ADP Procurement

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army's plans to modernize its accounting systems to determine: (1) the Army's reasons for the modernization; (2) the effect of its automation strategy on planned computer upgrades at its Finance and Accounting Center; and (3) whether the Army's plan to replace automatic data processing equipment at the center would restrict competition among vendors.

GAO found that the Army: (1) appointed a project manager to oversee its modernization strategies; (2) plans to consolidate its 52 existing accounting systems into 8 subsystems for its 3 major accounting departments; (3) did not approve funding for a 1989 replacement contract for the center's equipment; (4) plans to remove a specification for a 3-tier architectural standard from its Accounting System Strategic Plan to avoid restricting competition; (5) transferred certain funding responsibilities for the modernization of the center's equipment to other Army organizations resulting in a decrease of its 1986 cost estimate from $380 million to $277 million; (6) had spent about $110 million on the accounting system modernization as of March 1987; and (7) plans to update its cost estimate to include all computer equipment costs.