Financial Management

One of the greatest challenges to improving financial management at the Defense Department (DOD) is establishing a well-qualified, professional financial management workforce. In a series of reports, GAO has provided information on qualifications, such as formal education, professional work experience, training, and professional certifications, of personnel serving in key DOD financial management jobs. This report provides information on key financial managers in the Department of the Army.

GAO noted that: (1) the four Army financial management executives included in its review are the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Operations, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Budget; (2) each of the executives had attained master's degrees; (3) the Assistant Secretary had spent 30 years at the Department of Defense (DOD); (4) the Deputy Assistant Secretaries had DOD careers ranging from 29 to 38 years, with one of the three also spending part of his career in the private sector; (5) two of the executives held certifications in government financial management; and (6) of the 233 other key Army financial managers responding to GAO's review: (a) about 27 percent (63) were miliary officers, serving mainly as resource managers and budget officers at major commands and installations; and 73 percent (170) were civilian personnel serving mainly in resource manager and budget officer positions at installations; (b) all 63 officers and 148 of the 170 civilians reported holding bachelor's degrees, with 17 of these respondents reporting more than one major; (c) about one-third of these 211 managers majored in accounting, while approximately 40 percent reported degrees in business-related majors other than accounting; (d) 132 respondents (53 officers and 79 civilians) also reported holding advanced degrees, with 17 of these respondents reporting more than one major; (e) five of the 132 managers held master's degrees in accounting, while about 75 percent reported degrees in business-related majors other than accounting; (f) the officers' careers ranged from 10 to 31 years, averaging 23 years, while civilians' careers ranged from 15 to 42 years, averaging 27 years; (g) 163 respondents reported completing training in one or more of the categories included in GAO's review during 1995 and 1996; (h) about 20 percent of the 233 respondents reported holding one or more professional certifications; and (i) of the 46 managers in this group, 44 reported holding accounting and other financial management-related certifications, as follows: 11 were Certified Public Accountants, 37 were Certified Government Financial Managers, and 2 held other certifications, including the Certified Cost Estimator/Analyst and Certified Internal Auditor.