The US Congress together with the current administration are holding the Department of Defense (DoD) accountable to achieve and sustain Full Audit Readiness of DoD property, plant, equipment, operating materiel and supplies starting FY2018.
This audit readiness initiative is more than an investigation into accounting and record keeping. It’s a department-wide endeavor, which began in FY2013, that will require accountability for all qualifying assets and inventory and to be able to verify the existence and completeness of that inventory.
Click here to download our free Guide to Audit Readiness
Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness
The entire Defense community needs to understand the implications of this Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) Initiative. This directive from Congress mandates that all accountable assets be in a sustained state of audit readiness.
The branches of the US Military and contractors that support them have all made significant strides towards the FIAR initiative since its inception — but there is still a long way to go. The process of capturing and registering data for approximately 150 million assets, whether they are legacy items, Government Furnished Property or newly acquired assets, is a daunting task.
“Being under audit is our new normal at the DoD”
David Norquist, DoD Comptroller, published a recent article in the Defense News where he explained that “Being under audit is our new normal at the DoD”. This will not only mean annual audits for the branches of the military but will also apply for the defense contractors who supply them.
Norquist also stated that by Spring 2018, “We will have over 1,200 auditors inspecting the Department of Defense from book to floor and floor to book.” Ensuring that all of the items in the Government system of record actually exist and can be produced when asked for.
A book-to-floor inspection means that items reported on the accountable property system of record exist. A floor-to-book inspection means that items that exist have been recorded in that system of record.
It should come as no surprise to anyone in the Defense Industry that Audit Readiness is of paramount importance in 2018. That’s why we have published the Guide to Audit Readiness – Complete Guide to Government Property Management and Military Shipments.
The Guide to Audit Readiness
The Guide to Audit Readiness – now updated for 2019 – provides valuable insights into the FIAR initiative and the push from US Congress for a full financial Audit. Learn why accurate property and inventory data is so critical and how the reporting of that specific information to the appropriate government systems is pivotal to maintaining compliance to your contracts.
In this complete guide we’ll share with you some technology and services that are available to help you achieve audit readiness. And we’ll also explain the consequences of non-conformance and the undesirable path of rejected shipments and payments.
You can download your eBook for Free here.
