Financial Management: Challenges Confronting DOD's Reform Initiatives
(Testimony, 05/16/95, GAO/T-AIMD-95-143).

The Pentagon's efforts to reform its financial management operations
will play a critical role in ensuring that every possible defense dollar
goes toward maintaining the readiness of fighting forces while reducing
the costs of the Defense Department's (DOD) support operations.  Today,
DOD must have good financial management information to make sound
resource allocation decisions, safeguard its huge investment in assets,
and control its operating costs.  DOD now recognizes the seriousness of
its financial management problems and the urgent need for corrective
measures.  However, truly improving DOD's financial management
operations is a major undertaking.  In fiscal year 1994, DOD was
accountable for more than $1 trillion in assets, more than three million
military and civilian personnel, and $272 billion in expenditures, which
represented about half of the government's discretionary spending.  DOD
has serious, long-standing problems in correctly disbursing billions of
dollars in payments to vendors and providing reliable financial and cost
information to those responsible for carrying out and overseeing DOD's
missions and programs.  The Comptroller General's testimony discusses
DOD's plans for reform and makes suggestions to build on these efforts.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-AIMD-95-143
     TITLE:  Financial Management: Challenges Confronting DOD's Reform 
             Initiatives
      DATE:  05/16/95
   SUBJECT:  Financial management
             Financial management systems
             Federal agency accounting systems
             Defense operations
             Systems conversions
             Internal controls
             Contractor payments
             Industrial funds
             Defense economic analysis
             Defense cost control
IDENTIFIER:  Defense Business Operations Fund
             Defense Business Operations Fund Improvement Plan
             
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