United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-06-23 monographic deposited born digital 32 p. GA 1.13:NSIAD-00-109 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-109 P0b002ee18038a677 f:ns00109 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-109 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-109 NSIAD-00-109 Financial management Inventory control systems Military procurement Logistics Spare parts Federal property management Property losses Internal controls Federal agency accounting systems DOD Financial Management Improvement Plan Letter Report NSIAD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army's procedures for tracking and controlling spare parts and other inventory items that have been shipped from one location to another to support military forces, focusing on the: (1) extent to which the Army can identify inventory lost during shipment; and (2) Army's adherence to procedures for controlling shipped inventory.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) the Army does not know the extent to which shipped inventory is lost or stolen because of weaknesses in inventory controls and financial management practices; (2) the Army reported inventory shipment losses of $297,000 for fiscal year (FY) 1998; (3) however, GAO's analysis of available logistics and accounting records indicated that the Army could not account for about $900 million in shipped inventory in FY 1998; (4) GAO found that many of the shipments it reviewed had in fact been received, but had not been documented in the required manner; (5) this unaccounted for inventory included classified and sensitive items, such as guided missile components and night vision equipment; (6) GAO's review of shipments made during FY 1998 indicates that Army personnel did not consistently follow required internal control procedures for shipped inventory; (7) Army units receiving inventory items have not always properly entered the receipt of shipments on inventory records, sent receipt acknowledgements to the inventory control point, or reported shipment discrepancies; (8) issuing units also have not consistently sent notifications of shipment cancellations; (9) no dominant cause for failure to follow internal control procedures emerged in GAO's discussions with Army officials; (10) poorly integrated accounting and logistics systems have led to inaccuracies regarding the status of shipped material; (11) in addition, personnel at the Army's largest inventory control point have not adequately monitored receipts of items it reportedly purchased, and they have not adhered to federal policies and procedures for documenting follow up on material shipped to warehouses that have not been acknowledged as received; and (12) moreover, from a broader perspective, the Army has not routinely assessed shipping discrepancies to maintain adequate oversight of shipped inventory. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-109/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-109.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-109/pdf/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-109.pdf GAO/NSIAD-00-109 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-109 Letter Report GAO/NSIAD-00-109; Defense Inventory: Army Needs to Strengthen and Follow; Financial management Inventory control systems Military procurement Logistics Spare parts Federal property management Property losses Internal controls Federal agency accounting systems DOD Financial Management Improvement Plan Public Law 105-85