VA Selects USDA as its Federal Shared Service Provider

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has selected the Department of Agriculture (USDA) as its federal shared service provider to deliver a modern financial management solution that will replace the existing system and improve financial transparency and processing across the Department.

“The Department followed a rigorous process in selecting USDA,” said Interim Assistant Secretary for Management and Interim Chief Financial Officer Edward J. Murray. “Demonstrating a truly integrated decision-making process, subject matter experts across VA participated in intense week-long workshops and provided feedback to ensure we selected the right partner for transformation success.” In making this selection, VA also leveraged best practices and lessons learned from Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and others.

Partnering with USDA allows VA to utilize an established and proven IT solution to better serve its financial management needs. This partnership demonstrates VA’s commitment to work with other agency partners to reduce duplication and redundancy across the government, while also improving both the quality and agility of administrative services.

“As a top FY17 VA priority, this effort will increase the transparency, accuracy, timeliness and reliability of VA’s financial information,” said Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson. “It’s critical that VA continues to implement solutions that result in improved care and services to our Veterans with fiscal accountability to American taxpayers.”