Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Service Day: director highlights successes; corporate resources director discusses transformation effort.

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

Susan Grant Director of Corporate Resources, Defense Finance and Accounting Service

The DFAS Service Day, held at the 2003 Professional Development Institute (PDI) of the American Society of Military Comptrollers (ASMC) in New Orleans, drew about 600 people.

Attendees heard about the current state of the DFAS; where the agency is heading; the status of the business lines, systems integration, quality control, the training advisory board, and customer delivery; and some of the agency's customer service successes.

Director's Report

DFAS Director Thomas R. Bloom kicked off the day by reminiscing that this event was his fifth PDI and announcing that he will take over the reins as the ASMC National President for 2003-2004.

In using this event as an annual gauge, Mr. Bloom said, "It has been a great 12 months." He then recounted many of the agency "wins" for the year:

* The Military and Civilian Pay Services ePayroll will allow DFAS, in partnership with the General Services Administration, to provide civilian pay for members of the Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs. As wins for both DFAS and its customers, he cited the decreasing interest penalty payments in the Commercial Pay Services (a decline of 46.4 percent as measured in millions of dollars) and the Accounting Services reporting timeliness improvement to 99.96 percent.

* DFAS received its third consecutive unqualified opinion on the agency's annual financial statements. The agency also assisted four clients in achieving unqualified opinions on their audited financial statements.

* myPay is an acknowledged success in the Military and Civilian Pay Services Business Line, and the customer outreach in Commercial Pay Services is top-notch.

* Also noted: the accomplishments of Accounting Services in its Air Force Accounting on-site program and in its efforts with year-end and mid-year financial statement reviews, the launching of DFAS internal e-portal to all DFAS sites by the end of June, the new corporate logo, the electronic library shelf, and the monthly electronic newsletter.

Mr. Bloom talked about recruitment for the Entry-Level Professional Accountant Program and emphasized the agency's goal to retain and recruit the best-qualified professionals. He pointed out that the 4.3 percent of labor costs that DFAS commits to employee training far exceeds private industry investment and demonstrates the level of commitment that DFAS leadership has to ensure that the agency is viewed as an employer of choice.

Mr. Bloom discussed in depth what he said were his four favorite charts, which show an improvement in the Organization Assessment Survey (OAS) rating from 2000 to 2003, a reduction in the DFAS percentage of the Department of Defense budget, and reductions in operating costs and workforce. He talked about each chart individually, highlighting a 23 percent decline in employees while, at the same time, noting an increase in workload requirements.

He credited DFAS managers with the positive OAS changes and discussed the value of the Balanced Scorecard in aiding employees to understand their roles in the DFAS goal to be "the right organization with the right vision for the future and the right strategy for achieving that vision."

To conclude, Mr. Bloom talked about the ongoing transformation effort, which he described as a journey.

Transformation Supports Best Value

DFAS Director of Corporate Resources Susan Grant continued on the transformation theme, which she described as "a road map, with integration and action." She said that DFAS has been transforming itself from the beginning, ever since the agency was created in 1991.

Ms. Grant noted that transformation supports the DFAS vision of becoming a best-value, world-class organization. DFAS transformation has progressed through site consolidation, competitive sourcing, aligning functionally (rather than geographically) under the DFAS Business Evolution, becoming more customer-focused, and adopting the agency's Balanced Scorecard.

Now, according to Ms. Grant, DFAS is working in an environment in which the strategy will drive the resources and one in which business case analyses (BCAs) will help set the road map, since "BCAs give us options on how to improve, and competition generates value and gives customers choices."

One of the leaps that the DFAS will need to make, according to Grant, is from being a transaction processing agency to one that is a value creator. She added, "Transformation involves moving forward together and will rely on our workforce for their active participation."

Reported by Catherine Ferguson, DFAS Corporate Communications