DW Service Day Asks: Symbiotic Symposium or Symbolic Semantics?

The Honorable William J. Lynn III

Under Secretary of Defence (Comptroller)

Mr. Thomas Bloom, Director, Defense Finance and Accounting Service

Mr. Thomas F. Tresslar

Accounting Policy Staff

Biologists define symbiosis as the coexistence of two dissimilar organisms living together in a mutually beneficial relationship. Members of the Defense-wide (DW) community compose the non-uniform-wearing portion of the ASMC. The second annual DW Service Day focused on the dependency that exists between them and the military departments--two very different groups. The City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, provided the perfect backdrop for these deliberations.

Challenge Facing DW

Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) William J. Lynn, the titular head of the DW consortium in the absence of a separate DW secretariat, opened with a challenge for DW to set the example for the military departments in satisfying the requirement to produce unqualified audited financial statements. He outlined three benefits that would accrue from this effort: better stewardship of Department of Defense (DoD) resources, improved accuracy and timeliness of financial information used by DoD managers, and increased confidence and credibility from Congress and the American taxpayer. He noted that the smaller size of individual DW organizations would make the task somewhat easier, with lessons learned that could assist all other DoD entities.

Director Tom Bloom outlined the reorganization of the Indianapolis and Columbus centers in order to sharpen customer focus, increase emphasis on operations, and acknowledge and better serve the burgeoning DW workload. He also introduced the new Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) motto, "Your Financial Partner @ Work," discussed their competitive sourcing program, and presented his overall vision for the organization.

Significantly, and as a result of the major DFAS reorganization described by Mr. Bloom, Mr. Steve Bonta provided a detailed description of his vision for the Center for Sustaining Forces. He stressed his desire to provide a personal "one-stop-shopping" experience to the entire DW customer base.

Picking up on the theme set by Under Secretary Lynn, Mr. Tom Tresslar addressed the current status ofDoD audited financial statements. He focused on who must prepare them, what must be included, the source of instructions, and the major changes for FY 2000. He noted that the only account to receive an unqualified opinion in FY 1999 was the Military Retirement Fund. All others received a disclaimer of opinion because of deficiencies preventing a clean audit.

He noted the nine DW activities that will be preparing FY 2000 statements along with the military departments and directed attention to Volume 6R of 7000.14-R (FMR) for detailed instructions. Major changes to the balance sheet format, emphasis on supporting documentation, and requirements for comparative statements were also pointed out.

Issues and Answers

A panel representing DFAS centers with significant DW workloads discussed the various issues affecting them. Mr. Bill Bergmeyer noted three initiatives at the Indianapolis center for reports compilation: meeting the Defense Management Council contract for improved timeliness, quarterly report analysis and profiles, and monthly cash management information at the agency level via telecommunications. Mr. Art Caraballo elaborated on additional Indianapolis efforts to deploy the DFAS, reduce problem disbursements, process aged invoices, and replace procurement and vendor pay systems.

Mr. Jeff Yokel said that the Cleveland center primarily supports the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and DAPS in addition to the Navy, which receives significant funding from many Defense agencies. The STARS accounting-system is fully deployed for Navy general funds and Treasury Index (TI) 97 accounts. Through the capabilities of STARS, users exert control in the system for funding control, execution documents, and management information. Cleveland is committed to supporting all of its customers and correcting accounting problems with UMDs/NULOs, undistributed disbursements, and abnormal balances.

Ms. Sally Smith of the Denver center provided detailed insights on their working capital funds for DSS and TRANSCOM, and general funds support for USUHS and NIMA. Director John Nabil explained how the Columbus center had been reorganized to better serve their major customers, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), and BMDO.

Ms. Carla Liberatore represented the newest member of the DW community, Defense Contract Management Agency, and gave an informed presentation on their start-up growing pains. The DCMA was chartered on March 27, 2000 and was formed from the contracting elements of the DLA. She emphasized their commitment to provide world-class contract management services to their customers throughout the acquisition life cycle, around the clock, around the world. She pointed out that the trend to outsourcing by the DoD is increasing their workload and putting pressure on an aging work force.

A panel of senior officials from each of the Services provided perspectives on the complex interworkings between the 17, 21, and 57 Treasury Indexes and TI 97. Mr. Mike Dugan represented the Army and expounded on the reorganization of the DFAS Indianapolis center to better serve both Army (Center for Operating Forces) and DW customers. Ms. Gladys Commons, Principal Deputy, focused on the $6 billion reimbursable program that is executed with Department of the Navy DW customers and the reciprocal work that flows from the Navy to DW. Mr. John Nethery, Air Force Deputy Assistant Secretary, gave a humorous overview of the ebb and flow of USAF efforts to bring about improvement in their financial management operations vis-a-vis DW.

Certification Training and Testing Programs

LTG James F. McCall, Executive Director of ASMC, closed the day with an in-depth progress report on the training and testing programs for certified defense financial manager (CDFM) accreditation. He outlined the reasons for the program from the perspectives of the employee and the DoD and went over the eligibility criteria. He discussed the testing procedures for each of three subject-matter modules and the training opportunities that are available. His bottom line was the "win-win" situation that DFM certification creates for the employee, the public, and the ASMC.

A Call for Cohesion

Our founding fathers met in Philadelphia in 1776 to form a more perfect union between separate but equal states. The ASMC PDI of 2000, in both symbolism and substance, advanced the notion of a stronger cohesiveness between the uniformed military services and their civilian counterparts in DoD financial management matters.