The Military Deputy for Budget to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management & Comptroller) visited Joint Base Lewis-McChord March 13-16 in an effort to promote the Army Financial Management Optimization Campaign Plan and gain a better understanding of how I Corps is building readiness to support the Chief of Staff of the Army's priority for readiness.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord is one of three stops Lt. Gen. Karen E. Dyson had on a recent visit to Army units in the Pacific Region.
"I wanted to come to the Pacific region to see first-hand what Gen. Brooks is putting into place with his strategy and how everybody in the Pacific region is fitting into that strategy," said Dyson. "We've been to Korea, to USARPAC [United States Army Pacific] in Hawaii, and now we're here. It's all fitting together, so it's been a big learning experience."
While visiting Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Dyson participated in a town hall that focused on the Army Financial Management Optimization Campaign Plan.
"The Army Financial Management Optimization Campaign Plan is a framework for how we are going to drive change in financial management into the future," said Dyson. "We have to ask ourselves, 'under constrained resources and a shrinking work force, how do we deliver the financial management support that the Army needs?'"
Army Financial Management Optimization leverages increased capabilities of the General Fund Enterprise Business System, also known as GFEBS. GFEBS is the Army's core financial business system. AFMO also expands on the use of two other systems, Global Combat Support System-Army and the Logistics Modernization Program.
"What we are envisioning is a focusing of our energy and putting into place some standardization across of how we deliver financial management," said Dyson.
The Army presently has a pilot program in place to teach financial managers a centralized and standardized transactional work process through these financial systems combined with standardized business processes. This pilot program will help commanders gain improved analytics and metrics through better trained financial managers.
"We currently have Soldiers and civilians working inside a pilot program we are putting together to consolidate and standardize work load and processes," said Dyson. "The pilot program is currently taking place at Fort Bragg [North Carolina]. JBLM currently has a participant who is attending remotely. We are testing the virtual capability."
The AFMO is also designed to attain and conserve the Congressional mandate for Audit Readiness by the end of fiscal year 2017.
"One of the main objectives we are trying to achieve [through AFMO] is the audit readiness requirement that we have from Congress," said Dyson.
The Army budget has had a forceful environmental adjustment on financial support over the last decade. Through the Army Financial Management Optimization Campaign, Dyson hopes to achieve success through standardized, end-to-end business processes, optimized workforce and business efficiencies and accuracies.
But it is not solely the responsibility of the campaign plan to improve the current financial process, it is the responsibility of every Soldier and civilian.
"This is not something that is just for financial managers, but it's about accountability across all personnel, logistics, facilities and our financial transactions," said Dyson
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