DOD Financial Management: Improvements Needed in Army's Efforts to Ensure the Reliability of Its Statement of Budgetary Resources

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 requires the Department of Defense DOD to describe how its SBR will be validated as ready for audit by September 30, 2014. The DOD Comptroller issued the FIAR Guidance to provide a standard methodology for DOD components to use to develop and implement FIPs, improve financial management, and achieve audit readiness. The Army s FIP for budget execution provides a framework for planning, executing, and tracking essential steps with supporting documentation to achieve audit readiness of its General Fund SBR. GAO is mandated to audit the U.S. government s consolidated financial statements, including activities of executive branch agencies such as DOD. This report identifies the extent to which the Army developed and implemented its General Fund SBR FIP for budget execution in accordance with the FIAR Guidance with regard to 1 determining the scope of activities included in the FIP and 2 completing those activities included in the scope of the FIP. GAO reviewed the Army s FIP to determine whether it contained the elements required by the FIAR Guidance and reviewed test results, status reports, and other deliverables.