better outcomes in the areas of reduced assignment failure and assignee attrition,” Aldred said.

Cost Pressures, ROI Challenges

When asked about the single biggest mobility challenge that their companies face, 23 percent of respondents cited assignment cost, 22 percent said compliance with host-country laws and 11 percent said career management while on assignment.

Three-quarters (74 percent) indicated that they had been required to reduce international assignment costs within the last year in response to economic pressures.

Even with the mounting pressure to reduce assignment costs, the survey results reveal that many companies lack basic cost-management practices. Only 62 percent of respondents indicated that they track costs during an assignment, and less than half (46 percent) said that a preassignment cost-benefit analysis is required.

Despite the high cost associated with international assignments, a staggering 95 percent of companies don’t measure international assignment ROI, according to the survey. The top reason cited for this oversight by 53 percent of respondents is that they are “not sure how to achieve this.”

The anxiety around calculating the ROI of international assignments has to do with inhibitors such as the lack of data collection and governance processes, Aldred said. Starting ROI evaluation requires strategy and data, and Aldred advised companies to remediate inadequate data collection, tracking and interpretation strategies, and amend governance so that defining, communicating and evaluating assignment objectives is a requirement.

“ROI for international assignments could represent a valuable scorecard metric for the mobility function and one that might be used to arrive at a more nuanced and strategy-friendly balance between the cost and the value of mobility,” she said.

Family Concerns Top Reason for Assignment Refusal, Early Return

Family concerns (38 percent) was the single most cited reason for assignment refusal and for early assignment return. It was also the third most commonly noted reason for assignment failure, after assignees leaving to work for another company and poor job performance. Spousal and partner career issues is another growing concern. Spousal career concerns came in as the second most noted reason for assignment refusal, and just over one-third (35 percent) of respondents indicated that spousal and partner career concerns were having an impact on their ability to attract employees for international assignments.

Emerging Markets in Challenging Locations

International assignments are growing in the same locations that respondents say are the most challenging for assignees and program managers.

The top emerging markets for international assignments—Brazil, China, India—also present the greatest problems, according to respondents, whether it’s immigration, cultural adaptation, and specifically, security in Brazil, environmental health concerns in China and government regulations in India.

Assignees moving to what may be considered a challenging location should be carefully selected and supported, Aldred said. Additional strategies she recommended include:

• Providing mandatory intercultural training.
• Carefully setting expectations for the quality of housing, availability of good schooling and the immigration process.
• Providing high-quality destination support through in-country support partners.
• Including spouses and partners in the preassignment training process.

Roy Maurer is an online editor/manager for SHRM. Follow him @SHRMRoy

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Better evaluate global assignments and make informed decisions Run projections to calculate total tax costs for home and host locations Enter data easily with immediate results in as little as three minutes

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Track business travelers’ cross-border movements through the use of GPS, or if preferred, business travelers can disable GPS and input their travels manually. A system of alerts warns you when a tax event could be on the horizon so you can begin planning to minimize any unintended tax consequences. Our advisory services provide planning for business travelers on a global and national basis.

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Calculations based on real-time data and current tax rules Payroll withholding and social security calculations executed in real time Electronic links to brokers, payroll and equity administration Funding directly from brokers to cover share sales and withholding Integration with equity administrators and existing software platforms

Payroll withholding and social security calculations executed in real time Electronic links to brokers, payroll and equity administration Funding directly from brokers to cover share sales and withholding Integration with equity administrators and existing software platforms

Electronic links to brokers, payroll and equity administration Funding directly from brokers to cover share sales and withholding Integration with equity administrators and existing software platforms

Funding directly from brokers to cover share sales and withholding Integration with equity administrators and existing software platforms

Run projections to calculate total tax costs for home and host locations Enter data easily with immediate results in as little as three minutes

Enables a variety of management reports to be produced Alerts the traveler to contact HR in the event of unintended liabilities or compliance obligations

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The Equus Platform helps you accurately manage all your compliance obligations - from equity transactions and payroll to reporting global compensation for international assignees - we make sure you stay on top of all your compliance requirements.

Get Connected

Integrate with your HR systems and global mobility vendors through the Equus Ecosystem for a seamless, end-to-end assignment experience. This single source of real-time data eliminates the need for manual data entry and ensures data accuracy across multiple platforms.

Elevate the Employee Experience

Give assignees a user-friendly app that give give employees control of their move.

Destination Information

Get in-depth destination information and robust cultural learning tools to help alleviate the stress of an international relocation.

Benchmarking

Witness firsthand how your program stacks up against the competition, with cutting-edge data and insights at your fingertips.

Timeline Management

Make it easy for assignees to track key dates, tasks and deadlines with an intuitive app. Employees can take control of their move with automatic alerts and notifications to make sure they never miss a beat.

Benefit Elections

Provide employees flexible policy options, in addition to core benefits.

Pulse Checks

Gather employee feedback about moves and trips with pulse checks, the tool that makes it easy to send short surveys to workers via the Equus Platorm App.

Assignment Management

Discover how a financial services company modernizes their program with Equus's Assignment Management Solution. 

“With the ability to store all assignment information in one centralized location and easily run reports, the team is in a position to provide meaningful feedback and quickly make program changes to support business requirements in new locations or in support of new practices and policies.”

Oil & Gas Company

The industry leading assignment management solution.

Get started today and transform how you manage international assignments.

How to Troubleshoot ITAS-related Issues With AMS Tools

Timekeepers and coordinators can employ the AMS user search feature to troubleshoot basic problems associated with a user's ITAS access/settings in AMS.

Note: If you are an ITAS timekeeper or coordinator and your AMS homepage does not contain the "AMS User Search" link, please contact the ONE- helpdesk at 1-888-ONE-DHHS (663-3447) or email [email protected]

Log into AMS at https://ams.hhs.gov/ . For quick and easy access to your applications, add this page to your browser favorites or create a desktop shortcut .

On your AMS homepage, click the "AMS User Search" link.

On the "AMS User Search" page, enter your search criteria and click "Search."

• Entries are not case sensitive
• Entering more information limits the number of matching records returned by your search (e.g., complete first and last name)
• Entering less information returns broader results (e.g., last name only)
• Entering a complete HHSID will return a single matching record
• Entering a complete AMS username will return a single matching record

To proceed, click "Agree" on the "Data Protection Policy Statement" pop-up notice.

Troubleshooting Scenario 1: User cannot log into AMS to access ITAS

Under the "Search Result" header, locate the matching user record and look up the user's "AMS Status" (must be "ENABLED") and "SCMS Status" (must be "ACTIVE").

To reactivate a user's AMS status, advise the user to complete the process to re-enable their AMS profile and refer them to the "How to Re-enable a Disabled AMS Profile" job aid for detailed instructions.

To determine what caused a user's deactivation in SCMS and take corrective action (if appropriate), advise the user to contact their local badging office.

Note: For additional information about user status settings, please refer to the appendix.

Troubleshooting Scenario 2: User does not see ITAS link on their AMS homepage

Under the "Search Result" header, locate the matching user record and look up "Roles Assigned" by pointing your cursor at the respective column. In order for the application link to display on the user's AMS homepage, this column must contain an ITAS entry.

If an ITAS entry is missing, please verify the user's role assignment in ITAS and modify if necessary. Any changes synchronize automatically with AMS within 24 hours; if needed sooner, a user's ITAS role can be assigned manually by an AMS administrator with ITAS role assignment permission.

Note: An inactive SCMS status will automatically remove all entries from the "Roles Assigned" column.

Troubleshooting Scenario 3: What ITAS roles are assigned to the user?

Under the "Search Result" header, locate the matching user record and look up "Roles Assigned" by pointing your cursor at the respective column. Each ITAS role assigned shows as a separate line item in the viewing window.

If the listed ITAS roles do not agree with the user's expectation, please verify their role assignment in ITAS and modify if necessary. Any changes synchronize automatically with AMS within 24 hours; if needed sooner, a user's ITAS role can be assigned manually by an AMS administrator with ITAS role assignment permission.

* The user's SCMS status was set to inactive after their AMS status became disabled or suspended

Assignment Management

Managing Assignments has never been easier

• Self Service Cost Estimates
• Live Estimate to Actual Reporting
• Vendor Service Authorisations
• Vendor SLA tracking
• Confidential Moves for Sensitive Cases
• Multiple AssignmentsPer User
• 97% Cybersecurity Risk Reduction
• Document Generation + eSignature
• Live Reporting
• One fee per move
• Free Record Storage
• Free Implementation
• Free HR Users
• APIs Included
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Fast Implementation | Easy To Use | On Demand Support

Benivo works as an extension of your global mobility team, working shoulder-to-shoulder with you on data-driven process improvements, automation, and continuous improvement to deliver your smartest program ever.

Nicole Milman

Learn how Wayfair has implemented a Points-Based Core-Flex system and used Benivo's technology to radically restructure vendor management and deliver massive supply chain efficiencies. Click  here  to access the full show recording.

David Carmichael

Learn how David achieved the holy grail of enhancing employee experience while also delivering substantial cost-savings and program efficiencies at CGI. Click here to access the full show recording.

Maria Bouwsma

Maria Bouwsma, Senior Manager Global Mobility at Liberty Global, discusses how Benivo's technology is supporting relocating new joiners. Click  here  to access the full show recording.

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• Member Communities
• Learning Dashboard
• Materials Library
• GFOA Award Programs
• Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (COA) Program

COA Program - New AMS Login Procedures

The login procedures to GFOA’s Awards Management System (AMS) have been modified slightly to accommodate Award Programs other than the Certificate of Achievement (COA) Program. The one difference is that where previously the username had been the government’s GFOA member ID, the username will now be the government’s GFOA member ID followed by a “dash one”. For example, if the username had been 30012345, it would now be 30012345-1. With the addition of the PAFR program to the AMS, the login procedures have been modified to accommodate up to two user accounts associated with each government.

Logging in to submit an application or request an extension for submitting an application to the COA Program:

• Go to lf.gfoa.org/Forms .
• Enter username.
• Enter password.

Logging in to retrieve result documents:

• Go to lf.gfoa.org/laserfiche .

Resetting password:

• Go to either lf.gfoa.org/Forms or lf.gfoa.org/laserfiche .
• Click “Forgot password?” link.
• Click “Send Recovery Email”.

An email with a link to reset the password will be sent to the primary contact for the account.

Managing Your Government’s AMS Login

The User Management Form in the AMS is used to manage the primary contacts for the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (COA) and Popular Annual Financial Reporting (PAFR) programs. To access the form:

• Login to your government’s account ( lf.gfoa.org/Forms ).
• Click “Start Process” in the blue band at the top of the page.
• Click the green “Start” button to the right of “User Management Form.”

This should open a form like the one below:

Each government has placeholders for two users. Each user is identified by a username, which consists of the government’s GFOA member number followed by a dash and either a 1 or a 2.

An active user will be assigned one or two groups: either COA or PAFR, or both. When a person is assigned to a group, that person becomes GFOA’s primary contact for the awards program that group represents. The primary contact is the person who can login to the AMS, request extensions and submit applications, and who will receive emails relevant to any applications that have been submitted (such as an email indicating a review has been completed that provides a link for retrieving the result documents).

It’s important to note that there can be only one primary contact for each user account, and that a program can only be assigned to one user. In the above example, since the COA program is already assigned to User 1, it could not simultaneously be assigned to User 2.

In the above example, the City participates in GFOA’s Certificate Program. Rory Test is the primary contact for the City. His username to login to the account is 300265610-1.

In the example below, a second user has been added to be the primary contact for the PAFR program:

Here, Rory will be able to login using the username of 300265610-1 (and whatever password he has selected), and Estelle will be able to login using the username of 300265610-2 (and a unique password that she selects). Rory would be able to submit to the Certificate Program, but not to the PAFR Program; Estelle would be able to submit to the PAFR Program, but not to the Certificate Program.

Both groups could be assigned to the same primary contact, in which case the same person would be able to submit to both programs.

Update the Primary Contact for a government’s User Account

Follow the steps below to change or update the primary contact of a government’s user account:

This should open a form like the one below. In this example, we’ll update the primary contact for the COA program from Rory Test to Estelle Test.

4. Click the “Edit” button to the right of Rory’s name. The following form should open:

5. Manually update the email address, first name, and last name to the person who will replace Rory as the primary contact:

6. Click the green “Save changes” button. You should arrive at the following screen:

7. Click “Save Changes” again.

An email will be sent to both Rory and Estelle letting them know that the primary contact for this account has been changed, and Estelle will receive a second email that allows her to login to the account and create a new password.

Adding the PAFR Program to the AMS

Almost all governments in the United States who have previously submitted to the PAFR program will have an Awards Management System (AMS) account with GFOA, as U.S. governments would have established AMS accounts to submit to the Certificate Program (a prerequisite to receive the PAFR Award). Those U.S. governments who have not submitted to the COA or PAFR programs in the past couple of years, or who are submitting to both programs for the first time, as well as Canadian governments may need to register to create an AMS account if one does not currently exist for the government. To register for the first, time follow the instructions on this link .

Adding the PAFR Program for governments who have already established an AMS account:

A government has two options. The PAFR Program could be assigned to User 1 (Rory), who is currently the primary contact for the COA Program, or the PAFR Program could be assigned to User 2, in which case a primary contact would need to be established.

Option 1—Assigning PAFR to User 1

1. Click the “Edit” button to the right of User 1’s (Rory’s) name.

2. Click the drop-down arrow in the field to the left of the green “Add” button.

3. Select “PAFR” from the drop-down menu.

4. Click the green “Add” button. A yellow “PAFR” button will now appear next to the “COA” button.

5. Click the green “Save changes” button on the bottom of the screen.

An email will be sent to Rory alerting him that a new program has been assigned to him.

Option 2—Assigning PAFR to User 2

1. After logging in to your account and opening the User Management Form, click the “Edit” button to the right of User 2:

2. The following form should pop up:

3. Add the email address, first name, and last name of the person who should be the primary contact for the PAFR program.

4. Click the drop-down arrow in the field next to the label “Groups”.

5. Select “PAFR”.

6. Click the green “Add” button. A yellow “PAFR” button should appear next to the label “Groups”:

7. Click the green “Save changes” button at the bottom of the screen. The following screen should appear:

8. Click “Save changes” again.

Emails will be sent to both Rory and Estelle indicating the program assignment changes for the government, and Estelle will receive a second email that will allow her to login with her username (300265610-2) and create a unique password.