FDM Web Site

FDM FAQ

How do I get access to FDM? If registered, click on URL: https://www.fdm.army.mil/FDM (Don't forget the "S"). To be registered as a user, contact your local legal advisor/Ethics Counselor for assistance.
How do I amend my report? After you have eSigned your report, you may amend it by finding it on the My Reports | Reports List tab. Click "Amend". If the report is already complete you may not amend it, but may add supplemental information by clicking on "View" and then the "Comment" or "Attachment" tab. Inform your Ethics Counselor of the additional information.
How do I enlarge or reduce the text size display on the screen?
If your mouse has a “wheel” hold down your CTRL key and turn the wheel to change the font display size or to change the way your browser displays text:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x - Click the View menu, select Text size, and choose the size you prefer.
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.x and 8.x - Click the Page menu, select Text size, and choose the size you prefer.
- Firefox - Click the View menu, select Text size, then select Increase or Decrease until you reach a comfortable text size. (Choose Normal to set the browser back to the default.)
How do I receive FDM emails? You may change your email address in FDM on the My Info | Contact Info screen. See, Making Sure you Receive FDM E-mails.
Can FDM be accessed from home? Once you are registered, you can access FDM using your SmartCard or your Agency User Name and Password, e.g., Army Knowledge Online.
Who should use FDM? Anyone who must file or review an OGE 450, or an OGE 278 report.
Does FDM supply a conversion program to copy my last year's report from other software to FDM? No. However, once you use FDM you can pre-populate your information from a prior year into the current year.
How do I get started? Once you are registered in FDM, you will receive an e-mail notification with login instructions.
How do I register? Contact your local legal advisor/Ethics Counselor for assistance.
If I am a member of the legal community, how do I get access to FDM? The Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO), Deputy DAEOs and MACOM Staff Judge Advocates determine the legal community users of FDM. In FDM, Senior Legal Counsels (SLCs) advise OGE 278 Filers and may take final action on OGE 450s. SLCs may add their Ethics Counselors (ECs) and paralegal assistants (SLC Assistants) to use FDM.
What other roles are there in FDM?

OGE 450 Filer's Assistant
OGE 278 Filer's Assistant
Senior Legal Counsel (SLC) Assistant
Senior Legal Counsel
Ethics Counselor
Supervisor
Agency Administrator
Supervisor´s SLC
450 Certifier
POC

If I am not a supervisor or a filer, how am I registered in FDM?
- Typically, an SLC will assign another attorney in their ethics pool the role of Ethics Counselor.
- Typically, a supervisor will assign an assistant.
- The assistant may be their secretary, XO, or an organization POC.
- Typically, an SLC will assign an assistant (SLC Assistant) who may be a paralegal or secretary.
- A DAEO will assign an attorney the role of SLC.
How does registration take place? Your local legal advisor or Ethics Counselor will ensure that you are properly registered in FDM.
How do I know what roles I have? If you hold more than one role in FDM, you will see a Change button beside your role on the top-left of every FDM page. Changing your role, changes your view of the FDM page and your permissions to access other FDM functions. Click the Change Role button to view and select a different role while using FDM.

What rights do roles have?

Category	Role name	Abbrev	Authorized Activity
Reviewer	Senior Legal Counsel	SLC	Review a report of an assigned filer Annotating a report by creating comments Signing a report Managing their own EC pool Assigning an SLC Assistant Registering supervisors, 450 certifiers and filers Assigning reports
Reviewer	Ethics Counselor	EC	Same as SLC above except cannot: Add their own ECs Assign an SLC Assistant
Assistant	Senior Legal Counsel Assistant	SLC Asst	Same as SLC except cannot: eSign a report Add their own ECs Assign an SLC Assistant
Reviewer	Supervisor	Super	Reviewing a report of an assigned filer Annotating a report by creating comments Signing a report Registering supervisors and filers Changing a filer's relationship to a supervisor Assigning reports
Assistant	Point of Contact	POC	Registering supervisors and 450 Filers Changing a 450 filer's relationship to a supervisor Assigning reports to 450 Filers
Filer	450 Filer 278 Filer	Filer	Create, Amend, Print, attach documents, eSign a report Create Comments
Assistant	Filer Assistant		Create a report
Reviewer	450 Certifier		Reviewing a report of an assigned filer Annotating a report by creating comments Signing a report Managing their own EC pool Assigning a 450 Certifier Assistant Registering supervisors and filers Assigning reports

How many roles can I have? You can have all of the roles because your FDM role is defined by the organizational relationship you have with another person.
What information do I need to assign a person to a role? You need enough information to distinguish the person from all others that are similar. FDM searches the DoD Global Directory Service (GDS) or your agency's directory to search and select a person to be assigned a role in FDM. If a person is already in FDM, the search and select feature will return the information about the person as stored in FDM. Since FDM allows a person to update their contact information, a person's information may be more current than that supplied by GDS.
What happens if someone in my review chain changes because of a change in my location, etc.? To view your review chain in FDM, click the My Info | My Profile tab and then click the Org Unit name link in the in the "I am a member of Org Unit…" area. If one of the listed reviewers is incorrect, contact the listed POC or Supervisor for assistance.
What do I do first as a filer?
1. Login using your SmartCard (CAC or PIV). If you are a non-SmartCard user, login using your Agency User Name and Password.
2. Add a new report.
3. Answer the prompts and move through the report wizard.
What if I have an attachment? Click on attachment tab and add the document.
What are flags? Flags are notices provided by FDM if information is missing or incomplete. There are yellow flags (cautionary) and red flags (action required to remove red flags).
After I submit and eSign my report, how do I check progress? Two features are available for checking progress: Audit Trail and Review Status. The audit trail provides a chronological listing of all activities on a report. If an activity involved the changing of data after the filer submitted the report, then the audit trail provides a glimpse of the old and new data. See question #21 for info on Review Status.
When does the auditing trail start? The audit trail starts after the filer submits a report and includes the date the report was created.
How else can I check progress? Review status shows a report's review progress. It provides a list of all assigned reviewers and what each reviewer has accomplished to date. A reviewer may end his review of a report, may eSign a report, may complete a report, or may submit the report to the DAEO (OGE 278 reports only).
Can I change the report after I have submitted it? Yes, you may amend a report (OGE 450) up until the time the report is marked "Complete" by the Ethics Counselor or 450 Certifier. For the OGE 278 you may change a report up until the time it is "Submitted to the DAEO". The OGE 278 Certifying Authority may undo the submitted to DAEO and return it to a Filer for amendment. Note: If you created a New Entrant and meant to create an Annual (OGE 450) or an Incumbent (OGE 278), you may Add another report of the desired type and prepopulate it with information from the erroneously added report.
Will I have to re-sign a report after I amend it? Yes, after amending, the filer is required to certify their changes and re-sign the report.
Can I add additional information to a report that may not fit anywhere, i.e., information, which may be useful in clarifying my position on an item? Can I do this after I have submitted my report? Yes, a comment can be used to annotate a specific line item or may be used to annotate the report as a whole.
Can I attach a document to the comment? No
Can I reference an Internet address? Yes
How do I make sure the comment is included in the final report as substantive information? Only DAEO, DAEO EC, an SLC, a 450 Certifier, an Ethics Counselor, an SLC/450 Certifier Assistant or a Supervisor may mark the comment a "Comment of Record" to include it in the report.
Can I print out a list of all the comments? Yes, click the View/Print tab.
What other ways can I use a comment? Comments can be used as a reminder for next year or as a communication to a filer's assistant or a reviewer.
Can I get a hardcopy of my report at any time? Yes, click the View/Print tab. All copies of the report printed by a filer will have a watermark providing information about the review status of the report at the time it is printed. This is to reduce the number of "official-looking" documents in circulation.
How does my digital signature look on the report? FDM verifies your identify either through your SmartCard or through your Agency Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). On your report in FDM, the signature box includes your eSignature and FDM User ID. Digital signatures can only be validated on-line. A printed version of a digitally signed report does not provide signature authentication.
What does a red "X" mean? A red X is an indication that the digital signature can not be verified. Verification is accomplished by comparing the signature originally made on a report to the signature re-created at the time the report is opened or accessed. This is a very unlikely condition but if it does happen, the FDM help desk is notified immediately each time someone tries to access the report.