The agency Ethics Counselor is the first point of contact for financial disclosure questions from the agency’s employees. Ethics Counselors work closely with BEGA to support the operation of the Financial Disclosure program.
The Ethics Counselor is responsible for compiling a list of employees designated by the agency as Public Financial Disclosure Statement (“PFDS”) filers and Confidential Financial Disclosure Statement (“CFDS”) filers for the year and sending these lists to BEGA. The Ethics Counselor must also notify the agency’s CFDS filers of their designation, process all employee designation appeals, and issue the agency’s initial adjudication of those appeals.
Ethics Counselors are also responsible for reviewing all CFDS forms, working with filers to make sure the forms are complete and accurate, and submitting a complete and true Confidential Filer Review Report (“CFRR”) to BEGA on or before June 1st each year. As part of this process, Ethics Counselors are responsible for contacting CFDS non-filers, at least once, to inform them of their noncompliance and ask them to file.
Ethics Counselor Financial Disclosure Manual (PDF)
Guide for Ethics Counselors outlining their responsibilities for operation of the Financial Disclosure program.
CFDS Review Quick Guide for Ethics Counselors (PDF)
Guide for Ethics Counselors conducing review of Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports
Financial Disclosure Review Report Quick Guide (PDF)
Guide for Ethics Counselors on reporting the results of their review of Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports to BEGA
Checklist for Agencies (PDF)
Checklist explaining the agency’s responsibilities in the Financial Disclosure program.
Reporting FDS Filers Template (XLSX)
REQUIRED template for agencies to use to report their Confidential and Public filer lists to BEGA. Ethics Counselors should not alter the template and should fill in all required information for each filer.
FDS Agency Designation Procedures (PDF)
Overview of the Financial Disclosure process, guidance for designating employees and distinguishing between Public and Confidential filers, and a timeline of the Financial Disclosure process.
Public Filer Designation Worksheet (PDF)
Job aid to assist agency in determining whether an employee should file a Public Financial Disclosure Statement
Confidential Filer Designation Worksheet (PDF)
Job aid to assist agency in determining whether an employee should file a Confidential Financial Disclosure Statement
