troller is responsible for ensuring that resources expended on financial statement preparation are minimized until the reporting entity can demonstrate that it is ready for audit. Typically the financial management community In the News would take care of this. But military equipment is unique. Information about military equipment must be obtained from the acquisition and logistics communities, so indi- THE AUDITORS ARE COMING! THE viduals in these communities are required to assert to AUDITORS ARE COMING! the accuracy of the information they give to the finan- Richard K. Sylvester cial management community. In fact, these communi- f you’re an acquisition professional who works with ties are involved in four management assertions: military equipment programs, you need to prepare • The Valuation Assertion, which verifies that the assets Ifor one of the biggest New Year’s events in Depart- have been valued in accordance with federal accounting ment of Defense history. No, we’re not having a huge standards and generally accepted accounting princi- party, but we are sending out a serious invitation. ples • The Completeness Assertion, which verifies that all the In early 2007, the inspector general is going to invite in- programs on the Property, Plant & Equipment (PP&E) dependent auditors to begin their audit of DoD’s mili- line item of the balance sheet that should have been tary equipment programs. And here’s the good news: reported have been recorded and reported We’ll be ready for the auditors, thanks to the Military Equipment Valuation (MEV) initiative. Preparing our military equipment In case you haven’t heard, MEV is a DoD-wide effort to programs for audit is the law. capitalize, depreciate, properly account for, and report military equipment. Basically, we’re treating military equipment as capitalized assets instead of expenses, pro- • The Rights and Obligations Assertion, which verifies rating their value over their useful life and recording those that the Service reporting the item does in fact have values on financial statements that are subject to audit. the rights to and “owns” the equipment • The Existence Assertion, which verifies that the mili- With the help of program management offices across tary equipment being reported does in fact exist. the Department, the Property & Equipment (P&E) Pol- icy Office has established the initial value of each item Working with the military departments and defense agen- of military equipment in the DoD inventory, using a con- cies, the P&E Policy Office developed a recommended sistent approach that can be audited. Now we have to approach for completing the assertions. To learn more update that program information and ensure it’s ready about that approach, visit <www.acq.osd.mil/me>and for audit. click on “Management Assertion Training” in the Quick Links menu. Updates in CAMS-ME: Due September 30, 2006 The Capital Asset Management System-Military Equip- Dotting the I’s and Crossing the T’s for Our ment (CAMS-ME) is the system that the P&E Policy Of- Warfighters fice and the Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) System Preparing our military equipment programs for audit is Center-San Diego have developed to consolidate the av- the law. It also has tremendous benefits: It demonstrates erage cost of assets, update total program expenditures, renewed responsibility to the taxpayer, and it gives se- depreciate assets over their useful life, and record asset nior management officials the ability to approach Con- status. Points of contact who have already been desig- gress and the American people with better knowledge nated in all of the Services will use the CAMS-ME portal of our military equipment programs—and not just the Web-based tool to update their military equipment ad- number of vehicles, ships, and planes, but also what each dition, disposal, and transfer data. Training on CAMS- costs, its current value, and how long it will operate. Ul- ME for POCs is now being offered as a Web-based mod- timately, this information, verified by an independent ule, accessible from the Quick Links menu on our Web auditor, will help us to make investment decisions that site: <www.acq.osd.mil/me>. provide the best support for our warfighters. Management Assertion for Audit Readiness: Due Sylvester is deputy director for property & equipment pol- December 31, 2006 icy within the Acquisition, Resources and Analysis Office, According to Section 1008 of the 2002 National Defense Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (AT&L). Authorization Act, the under secretary of defense comp- Defense AT&L: July-August 2006 48 In the News ARMY NEWS SERVICE (FEB. 22, 2006) and direction from concept to capability development ARMY CREATES NEW CAPABILITIES for full spectrum operations, as well as shape the future INTEGRATION CENTER for the next generation of soldiers. ASHINGTON—The Secretary of the Army signed a General Order Feb. 15, to roll out The ARCIC, through the TRADOC commanding general, Wthe Army’s organization responsible for in- will be responsible to the Army Secretary and Army Chief tegrating Future Combat Systems capabilities into the of Staff. It will be headquartered at Fort Monroe, Va., with force as soon as practical. a forward element in Arlington, Va. The National Capi- tal Region office will be responsible for working with the The Army Capabilities Integration Center, or ARCIC, was Army Staff, Joint Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense, formed from the resources and organization of the U.S. and other agencies. Army Training and Doctrine Command Futures Center. “The ARCIC is responsible for integrating and synchro- With the new name and new mission, the ARCIC will be nizing the activities of many separate agencies and Head- the lead Army agency for coordinating how best to in- quarters Department of the Army elements,” said Col. tegrate warfighting capabilities into the force and among Rickey Smith, director of the ARCIC-Forward. “Currently, the military services and with other agencies. many segments of our Army individually provide pieces of the overall DOTMLPF composite picture. The ARCIC “We are retaining the complete mission set from the Fu- will lead in determining if the right force capability re- tures Center and adding the tremendous responsibility quirements are being worked, or whether we are clos- for integrating capabilities into the modular force,” said ing the gaps needed to support our soldiers and leaders Lt. Gen. J. Mark Curran at a media roundtable Feb. 16 for today’s and tomorrow’s requirements.” during the Winter Association of the United States Army conference in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Curran, formerly di- This represents a significant change in how the Army rector of the Futures Center, will serve as the ARCIC’s di- does business, Smith said. rector. “The ARCIC represents a real, tangible shift,” he said. “This integration goes beyond materiel items and in- “Here are two examples. In the very near future, the cludes all DOTMLPF (doctrine, organization, training, ma- Army will establish an Evaluation Brigade Combat Team teriel, leader development, personnel, and facilities) do- for the purpose of evaluating and testing FCS technolo- mains,” Curran said. “We must work the synchronization gies in order to spin them out to the modular force. The and coordination of agencies across the Army and the ARCIC will have the key role in determining what the Joint community to ensure we accelerate inserting ca- EBCT tests, and determining whether these technologies pabilities into the modular force, when these are ready, meet the requirements. to meet an essential need.” “The ARCIC will also serve as the soldier’s representa- The ARCIC’s responsibilities will include the Future Com- tive, ensuring that requirements are being met,” he said. bat Systems, the modernization program for the Army to move from the current force to the future force. The Since wargaming, concept development, and experi- program provides soldiers with leading-edge technolo- mentation across DoD have implications for the fielding gies to improve their capabilities in fighting the enemy of needed capabilities to the current and future Joint in complex environments. Force commander, “The ARCIC is a permanent organi- zation designed to serve as the coordinating agent among “Our role in inserting (Future Combat Systems) capa- all stakeholders involved in the force capability require- bilities into the force when ready is critical to enabling ments process, including requirements identification and the Army to evolve rapidly while engaged in this long integration,” Smith said. war,” Curran said. “The Future Combat Systems program is the fastest, surest way to modernize the Army.” “The ARCIC will stay engaged at all levels to ensure in- tegrated current and future force developments are con- The ARCIC’s work will pave the way for brigade combat sidered in the sister services, Joint Staff, and Army ac- teams to use Future Combat Systems technologies, ac- quisition and budget decisions,” Smith said. “Decisions cording to Army senior leaders. It will provide impetus that affect Army capabilities now and in the future will 49 Defense AT&L: July-August 2006 In the News cause us to re-examine our operational Maintainers have to work supply line concepts and shift our priorities and issues—making sure needed parts are resources accordingly.” on hand among other things, building a work area specifically for the F-22, Editor’s note: Information provided by and developing training requirements the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine for mechanics. Command Public Affairs Office. “Most maintainers will tell you that OGDEN AIR LOGISTICS being on the ground floor of a new CENTER PUBLIC AFFAIRS weapon system is unique,” said (FEB. 23, 2006) Dooner. “A lot of hard work goes into RAPTOR CAPABILITIES getting it off the ground but in the end, PRESENT NEW you have the opportunity to implement CHALLENGES new ideas and ways of doing business.