DoD's audit goals achievable, Congressional inquiry finds

A new report by a special panel of the House Armed Services Committee finds the Defense Department has come up with a solid plan for meeting its deadlines to become auditable, though meeting the goals will take sustained commitment by the military services and continued leadership from the secretary of defense.


It's becoming a familiar storyline: the findings are strikingly similar to earlier opinions offered by the Government Accountability Office, and to the Pentagon comptroller's own assessment of DoD's path toward auditability.

Panetta got the ball rolling on DoD's accelerated audit deadline. He administratively imposed the interim 2014 date for an auditable statement of budgetary resources last year, which has since been written into law. He also ordered up a new audit strategy for meeting that deadline, which he signed off on in December.


DoD's Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller Robert Hale, who is in charge of the Pentagon's path toward auditability, said he found the panel's report to be balanced and constructive. He also echoed the importance of leadership commitment to audits.

But Hale said one of his biggest challenges is making sure DoD's managers and workforce embrace the idea that audits are their responsibility too. DoD has just started developing auditability related evaluation criteria for members of its Senior Executive Service. Conaway said Congress needs to make sure those evaluations are taken seriously.


The department also is trying to make sure its SESers and rank-and-file workforce know what they need to know about audit readiness. Congress gave DoD some new authorities in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act to create a course-based certification program for its financial management workforce, something Hale thinks would help a lot.


-Jared Serbu, FederalNewsRadio.com
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NDU CFO Academy Seeks Faculty

NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY

INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COLLEGE
FORT LESLEY J. McNAIR
WASHINGTON, DC 20319-5066

NDU iCollege Announcement No.: 11-0003

Opening Date: 3 August 2011
Closing Date: 17 August 2011

Position: Assistant Professor / Associate Professor / Professor (Government Financial Management and Leadership)

Salary Range: $95,510 - $155,500 (Based on Education and Experience)

Position Information: Full-time Position (This is a Title 10 Excepted Service

Appointment. Appointment NTE 3 years with the possibility for extension.)

Duty Location: Ft. McNair, Washington, DC

Who May Be Considered: All qualified U.S. Citizen Candidates
SUMMARY OF DUTIES:

Serves as a recognized expert and professor of government management and leadership at the Information Resources Management College (iCollege) contributing expertise in government financial management and leadership, and oversight of federal agency budgeting and financial operations; development and maintenance of integrated financial and accounting management systems, including financial reporting and internal controls; and monitoring agency financial performance. Prepares curriculum and instructional materials and delivers instruction face-to-face and online government financial management and leadership for the CFO Academy. Participates in the planning and development of courses of study in iCollege educational programs, including the Chief Financial Officer Leadership Certificate, Government Strategic Leader, Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Cyber Security, Cyber Leadership, Enterprise Architecture, and Information Technology Project Management Certificate.

Recommends course topics and content, instructional methods, and other aspects of the educational programs. Serves as research advisor to individual students on topics related to national security. Provides analyses of management and leadership issues to develop new concepts and approaches to issues of significant national security. Conducts studies, prepares papers, and gives presentations in relevant areas of government financial management and leadership.



Leads and participates in collaborative relationships as a member of the iCollege faculty to ensure the accomplishment of college mission, specifically the CFO Academy. Serves as liaison with DoD and other government agencies, civilian institutions and businesses through various meetings, conferences and symposia, as appropriate. Ensures professional currency with substantive topics and issues, and instructional and assessment techniques in relevant areas. Fosters professional relationships with senior leaders in education, industry, DoD, and other government agencies in the field of government leadership and management.



QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants should have progressive professional experience in a relevant area; evidence of maturity as a scholar. Teaching experience at the university level is preferred. Applicants will be rated by subject matter experts appointed with the purpose of identifying the best-qualified candidates on the basis of the criteria listed below and the potential to accomplish the duties.

CFO academy to begin this fall

The National Defense University’s Information Resources Management College will offer management and leadership courses this fall through a new Chief Financial Officer Academy. The academy, which will draw students from the federal financial community, has been endorsed by the Federal CFO Council, said Robert Childs, senior director of NDU’s IRM College.

The courses will lead to a certificate in CFO leadership.

The certificate program was the idea of Linda Combs, a former Office of Management and Budget controller, who retired from government last year, said Elizabeth McDaniel, dean of faculty and academic programs at the college.

The college is hiring a couple of faculty members on detail from federal agencies and is hiring an additional faculty member, McDaniel said.

The academy will offer eight courses, including courses in financial management, portfolio management and government business transformation, which students can complete in four years.

McDaniel said the college also will soon announce that it plans to offer its first master of science degree in Government Strategic Leader, with a specialization in CIO management, information assurance and possibly government financial management.

The academy, located on the NDU campus at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, will offer courses beginning in September.

-Florence Olsen, FCW.com
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