As the Defense Department starts the new fiscal year Saturday, it will be pursuing some new business goals. And they'll be accompanied by a new level of accountability for meeting the seven objectives for fiscal 2012.
The Pentagon's Strategic Management Plan is an annual document designed to align DoD's business practices with the overarching goals laid out in the Quadrennial Defense Review, the Pentagon's regular study on military strategy.
One is to increase the department's energy efficiency, both on its bases and among its deployed forces. That follows the recent creation of a new director of operational energy for DoD, and the department's first-ever report on operational energyearlier this year.
Also new on the list is the goal of rebuilding and using end-to-end business processes, a topic the office of the Deputy Chief Management Officer has championed.
And one of last year's workforce goals has been stated differently this year. Last year's plan called for enhancing the civilian workforce. This year's version aims at "rightsizing" the mix between military, civilian and contractor personnel during a time of constrained resources.
Other goals include:
•Strengthening financial management,
•Building secure and agile information technology capabilities,
•Increasing the buying power of the department and
•Creating agile business operations that support contingency missions
Some of the areas are updates to goals in previous years' plans, but there are also some new priorities on this year's list.
Also this week, DoD will officially dismantle the agency that was in some ways the forerunner to the Deputy Chief Management Officer. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates identified the closure of the Business Transformation Agency as part of the efficiency initiatives introduced last year.
-Jared Serbu, FederalNewsRadio.com
READ MORE...
Showing posts with label BTA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BTA. Show all posts
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
DoD ERP implementation woes include feeder systems
Worries about the Defense Department's implementation of enterprise resource planning systems increasingly encompasses data quality from feeder systems.
The Army has hired an independent auditor to examine its financial management ERP, the General Fund Enterprise Business System, for whether "we are using it in a way to include the feeder systems that's auditable," said Robert Hale, the DoD comptroller, during a July 27 Senate hearing.
Hale said plans exist to do a similar check with the Navy "in the context of a major defense acquisition program" and later with the Air Force ERP, the Defense Enterprise Accounting and Management System.
Jamie Morin, the Air Force comptroller, told the committee that DEAMS detects bad data from feeder systems more readily than legacy systems. DEAMS "told us thousands of transactions were not meeting standards, which instantly brought the level of management attention to fix the problem," he said.
Meanwhile, when parts deemed worth saving from the to-be-shuttered Business Transformation Agency are moved into the office of the Defense Department deputy chief management officer, the modernized financial system the BTA has been using will go on hiatus for a while, DCMO Elizabeth McGrath said.
The financial system, the Defense Agencies Initiative, would be an anomaly among secretary of defense offices were the DCMO to start utilizing it immediately, McGrath said before the subcommittee.
But the plan is not to shutter DAI, McGrath said. "We're moving to DAI. We're not doing it today, because I'm a component of the overall OSD budget," she added.
-David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT.com
READ MORE...
The Army has hired an independent auditor to examine its financial management ERP, the General Fund Enterprise Business System, for whether "we are using it in a way to include the feeder systems that's auditable," said Robert Hale, the DoD comptroller, during a July 27 Senate hearing.
Hale said plans exist to do a similar check with the Navy "in the context of a major defense acquisition program" and later with the Air Force ERP, the Defense Enterprise Accounting and Management System.
Jamie Morin, the Air Force comptroller, told the committee that DEAMS detects bad data from feeder systems more readily than legacy systems. DEAMS "told us thousands of transactions were not meeting standards, which instantly brought the level of management attention to fix the problem," he said.
Meanwhile, when parts deemed worth saving from the to-be-shuttered Business Transformation Agency are moved into the office of the Defense Department deputy chief management officer, the modernized financial system the BTA has been using will go on hiatus for a while, DCMO Elizabeth McGrath said.
The financial system, the Defense Agencies Initiative, would be an anomaly among secretary of defense offices were the DCMO to start utilizing it immediately, McGrath said before the subcommittee.
But the plan is not to shutter DAI, McGrath said. "We're moving to DAI. We're not doing it today, because I'm a component of the overall OSD budget," she added.
-David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT.com
READ MORE...
Thursday, June 30, 2011
DoD business systems oversight not good enough, says GAO
Business systems oversight at the Defense Department continues to fall short, says the Government Accountability Office in a June 29 report.
According to data from the Deputy Chief Management Officer, the Defense Department has budgeted $23.58 billion on business systems in the current fiscal year, which ends Oct. 1. The GAO report cites a different figure, that of $17.4 billion, but also notes that DoD business system reporting mechanisms are inconsistent from one to the other.
-David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT.com
Read more: DoD business systems oversight not good enough, says GAO - FierceGovernmentIT http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/dod-business-systems-oversight-not-good-enough-says-gao/2011-06-30?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal#ixzz1Qn3J3KvL
According to data from the Deputy Chief Management Officer, the Defense Department has budgeted $23.58 billion on business systems in the current fiscal year, which ends Oct. 1. The GAO report cites a different figure, that of $17.4 billion, but also notes that DoD business system reporting mechanisms are inconsistent from one to the other.
-David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT.com
Read more: DoD business systems oversight not good enough, says GAO - FierceGovernmentIT http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/dod-business-systems-oversight-not-good-enough-says-gao/2011-06-30?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal#ixzz1Qn3J3KvL
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Air Force in danger of missing 2017 deadline for clean audit
The Air Force's chances of being able to produce a clean audit opinion by 2017--the current congressional mandate for the entire Defense Department--could be running into trouble thanks to implementation of a modernized financial system going wrong.
The Air Force officially began (kicked off Milestone A) in April 2005 implementation of a financial management system known as the Defense Enterprise Accounting and Management Systems, hiring Accenture (NYSE: ACN) in 2006 on a 5-year, $79 million contract to implement the first of three planned DEAMS increments.
In May 2010, the report says, DEAMS crossed a threshold since it was unable to achieve a full deployment decision within 5 years after funds were first obligated, a statutory obligation.
As a result, the Air Force has folded elements from the planned second increment into the first increment and canceled the third increment, the report says.
"All offices recognize DEAMS must receive the authority to field its current capability beyond Scott AFB or risk non-compliance with Congressional mandate for CFO Act by 2017," the report adds.
Since undergoing a "critical program change" as a result of its failure to attain full deployment, DEAMS has been designated as a trial program for realignment under the Business Capability Lifecycle, the report states. BCL is a methodology developed by the Business Transformation Agency that emphasizes prototyping and is favored by Ashton Carter, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.
-David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT.com
READ MORE...
The Air Force officially began (kicked off Milestone A) in April 2005 implementation of a financial management system known as the Defense Enterprise Accounting and Management Systems, hiring Accenture (NYSE: ACN) in 2006 on a 5-year, $79 million contract to implement the first of three planned DEAMS increments.
In May 2010, the report says, DEAMS crossed a threshold since it was unable to achieve a full deployment decision within 5 years after funds were first obligated, a statutory obligation.
As a result, the Air Force has folded elements from the planned second increment into the first increment and canceled the third increment, the report says.
"All offices recognize DEAMS must receive the authority to field its current capability beyond Scott AFB or risk non-compliance with Congressional mandate for CFO Act by 2017," the report adds.
Since undergoing a "critical program change" as a result of its failure to attain full deployment, DEAMS has been designated as a trial program for realignment under the Business Capability Lifecycle, the report states. BCL is a methodology developed by the Business Transformation Agency that emphasizes prototyping and is favored by Ashton Carter, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.
-David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT.com
READ MORE...
Friday, January 28, 2011
GAO plumps for more DCMO role definition
Financial management improvement at the Defense Department--a long standing goal--requires the involvement of senior Pentagon officials with authority enough to address issues that cut across military services, says the Government Accountability Office in a new report.
The report, dated Jan. 26, says that the department has indeed taken steps to involve the deputy chief management officer and military chief management officers (who are all also service under secretaries) by placing them on the governance board of the Financial Improvement Audit Readiness Directorate. But, the Pentagon has yet to define their specific roles and when they are expected to become involved in problem resolution, the report adds.
The report also suggests that for a goal of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' efficiency drive, namely an initiative to reduce bureaucracy and instill a culture of cost-consciousness and restraint, to become institutionalized over the long term, the DCMO and the DoD CMO (the under secretary) will need specific roles.
-David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT.com
READ MORE...
The report, dated Jan. 26, says that the department has indeed taken steps to involve the deputy chief management officer and military chief management officers (who are all also service under secretaries) by placing them on the governance board of the Financial Improvement Audit Readiness Directorate. But, the Pentagon has yet to define their specific roles and when they are expected to become involved in problem resolution, the report adds.
The report also suggests that for a goal of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' efficiency drive, namely an initiative to reduce bureaucracy and instill a culture of cost-consciousness and restraint, to become institutionalized over the long term, the DCMO and the DoD CMO (the under secretary) will need specific roles.
-David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT.com
READ MORE...
Today's GAO Publication
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released the following correspondence:
Defense Business Transformation: DOD Needs to Take Additional Actions to Further Define Key Management Roles, Develop Measurable Goals, and Align Planning Efforts.
GAO-11-181R, January 26.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-181R
Monday, November 08, 2010
DoD IG blasts Army LMP
The Defense Department inspector general is calling into question an Army Materiel Command implementation of a $1.1 billion enterprise resource planning effort known as the Logistics Modernization Program.
LMP is an installation of SAP software by Computer Sciences Corp, which began work in December 1999. The inspector general says, in a report dated Nov. 2, that the system doesn't record financial data at the transaction level, meaning that the Army Working Capital Fund cannot receive an unqualified audit opinion.
Defense Department accounting is notoriously messy, with auditors unable to reconcile DoD or military service financial statements. The department says it can have clean books by 2017, provided that auditing guidelines are modified.
Because the service will have to spend additional money on top of the $1.1 billion it already spent on LMP through fiscal 2009 to capture transactional data, report author Mary Ugone, deputy inspector general for auditing, recommended that the Army suspend further deployment of LMP. It's a recommendation that the Pentagon comptroller and the deputy chief management officer disagreed with and CSC announced on Nov. 3 the third and final phase of LMP implementation.
Ugone also recommended that the Pentagon conduct an analysis of alternatives to determine whether it might be more cost-effective to cancel LMP and look at alternative solutions in order "to obtain DoD compliance with the U.S. Government Standards General Ledger requirements." That's also a recommendation that the comptroller and deputy chief management officer disagreed with.
However, Pentagon officials did say they will ponder the future direction of LMP and issue an acquisition decision memorandum. A September meeting of the DoD investment review board also required the Army to come up with an overall Army ERP strategy by this December, the report states.
LMP will be subject to a review by the Office of Management and Budget as part of an evaluation of federal financial management system projects, the report adds.
-David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT.com
READ MORE...
- download the report, D-2011-015 (.pdf)
LMP is an installation of SAP software by Computer Sciences Corp, which began work in December 1999. The inspector general says, in a report dated Nov. 2, that the system doesn't record financial data at the transaction level, meaning that the Army Working Capital Fund cannot receive an unqualified audit opinion.
Defense Department accounting is notoriously messy, with auditors unable to reconcile DoD or military service financial statements. The department says it can have clean books by 2017, provided that auditing guidelines are modified.
Because the service will have to spend additional money on top of the $1.1 billion it already spent on LMP through fiscal 2009 to capture transactional data, report author Mary Ugone, deputy inspector general for auditing, recommended that the Army suspend further deployment of LMP. It's a recommendation that the Pentagon comptroller and the deputy chief management officer disagreed with and CSC announced on Nov. 3 the third and final phase of LMP implementation.
Ugone also recommended that the Pentagon conduct an analysis of alternatives to determine whether it might be more cost-effective to cancel LMP and look at alternative solutions in order "to obtain DoD compliance with the U.S. Government Standards General Ledger requirements." That's also a recommendation that the comptroller and deputy chief management officer disagreed with.
However, Pentagon officials did say they will ponder the future direction of LMP and issue an acquisition decision memorandum. A September meeting of the DoD investment review board also required the Army to come up with an overall Army ERP strategy by this December, the report states.
LMP will be subject to a review by the Office of Management and Budget as part of an evaluation of federal financial management system projects, the report adds.
-David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT.com
READ MORE...
- download the report, D-2011-015 (.pdf)
Friday, October 08, 2010
Today's GAO Publication
DOD Business Transformation: Improved Management Oversight of Business System Modernization Efforts Needed. GAO-11-53, October 7.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-53
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1153high.pdf
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-53
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d1153high.pdf
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Gates announces major cuts at Defense
Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday said the department would cut funding for contractors, freeze hiring for all but critical jobs, eliminate three major organizations and propose cutting at least 150 senior executive service positions and 50 general and flag officer positions during the next two years as part of a wide-ranging effort to reduce duplication and overhead in military organizations.
Specifically, Gates has tasked the military services with finding $100 billion in overhead savings during the next five years. The services will be able to keep the savings they generate and reinvest the money in warfighting and modernization programs.
He said Monday he also has authorized each military department to consider consolidating or closing bases and facilities where they see fit.
In addition, Gates said the Pentagon would eliminate entire organizations, including the Business Transformation Agency. The agency, with a staff of 360 workers and an annual budget of $340 million, was created in 2006 to modernize the department's business practices but it had shifted its focus to daily oversight of individual acquisition programs. Its responsibilities now will be shifted to the deputy chief management officer.
-Katherine McIntire Peters, GovExec.com
READ MORE...
Specifically, Gates has tasked the military services with finding $100 billion in overhead savings during the next five years. The services will be able to keep the savings they generate and reinvest the money in warfighting and modernization programs.
He said Monday he also has authorized each military department to consider consolidating or closing bases and facilities where they see fit.
In addition, Gates said the Pentagon would eliminate entire organizations, including the Business Transformation Agency. The agency, with a staff of 360 workers and an annual budget of $340 million, was created in 2006 to modernize the department's business practices but it had shifted its focus to daily oversight of individual acquisition programs. Its responsibilities now will be shifted to the deputy chief management officer.
-Katherine McIntire Peters, GovExec.com
READ MORE...
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Congress turns up heat on DoD business systems
It's been five years since Congress fired its first salvo at the Defense Department's problematic business systems. Now the Pentagon is getting ready to deal with the second shot across the bow to try to address the continued poorly performing business systems modernization programs.
Lawmakers in the fiscal 2010 Defense Authorization bill are requiring DoD's chief management officer to certify that any business system the department will spend more than $100 million over the life of the application has gone through business process reengineering and meets the business system enterprise architecture.
"Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the appropriate chief management officer for each defense business system modernization approved by the Defense Business Systems Management Committee before the date of the enactment of this Act that will have a total cost in excess of $100 million shall review such defense business system modernization to determine whether or not appropriate business process reengineering efforts have been undertaken to ensure that the business process to be supported by such defense business system modernization will be as streamlined and efficient as practicable; and the need to tailor commercial-off-the-shelf systems to meet unique requirements or incorporate unique interfaces has been eliminated or reduced to the maximum extent practicable," Public Law 111-84 states.
If the chief management officer finds that the programs do not align with the EA or have not done business process reengineering, the CMO must require a new project plan, and they could
restructure or end the program all together.
"Congress is serious," says Beth McGrath, DoD acting deputy chief management officer.
"Someone needs to sign on a piece of paper that says 'yes system X did adequate, sufficient business changing business process engineering.' Because if we don't, we will end up with IT systems that aren't interoperable, don't have data standardization or a robust architecture behind them. We will end up with an IT system that people don't like and will not use because it doesn't deliver the outcomes they are looking for."
McGrath, who spoke at a recent lunch sponsored by the Northern Virginia chapter of AFCEA, says DoD must do business process reengineering because otherwise they are just putting money toward an IT system that doesn't meet its mission needs.
This is the latest attempt by Congress to get DoD to improve how they manage and implement their business systems. In November 2004, lawmakers passed a provision in the Defense authorization bill that said that the DoD comptroller would be fined $5,000 and face jail time of up to two-years for any program that doesn't comply with the business systems architecture. Congress tied DoD progress to the Antideficiency Act, which makes it illegal for agencies to spend money on projects outside of the purposes the funding was intended for.
McGrath says DoD's history is not good with large scale business systems. The Defense Integrated Human Management Resources System (DIMHRS) is a perfect example of DoD's shortfalls.
The Pentagon has spent more than $1 billion over the last decade and only in the last year decided not to implement a one-size fits all pay and personnel system.
McGrath says each of the services will be expected to implement the standards or core functions within their own systems.
In the 2010 DoD authorization bill, Congress required DoD to create a DIMHRS transition council to oversee the implementation of the system standards at the services.
Doug Webster, the DoD Business Transformation Agency's deputy director, says DoD does not yet know how many business systems will be affected by the new congressional mandate. BTA's mission is to oversee business transformation systems and deliver enterprisewide capabilities.
"It remains to be seen yet how it's implemented in terms of governance process through investment review board and ultimately the Defense Business Systems Management Committee," he says. "But I think the words in the law are there to make this a very rigorous process."
Webster speaking at an event sponsored by IAC yesterday, says the other thing the provision will do is force DoD to stop trying to change vendor software to meet their neeeds.
"We see folks coming for request for funding with a count of reports, interfaces and various customizations of software in the order of a 1,000 or more," he says. "That is clear evidence that there has not been a very significant degree of business process engineering. My belief is based on the statute that we will see some changes to that."
Another way the military is trying to overcome these long-standing challenges is by standardizing 15 specific business functions.
Webster said these include functions such as "procure-to-pay," "hire-to-retire" and "budget-to-report."
"We are looking at all of those, but seeking to prioritize the amount of depth we go into in those in terms of those that will provide the greatest payback in terms of investment, time in building out standards and building out content related to those processes in the business processes architecture," he says. "I think it's clear to say 'hire-to-retire' and 'procure-to-pay' are two very important ones that we will be putting near term attention to."
Webster says the end goal is improve the data interoperability and communication of these 15 functions across all of DoD.
-Jason Miller, FederalNewsRadio.com
READ MORE or LISTEN HERE...
Lawmakers in the fiscal 2010 Defense Authorization bill are requiring DoD's chief management officer to certify that any business system the department will spend more than $100 million over the life of the application has gone through business process reengineering and meets the business system enterprise architecture.
"Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the appropriate chief management officer for each defense business system modernization approved by the Defense Business Systems Management Committee before the date of the enactment of this Act that will have a total cost in excess of $100 million shall review such defense business system modernization to determine whether or not appropriate business process reengineering efforts have been undertaken to ensure that the business process to be supported by such defense business system modernization will be as streamlined and efficient as practicable; and the need to tailor commercial-off-the-shelf systems to meet unique requirements or incorporate unique interfaces has been eliminated or reduced to the maximum extent practicable," Public Law 111-84 states.
If the chief management officer finds that the programs do not align with the EA or have not done business process reengineering, the CMO must require a new project plan, and they could
restructure or end the program all together.
"Congress is serious," says Beth McGrath, DoD acting deputy chief management officer.
"Someone needs to sign on a piece of paper that says 'yes system X did adequate, sufficient business changing business process engineering.' Because if we don't, we will end up with IT systems that aren't interoperable, don't have data standardization or a robust architecture behind them. We will end up with an IT system that people don't like and will not use because it doesn't deliver the outcomes they are looking for."
McGrath, who spoke at a recent lunch sponsored by the Northern Virginia chapter of AFCEA, says DoD must do business process reengineering because otherwise they are just putting money toward an IT system that doesn't meet its mission needs.
This is the latest attempt by Congress to get DoD to improve how they manage and implement their business systems. In November 2004, lawmakers passed a provision in the Defense authorization bill that said that the DoD comptroller would be fined $5,000 and face jail time of up to two-years for any program that doesn't comply with the business systems architecture. Congress tied DoD progress to the Antideficiency Act, which makes it illegal for agencies to spend money on projects outside of the purposes the funding was intended for.
McGrath says DoD's history is not good with large scale business systems. The Defense Integrated Human Management Resources System (DIMHRS) is a perfect example of DoD's shortfalls.
The Pentagon has spent more than $1 billion over the last decade and only in the last year decided not to implement a one-size fits all pay and personnel system.
McGrath says each of the services will be expected to implement the standards or core functions within their own systems.
In the 2010 DoD authorization bill, Congress required DoD to create a DIMHRS transition council to oversee the implementation of the system standards at the services.
Doug Webster, the DoD Business Transformation Agency's deputy director, says DoD does not yet know how many business systems will be affected by the new congressional mandate. BTA's mission is to oversee business transformation systems and deliver enterprisewide capabilities.
"It remains to be seen yet how it's implemented in terms of governance process through investment review board and ultimately the Defense Business Systems Management Committee," he says. "But I think the words in the law are there to make this a very rigorous process."
Webster speaking at an event sponsored by IAC yesterday, says the other thing the provision will do is force DoD to stop trying to change vendor software to meet their neeeds.
"We see folks coming for request for funding with a count of reports, interfaces and various customizations of software in the order of a 1,000 or more," he says. "That is clear evidence that there has not been a very significant degree of business process engineering. My belief is based on the statute that we will see some changes to that."
Another way the military is trying to overcome these long-standing challenges is by standardizing 15 specific business functions.
Webster said these include functions such as "procure-to-pay," "hire-to-retire" and "budget-to-report."
"We are looking at all of those, but seeking to prioritize the amount of depth we go into in those in terms of those that will provide the greatest payback in terms of investment, time in building out standards and building out content related to those processes in the business processes architecture," he says. "I think it's clear to say 'hire-to-retire' and 'procure-to-pay' are two very important ones that we will be putting near term attention to."
Webster says the end goal is improve the data interoperability and communication of these 15 functions across all of DoD.
-Jason Miller, FederalNewsRadio.com
READ MORE or LISTEN HERE...
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Recent GAO Publications
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued the following publications:
Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request: U.S. Government Accountability Office.
GAO-09-699T, May 21
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-699T
Effect of Personnel Reform on the Federal Aviation Administration's Budget.
GAO-09-645R, May 14.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-645R
Designated Federal Entities: Survey of Governance Practices and the Inspector General Role.
GAO-09-270, April 20.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-270
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09270high.pdf
Foreign Assistance: Measures to Prevent Inadvertent Payments to Terrorists under Palestinian Aid Programs Have Been Strengthened, but Some Weaknesses Remain.
GAO-09-622, May 19
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-622
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09622high.pdf
DOD Business Systems Modernization: Recent Slowdown in Institutionalizing Key Management Controls Needs to Be Addressed.
GAO-09-586, May 18.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-586
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09586high.pdf
Financial Audit: Congressional Award Foundation's Fiscal Years 2008 and 2007 Financial Statements.
GAO-09-652, May 15.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-652
Appropriations Decisions:
B-316860, National Transportation Safety Board--Application of Section
1072 of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (41 U.S.C. sect.
254c) to Real Property Leases, April 29, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/316860.htm
Statutory language authorizing the National Transportation Safety Board to "enter into such contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, and other transactions as may be necessary" to carry out its functions and duties permits the agency to enter into leases of real property. The 1994 recodification of that provision omitting the word "leases" did not change the provision's meaning.
Under 41 U.S.C. sect. 254c, the phrase "acquisition of property" includes leases of real property. Accordingly, agencies with authority to lease real property may enter into contracts for up to 5 years for the lease of real property using fiscal year appropriations if the conditions of 41 U.S.C. sect. 254c are met.
Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request: U.S. Government Accountability Office.
GAO-09-699T, May 21
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-699T
Effect of Personnel Reform on the Federal Aviation Administration's Budget.
GAO-09-645R, May 14.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-645R
Designated Federal Entities: Survey of Governance Practices and the Inspector General Role.
GAO-09-270, April 20.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-270
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09270high.pdf
Foreign Assistance: Measures to Prevent Inadvertent Payments to Terrorists under Palestinian Aid Programs Have Been Strengthened, but Some Weaknesses Remain.
GAO-09-622, May 19
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-622
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09622high.pdf
DOD Business Systems Modernization: Recent Slowdown in Institutionalizing Key Management Controls Needs to Be Addressed.
GAO-09-586, May 18.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-586
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d09586high.pdf
Financial Audit: Congressional Award Foundation's Fiscal Years 2008 and 2007 Financial Statements.
GAO-09-652, May 15.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-652
Appropriations Decisions:
B-316860, National Transportation Safety Board--Application of Section
1072 of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (41 U.S.C. sect.
254c) to Real Property Leases, April 29, 2009
http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/316860.htm
Statutory language authorizing the National Transportation Safety Board to "enter into such contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, and other transactions as may be necessary" to carry out its functions and duties permits the agency to enter into leases of real property. The 1994 recodification of that provision omitting the word "leases" did not change the provision's meaning.
Under 41 U.S.C. sect. 254c, the phrase "acquisition of property" includes leases of real property. Accordingly, agencies with authority to lease real property may enter into contracts for up to 5 years for the lease of real property using fiscal year appropriations if the conditions of 41 U.S.C. sect. 254c are met.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Today's GAO Publication
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released the following report:
Defense Business Transformation: Status of Department of Defense Efforts to Develop a Management Approach to Guide Business Transformation.
GAO-09-272R, January 9.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-272R
Defense Business Transformation: Status of Department of Defense Efforts to Develop a Management Approach to Guide Business Transformation.
GAO-09-272R, January 9.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-272R
Monday, November 03, 2008
Today's GAO Publication
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released the following presentation:
"Transforming DOD Business Operations," by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the Defense Finance 2008 conference. GAO-09-160CG, October 27, 2008 [slides]
http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d09160cg.pdf
"Transforming DOD Business Operations," by Gene L. Dodaro, acting comptroller general, before the Defense Finance 2008 conference. GAO-09-160CG, October 27, 2008 [slides]
http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d09160cg.pdf
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
DoD outlines role of the deputy chief management officer
The Defense Department last week detailed the functions of the deputy chief management officer.
The directive outlines 10 areas the deputy will focus on assisting the chief management officer, who is the deputy secretary of defense.
The deputy CMO will suggest methodologies and measurement criteria to better synchronize, integrate and coordinate DoD's business operations; develop and maintain the DoD Strategic Management Plan; and advise on performance goals and measures and assessing progress against those goals.
DoD's directive also says the deputy will be the Capability Portfolio Manager for the Corporate Management and Support Portfolio; oversee the functions of the Performance Improvement Officer and ensure that business transformation policies and programs are designed and managed to improve performance standards, economy and efficiency and that the Defense Business Transformation Agency pays close attention to DoD's requirements.
DoD for a long time had rejected the idea that it needs a chief management officer despite Congress and the Government Accountability Office calling for one.
DoD finally relented in September 2007 by naming Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England the CMO.
For more information: Deputy Chief Management Officer (DCMO) of the Department of Defense Directive (pdf)
The directive outlines 10 areas the deputy will focus on assisting the chief management officer, who is the deputy secretary of defense.
The deputy CMO will suggest methodologies and measurement criteria to better synchronize, integrate and coordinate DoD's business operations; develop and maintain the DoD Strategic Management Plan; and advise on performance goals and measures and assessing progress against those goals.
DoD's directive also says the deputy will be the Capability Portfolio Manager for the Corporate Management and Support Portfolio; oversee the functions of the Performance Improvement Officer and ensure that business transformation policies and programs are designed and managed to improve performance standards, economy and efficiency and that the Defense Business Transformation Agency pays close attention to DoD's requirements.
DoD for a long time had rejected the idea that it needs a chief management officer despite Congress and the Government Accountability Office calling for one.
DoD finally relented in September 2007 by naming Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England the CMO.
For more information: Deputy Chief Management Officer (DCMO) of the Department of Defense Directive (pdf)
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Defense comptroller leaves for industry job
The Defense Department's top financial official stepped down last week for a job in private industry, after more than four years in the position.
Defense comptroller Tina Jonas' last day was Sept. 26, said Cmdr. Darryn James, a Pentagon spokesman. She started her new job as director of operations, planning and analysis for Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. on Monday, a company spokeswoman confirmed.
Career civil servant Kevin Scheid "will keep things running" until a new comptroller is nominated and confirmed, James said. Scheid also will retain his duties as deputy comptroller for strategy, capabilities and acquisition.
-Bob Brewin, GovExec.com
READ MORE...
Defense comptroller Tina Jonas' last day was Sept. 26, said Cmdr. Darryn James, a Pentagon spokesman. She started her new job as director of operations, planning and analysis for Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. on Monday, a company spokeswoman confirmed.
Career civil servant Kevin Scheid "will keep things running" until a new comptroller is nominated and confirmed, James said. Scheid also will retain his duties as deputy comptroller for strategy, capabilities and acquisition.
-Bob Brewin, GovExec.com
READ MORE...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Bill would expand management officers' roles
The fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill, S.3001, under consideration by the Senate today would assign chief management officers (CMOs) in each military department to lead the Defense Department's business transformation efforts.
In addition to giving DOD permission to continue major programs and operations, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, S. 3001 would direct DOD’s deputy CMO to become vice chairman of the Defense Business Systems Management Committee, which advises the Defense secretary on policies, procedures and activities for business process improvement. The 2008 authorization bill created the deputy CMO position.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England is chairman of the management committee. Last year, DOD officials appointed him to be the department’s first CMO after initially opposing establishment of the position.
In the past, the Government Accountability Office has recommended in audits and congressional hearings that DOD appoint a full-time CMO to focus on more effective management and business transformation because DOD has so many programs on GAO’s high-risk list. GAO has cited serious problems in DOD’s financial management, contract management and weapons system acquisition, among other activities.
The 2009 defense bill would direct each military agency to implement a business transformation plan, an enterprise business systems architecture and a transition plan under the leadership of its CMO. Each agency would establish an Office of Business Transformation to help the CMO carry out the initiative.
-Mary Mosquera, FCW.com
READ MORE...
In addition to giving DOD permission to continue major programs and operations, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, S. 3001 would direct DOD’s deputy CMO to become vice chairman of the Defense Business Systems Management Committee, which advises the Defense secretary on policies, procedures and activities for business process improvement. The 2008 authorization bill created the deputy CMO position.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England is chairman of the management committee. Last year, DOD officials appointed him to be the department’s first CMO after initially opposing establishment of the position.
In the past, the Government Accountability Office has recommended in audits and congressional hearings that DOD appoint a full-time CMO to focus on more effective management and business transformation because DOD has so many programs on GAO’s high-risk list. GAO has cited serious problems in DOD’s financial management, contract management and weapons system acquisition, among other activities.
The 2009 defense bill would direct each military agency to implement a business transformation plan, an enterprise business systems architecture and a transition plan under the leadership of its CMO. Each agency would establish an Office of Business Transformation to help the CMO carry out the initiative.
-Mary Mosquera, FCW.com
READ MORE...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Pentagon's $1 Trillion Problem
The defense department has spent billions to fix its antiquated financial systems. So why does the Pentagon still have no idea where its money goes?
Since 2004, the Pentagon has spent roughly $16 billion annually to maintain and modernize the military's business systems, but most are as unreliable as ever—even as the surge in defense spending is creating more room for error. The basic defense budget for 2007 was $439.3 billion, up 48 percent from 2001, excluding the vast additional sums appropriated for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to federal regulators and current and former Pentagon officials, the accounting process is so obsolete and error prone that it's virtually impossible to tell where much of this money ends up. While the department's brass has made a few patchwork improvements, billions are still unaccounted for. The problem is so deeply rooted that, 18 years after Congress required major federal agencies to be audited, the Pentagon still can't be. (Read a chronology of efforts to modernize the military's financial systems.)
"In the Defense Department, what you have now are material weaknesses that are in every single area, in every part of the department, so deep and so wide you do not really have any way of figuring out where money is being spent," says Linda Bilmes, a federal budget expert at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
According to David Walker, who recently left his post as head of the Government Accountability Office, the failure of the Pentagon's outdated and incompatible systems to keep tabs on expenditures—even as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan eat up an ever-bigger chunk of the federal budget—puts several Defense Department agencies high on the G.A.O.'s list of federal programs that are mismanaged and prone to fraud, waste, and abuse.
Since the scandal in 1985, which revealed that the Navy paid Lockheed $640 each for airplane toilet seats, Congress, military leaders, and regulators have agreed that the Defense Department's internal accounting system is in shambles. What's startling is the scope of the problem and the government's seeming inability to fix it. Over the past two decades, the Pentagon has repeatedly tried to design new computer systems to replace the antiquated ones. Even today, new incompatible financial systems continue to proliferate within the services, contrary to directives from the secretary of Defense's office.
The dysfunction stems in part from the traditional independence of the military branches. Over several decades, they have cobbled together separate processes for identical functions, resulting in the uncontrolled growth of more than 4,000 accounting, financial, and inventory systems. Their names form an acronym soup: CAPS, Stanfins, IAPS, Somards, Samms, Mocas, HQARS, Stars. The department's primary system for handling weapons contracts and payments dates from 1958; a costly attempt to replace it was abandoned in 2002 as a failure. The Army's notoriously inaccurate main accounting system was created in 1966.
Since 2005, the Pentagon has been carrying out what it says is the most comprehensive reform ever. Undersecretary of Defense Tina Jonas, who is now the comptroller and chief financial officer, is heading up an elaborate effort—once again—to develop compatible systems to share information seamlessly. A 2007 department report foresees the Pentagon becoming "as nimble, adaptive, flexible, and accountable as any organization in the world."
Overburdened by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the individual services remain reluctant to commit staff members and money to Jonas' financial-reform effort.
Jonas says that her approach is working and that eight small Pentagon branches, like the Army Corps of Engineers, have now passed audits. "I think we're making good progress," she says.
Nevertheless, the four military services still can't be audited, and Jonas declines to predict when the entire Defense Department will finally pass an audit. "We don't know what we don't know," she says.
-Scot Paltrow, CondeNast Portfolio
READ MORE...
Since 2004, the Pentagon has spent roughly $16 billion annually to maintain and modernize the military's business systems, but most are as unreliable as ever—even as the surge in defense spending is creating more room for error. The basic defense budget for 2007 was $439.3 billion, up 48 percent from 2001, excluding the vast additional sums appropriated for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to federal regulators and current and former Pentagon officials, the accounting process is so obsolete and error prone that it's virtually impossible to tell where much of this money ends up. While the department's brass has made a few patchwork improvements, billions are still unaccounted for. The problem is so deeply rooted that, 18 years after Congress required major federal agencies to be audited, the Pentagon still can't be. (Read a chronology of efforts to modernize the military's financial systems.)
"In the Defense Department, what you have now are material weaknesses that are in every single area, in every part of the department, so deep and so wide you do not really have any way of figuring out where money is being spent," says Linda Bilmes, a federal budget expert at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
According to David Walker, who recently left his post as head of the Government Accountability Office, the failure of the Pentagon's outdated and incompatible systems to keep tabs on expenditures—even as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan eat up an ever-bigger chunk of the federal budget—puts several Defense Department agencies high on the G.A.O.'s list of federal programs that are mismanaged and prone to fraud, waste, and abuse.
Since the scandal in 1985, which revealed that the Navy paid Lockheed $640 each for airplane toilet seats, Congress, military leaders, and regulators have agreed that the Defense Department's internal accounting system is in shambles. What's startling is the scope of the problem and the government's seeming inability to fix it. Over the past two decades, the Pentagon has repeatedly tried to design new computer systems to replace the antiquated ones. Even today, new incompatible financial systems continue to proliferate within the services, contrary to directives from the secretary of Defense's office.
The dysfunction stems in part from the traditional independence of the military branches. Over several decades, they have cobbled together separate processes for identical functions, resulting in the uncontrolled growth of more than 4,000 accounting, financial, and inventory systems. Their names form an acronym soup: CAPS, Stanfins, IAPS, Somards, Samms, Mocas, HQARS, Stars. The department's primary system for handling weapons contracts and payments dates from 1958; a costly attempt to replace it was abandoned in 2002 as a failure. The Army's notoriously inaccurate main accounting system was created in 1966.
Since 2005, the Pentagon has been carrying out what it says is the most comprehensive reform ever. Undersecretary of Defense Tina Jonas, who is now the comptroller and chief financial officer, is heading up an elaborate effort—once again—to develop compatible systems to share information seamlessly. A 2007 department report foresees the Pentagon becoming "as nimble, adaptive, flexible, and accountable as any organization in the world."
Overburdened by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the individual services remain reluctant to commit staff members and money to Jonas' financial-reform effort.
Jonas says that her approach is working and that eight small Pentagon branches, like the Army Corps of Engineers, have now passed audits. "I think we're making good progress," she says.
Nevertheless, the four military services still can't be audited, and Jonas declines to predict when the entire Defense Department will finally pass an audit. "We don't know what we don't know," she says.
-Scot Paltrow, CondeNast Portfolio
READ MORE...
Friday, February 08, 2008
Today's GAO Publication
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released the following testimony:
Defense Business Transformation: Sustaining Progress Requires Continuity of Leadership and an Integrated Approach, by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services.
GAO-08-462T, February 7.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-462T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08462thigh.pdf
Defense Business Transformation: Sustaining Progress Requires Continuity of Leadership and an Integrated Approach, by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services.
GAO-08-462T, February 7.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-462T
Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08462thigh.pdf
Friday, January 25, 2008
Defense bill includes chief management officer for Pentagon
The Defense Department will have to add a senior management position under the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill passed this week by the House and Senate.
The measure requires that Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England become the department's chief management officer, a step the Pentagon has taken.
The bill also requires the appointment of a Senate-confirmed deputy chief management officer reporting to England and overseeing the department's Business Transformation Agency, which implements management reforms.
Creation of a nonpolitical CMO at the Defense Department is a longtime hobby-horse of Comptroller General David Walker and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Oversight of Government Management Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and ranking member George Voinovich, R-Ohio.
All three have for years argued the department needs a long-term, high-level manager to drive through a series of fiscal and managerial reforms that political appointees lack time to complete.
-GovExec.com
READ MORE...
The measure requires that Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England become the department's chief management officer, a step the Pentagon has taken.
The bill also requires the appointment of a Senate-confirmed deputy chief management officer reporting to England and overseeing the department's Business Transformation Agency, which implements management reforms.
Creation of a nonpolitical CMO at the Defense Department is a longtime hobby-horse of Comptroller General David Walker and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Oversight of Government Management Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and ranking member George Voinovich, R-Ohio.
All three have for years argued the department needs a long-term, high-level manager to drive through a series of fiscal and managerial reforms that political appointees lack time to complete.
-GovExec.com
READ MORE...
Thursday, November 08, 2007
FederalNewsRadio - Ask the CFO - David Fisher (BTA)
Business Transformation Agency
David Fisher - Director
The old saying goes, an army travels on its stomach. That may still be true, but at the Department of Defense, the belief is that to be successful, the military must be supported by a streamlined and transparent business process. Breaking down cultural barriers and putting that enterprise architecture into place is where David Fisher and the Business Transformation Agency comes in. Fisher says over the past two years, the BTA has been working to find the right balance between centralization and decentralization for its business practices. The effort has resulted in a small set of critical and standardized data elements. As a result, the Defense Department now has access to more financial information in a timely and automated fashion. Once the process is completed, Fisher says it will give key decision makers access to critical information that will contribute to the warfighting effort. Fisher says the immediate challenge is to come up with the right sort of performance metrics to help determine how well the process is proceeding.
Listen Here
David Fisher - Director
The old saying goes, an army travels on its stomach. That may still be true, but at the Department of Defense, the belief is that to be successful, the military must be supported by a streamlined and transparent business process. Breaking down cultural barriers and putting that enterprise architecture into place is where David Fisher and the Business Transformation Agency comes in. Fisher says over the past two years, the BTA has been working to find the right balance between centralization and decentralization for its business practices. The effort has resulted in a small set of critical and standardized data elements. As a result, the Defense Department now has access to more financial information in a timely and automated fashion. Once the process is completed, Fisher says it will give key decision makers access to critical information that will contribute to the warfighting effort. Fisher says the immediate challenge is to come up with the right sort of performance metrics to help determine how well the process is proceeding.
Listen Here
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