Highlights of the online survey.In 2006, 127 members of the Department of Defense (DoD) financial management community responded to the online survey on Defense financial management. Such a small sample does not allow for a statistically valid projection of results to the universe of the tens of thousands of Defense financial personnel. The answers to some questions, however, were uniform and provide insight and ideas for consideration as the Department continues down the path to improving Defense financial management. Here are highlights from the online survey. Opinions on Financial Management and Services Respondents gave their opinions on the need for improvement in eight areas of financial management services: general accounting, payment, billings and collections, payroll, travel, financial systems support, financial reporting, and month-and year-end closings. The online responses for financial systems support are provided in the preceding article under "Information Systems." The other seven areas are covered here. General Accounting Services About one in four respondents said that the general accounting services he or she worked with needed major improvements. Desired changes included the following: * Foster better communication with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), an agency of the United States Department of Defense, provides finance and accounting services for the military and other members of defense. In FY 2004, DFAS:
DFAS Decorative and Fine Arts Society (The Hague, Holland) DFAS Dark Field Alignment System DFAS Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ) * Employ user interfaces such as those in Microsoft[R] Windows[R] * Improve quality control, accountability, and timeliness * Develop a single, DoD enterprise accounting system that is integrated with asset management and budget execution * Set up processes to review invoices and receipts for overpayments * Establish a single point of contact for payment problems * Maintain standard processes and systems throughout the Department Payment Services About one in five respondents saw a need for major improvements to payment services: * Give more training for personnel involved in payment functions * Allow more base-level control of vendor payments * Require exact matching Exact matching A bond portfolio management strategy that involves finding the lowest cost portfolio generating cash inflows exactly equal to cash outflows that are being financed by investment. of payments to specific lines of accounting * Institute standardized standardized pertaining to data that have been submitted to standardization procedures. standardized morbidity rate see morbidity rate. standardized mortality rate see mortality rate. invoice requirements * Enable base-level personnel to locate payment information on the Web, which DFAS and vendors can do now * Automate obligations and voucher payments to ensure that all accounting data are posted Billings and Collections About one in six respondents said that billing and collection services needed major improvements, such as the following specific recommendations: * Issue more specific guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. * Strengthen internal control * Standardize stan·dard·ize v. 1. To cause to conform to a standard. 2. To evaluate by comparing with a standard. conflicting operating instructions from DFAS and the other DoD components * Make available more timely and detailed information on status of collection efforts Payroll Support Activities One in five respondents thought these activities needed major improvements. Specific recommendations included the following: * Improve the interface between the payroll, personnel, and accounting systems * Install standard, enterprise-wide military and civilian payroll systems in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and overseas * Update the Defense Civilian Personnel Data System with a new system offering graphical user interface graphical user interface (GUI) Computer display format that allows the user to select commands, call up files, start programs, and do other routine tasks by using a mouse to point to pictorial symbols (icons) or lists of menu choices on the screen as opposed to having to and an ability to display more information on a single screen versus multiple screens Travel Services Several respondents indicated that they have started using the new Defense Travel Service (DTS (1) (Digital Theatre Sound) A digital audio encoding system used in movie and home theaters. Popularized by the movie Jurassic Park, the six-channel (5. ) system and have found it to be a major improvement compared to past processes. Many respondents, however, had not yet transitioned to DTS. For that reason, it is not appropriate to indicate the number of respondents who think travel services need improvement. Instead, this section lists only the respondents' suggested improvements to the new DTS system. These include the following: * Improve user-friendliness of DTS * Provide a DTS capability for temporary, co-op, and other-than-fulltime employees and include functionality for personnel who do not hold credit cards * Reduce the number of DTS layers * improve DTS' speed, which needs to react more like commercial online travel services (for example, Expedia[c] and Orbitz[c]); timing-out also a problem * Develop better integration with financial and budget systems Respondents urged wider use of DTS; otherwise, the system will never become effective. Financial Reports About one in four respondents thought that this area needs major improvements, such as the following: * Enforce more consistency in report ng systems across the DoD components, including computer infrastructure, formats, and the information being requested and reported * Make the Office of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is part of the United States Department of Defense and includes the entire staff of the Secretary of Defense. It is the principal staff element of the Secretary of Defense in the exercise of policy development, planning, resource the single source of financial reports; link financial reports with performance measures * Use more automated input and reduce the number of accounting adjustments made before reports are final * Acquire more analytic capability * Give user personnel outside of the comptroller community more ability to extract their own information for preparing reports Month- and Year-end Closings About one in four respondents saw the need for major improvements in this area. Suggestions included the following: * Provide better software to supersede To obliterate, replace, make void, or useless. Supersede means to take the place of, as by reason of superior worth or right. A recently enacted statute that repeals an older law is said to supersede the prior legislation. the many homemade home·made adj. 1. Made or prepared in the home: homemade pie. 2. Made by oneself. 3. Crudely or simply made. Adj. 1. spreadsheets that are difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile * Give more examples of best practices * Establish auditable closeout closeout, closure the finalization of a feeding program in a feedlot. The cattle are sold and a balance sheet is struck which includes the costs of feeding and housing or confining them. statements to ensure accountability * Create a longer, better-defined process for closing that is step-by-step * Foster better communication among everyone involved * Interface financial systems to make closing much easier Other Suggestions for Improvement When asked for other ideas for improvement, online participants offered the following: * Establish a better and more standard career path for financial managers * Promote less congressional micromanagement This is about the management style. For the computer game strategy, see Micromanagement (computer gaming). In business management, micromanagement is a management style where a manager closely observes or controls the work of their employees, generally used as a pejorative term. * Use longer-term operation and maintenance budgets * Appoint more uniformed military comptrollers COMPTROLLERS. There are officers who bear this name, in the treasury depart @ment of the United States. 2. There are two comptrollers. It is the duty of the first to examine all accounts settled by the first and fifth auditors, and certify the balances arising * Going beyond the Defense community, one respondent suggested, "A uniform accounting system for the government would be meaningful." (Copies of the furl furl v. furled, furl·ing, furls v.tr. To roll up and secure (a flag or sail, for example) to something else. v.intr. To be or become rolled up. n. 1. survey report may be downloaded from www.grantthornton.com/public.sector under Global Public Sector Publications.) |
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