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Comptrollers go all green on AMC Financial Management 'stoplight chart'

Staff Sgt. Bruce Daniels, a 43d Comptroller Flight financial analyst, certifies a purchase request while working in the Defense Enterprise Accounting Management System in the Pope Airman Support Center here Feb. 22. Daniels is part of a team which has gone all green on the Air Mobility Command Financial Management "stoplight chart" for four months running -- an accomplishment unmatched in the command. (U.S. Air Force photo/Marc Barnes)

Staff Sgt. Bruce Daniels, a 43d Comptroller Flight financial analyst, certifies a purchase request while working in the Defense Enterprise Accounting Management System in the Pope Airman Support Center here Feb. 22. Daniels is part of a team which has gone all green on the Air Mobility Command Financial Management "stoplight chart" for four months running -- an accomplishment unmatched in the command. (U.S. Air Force photo/Marc Barnes)

POPE ARMY AIRFIELD, N.C. — The 43d Comptroller Flight, one of 12 comptroller organizations in Air Mobility Command, recently achieved recognition as the only one to go all green on the AMC Financial Management "stoplight chart," an assessment tool which includes nine key metrics measuring comptroller effectiveness throughout the command. 

But the flight’s 21 Airmen and civilians weren’t satisfied with setting the standard in AMC for a single month — they’ve continued going all green for four consecutive months.   

According to officials in the 43d CPTF, this is an accomplishment which was achieved by the flight’s financial management professionals through tenacity and creative out-of-the-box thinking, while revamping and managing processes which ultimately lead to mission success for both the comptroller flight and for Air Force units from four different major commands which rely on their services here.

Staff Sgt. Bruce Daniels, a financial analyst, oversees the certification timeliness metric, which measures how quickly the flight reviews and certifies requisitions or purchase requests. The certification process ensures requested purchases are legal and meet a bona-fide need, and confirms that funds are available. 

According to Daniels, meeting this metric is vital because requisition certification allows units here to procure supplies, fund contracts, sustain facilities and complete the mission. In the last five months, the flight has reviewed more than 340 requisitions for everything from office supplies to vehicles, totaling $8.3 million — all with a one- or two-day turnaround. 

“To ensure we meet the three-day metric measurement for certification, I’ve set goals to process documents within one or two days, instead of the three days allowed in the AMC measurement,” Daniels explained. “I also have a goal to clear the certification queue before holidays and weekends to prevent backlogs upon returning from an extended break.” 

Using simple solutions with a focus on achieving desired results has also proven effective in other areas which are measured through the stoplight chart. Staff Sgt. Abbey Oladiti, a deputy disbursing officer, manages outstanding travel orders, working with travelers and approvers to get vouchers processed and paid as quickly as possible. Paid travel vouchers are vital for Airmen who have returned from overseas deployments or other temporary duty assignments, and for those who attend in-residence professional education, conferences and other events.

With a focus on providing Airmen with the best possible service, Oladiti pulls the outstanding travel orders each week, and then researches vouchers to determine if payment has been made. While it sounds simple, researching vouchers requires an eye for detail and can require many hours of effort each week. 

Another process in place to ensure effective financial management relates to cancelling obligations, which involves returning funds which had been obligated for a specific purpose, but will no longer be used or needed due to various factors. 

According to 2nd Lt. Joseph Cannady, the flight’s chief of financial analysis, AMC’s monthly stoplight chart doesn’t measure the flight’s efforts in cancelling obligations, but the process is especially important during fiscal year closeouts because it prevents waste and ensures funds are properly managed to meet the budgetary requirements of the command. 

“When it comes down to it, cancelling obligations takes persistence,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua Woelfel, a financial analyst who is responsible for the processes associated with cancelling obligations. “The process is simple but the execution calls for acute communication skills and the determination to hunt down the documents needed to return funds to (AMC).”

Woelfel and the 43d CPTF budget team de-obligated $717,000 at the end of fiscal year 2016, which allowed Pope to close out 100 percent of the cancelling year obligations — an  accomplishment unmatched in AMC in 2016.  

In addition to measuring certification timeliness and outstanding travel orders, the AMC stoplight chart also tracks invoices on hold, unscheduled invoices, overspent funds, target load accuracy, control summary report management notices, open requisitions, and open 1081s and journal vouchers, which ensure accurate accounting.