Battleplan for an Unqualified Opinion: How Does the DoD FM Certification Program Help Fix the DoD's Audit Problem
Abstract
The Department of Defense (DoD) currently does not have the means to produce auditable financial statements. With new budget constraints being implemented across the government, there is more pressure on the financial community to improve the overall performance and accountability with tax payer dollars. While there are several aspects that factor into the reliability of the statements, the education and experience of the workforce is a major contributor to the ability to produce auditable financial statements. The DoD Financial Management (FM) Certification Program is a course-based certification that ensures financial managers have the proper training and background to perform their duties. Following the Evaluation methodology, this paper evaluates the FM certification program and compares it to other test based certifications to determine if the program enhances the knowledge of the FM workforce and improves financial reporting. This paper found while the FM Certification program does introduce new information to FM, there are areas the program does not address training shortfalls and cannot ensure more reliable financial statements. The paper recommends altering the program to address issues related to auditing and the financial management systems to meet the requirements needed for an unqualified audit opinion.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 29, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1041047
Entities
People
- Joseph Z. Girthoffer
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College