Coast Guard Service Day.

Using the topics of a better understanding of the functions and the areas of responsibilities of Coast Guard personnel as a catalyst, Captain Bill Wissman chaired an informal panel discussion that was both lively and informative. So opened a late Tuesday afternoon session of PDI 2002 for Coast Guard members of the American Society of Military Comptrollers.

Joining CAPT Wissman were Captain Larry White, Chief of the Office of Financial Systems; Mr. Richard Freethey, Chief of the Office of Procurement Management; Captain Loren Tschohl, Commanding Officer of the Finance Center; Captain Patricia Bruck, Commander of Group Detroit; and Mr. Walter Turnquist (Pacific) and Mr. Larry Mellor (Atlantic), Maintenance and Logistics Command Budget Officers.

Following the panel discussion, a no-host social and dinner was held at the Trail Dust Steak House. Over 120 Coast Guard civilian and military members from around the country attended. The discussions were lively, the mood was festive, and the meal was excellent.

CAPT Wissman opened the Wednesday morning session of Coast Guard Service Day with a warm welcome to attendees. With 30 years of service under his belt, including his assignment as Chief of the Office of Financial Management of Coast Guard Headquarters, CAPT Wissman made his final PDI appearance as an active-duty officer before his planned retirement in June.

He reflected on the remarkable progress the Coast Guard has made over his career, from a time when personnel were paid in cash to today's seamless electronic pay system. He predicted "a most exciting future for finance": The pay system and the Coast Guard's work toward an integrated financial management system, consolidation of processes, and potential uses of activity-based costing for in-depth mission analysis are only a part of that exciting future.

Speaking for Mr. Robert Horowitz, Chief Financial Officer of the Coast Guard, CAPT Wissman addressed four broad themes: a solid accounting program; use of technology to improve financial management; better use of information to support better decision making for the taxpayers; and finding, developing, and keeping the cadre of professionals who make the program a success.

He acknowledged the service's renewed emphasis on increased stewardship of its scarce resources and underscored the duty of every Coast Guard financial manager to help attract and retain talented people in the financial management program.

CAPT Wissman then introduced Mr. Thomas Park, Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Mr. Park praised the Coast Guard for leading the way for DOT on many financial fronts. He discussed the excellent effort put forth on the department-wide Delphi project and the new WINS (Workflow Imaging Network System) payment system.

He discussed the importance of the Presidential Management Agenda, an aggressive strategy for improving the management of the federal government. The agenda focuses on five areas: strategic management, competitive sourcing, improved financial performance, expanded electronic government, and budget and performance integration.

For more information on the Presidential Management Agenda, visit the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Web page at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2002/mgmt.pdf

Following Mr. Park's remarks, CAPT Wissman presented the annual Comptroller Awards for Excellence to Coast Guard personnel who demonstrated exceptional service in financial management during 2001. This year's awardees included the following:

Senior Officer: Captain Bruce Bran-ham and Commander Daniel Svensson, Coast Guard Headquarters

GS-13 and Above: Ms. Terry Harris, Coast Guard Finance Center, Chesapeake, VA

Junior Officer: Lieutenant Michael Langston, Coast Guard Headquarters, Human Resources Directorate

GS-9-GS-12: Mr. Sergio Garcia, Maintenance and Logistics Command Pacific, Alameda, CA

Chief Warrant Officer: Chief Warrant Officer Donald Wingard, Coast Guard Headquarters, Acquisition Directorate

Enlisted: Storekeeper First Class Juan Mendez, Coast Guard Air Station, Clearwater, FL

GS-8 and Below: Mr. Leonard Jones, Engineering Logistics Center, Baltimore, MD

Team: Supply Distribution Team, Coast Guard Air Station, Cape Cod: LCDR Bob Olsen, LT Pete Gassan, CWO Gerald Fortin, SKCM Dana Hanberg, SKCS James Goodson, SKC Dennis Sirois, SK1 Thomas Ettinger, SK1 Thomas Walker, SK2 Thomas Smith, SK2 Michael Gordy, SNSK Vance Bigelow, Mr. Boyd Galloway.

Following the awards ceremony, there was a series of presentations from Coast Guard financial managers who were chosen to participate in the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing--International's (CAM-I) Cost Management Section (CMS) Program.

In the afternoon session, Mr. Stuart Schaefer of Spectrum Group, LLC, presented an Introduction of Activity Based Costing (ABC). Mr. Schaefer covered the basics of ABC, common uses of ABC by government agencies and commercial industry firms, the needs and uses of ABC, and practical concerns to consider when constructing an ABC model.

For transcripts of CAPT Wissman's speech as well as electronic versions of the Service Day presentations, contact Lieutenant Mark Haag, Office of Financial Management, at [phone] or at [e-mail].