MN3154 Financial Management in the Armed Forces

This course is designed for non-MBA students and focuses on financial management policies and practices in the DoD. It begins with a foundation including the origin of the Defense budget from national strategic planning through the PPBE system and the submission of the President's Budget to Congress. The Congressional Authorization and Appropriation processes and the flow of funds to the activity level complete the foundation. The course next explores the funding mechanisms for programs and activities, addressing the proper use and management of appropriated, reimbursable and revolving funds. Basic principles of fiscal law are explored. The course concludes with financial management and stewardship topics including budgetary accounting, management of cost drivers, and internal controls. Contemporary financial management issues are discussed. Exercises and case studies are used to develop the students' ability to apply financial management concepts to real life situations. Prerequisites: None.

Lecture Hours

Lab Hours

Course Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, the student should:

· Appreciate the historical, political, legal and administrative foundations for defense financial management and how they enable or constrain other aspects of defense management.

· Describe the primary processes in defense financial management, including how resource allocation decisions are made and the processes for using those resources once provided, and be able to identify the primary participants in DoD financial management and their roles.

· Define the parameters and constraints that determine how funds can be obligated and moved within DoD. Understand the origins and purposes of those limitations. Apply the following basic concepts of fiscal law to DoD scenarios: necessary expense, bona fide need, severability, full and incremental funding. Analyze the differences in management concerns associated with the three funding mechanisms: appropriated funds, reimbursable funds and revolving funds.

· Demonstrate improved situational awareness and analytical skills by applying course concepts to contemporary issues in DoD financial management. Differentiate between DoD accounting principles and those of corporate accounting (financial and managerial), and describe DoD accounting goals and challenges. Estimate the financial information needs of DoD leadership and judge the capabilities and limitations of its accounting systems in meeting those needs.