Defense Financial Management - Curriculum 837
Program Officer
Matt Geiser, CDR, USN
Code GB, Ingersoll Hall, Room 219A
(831) 656-3953, DSN 756-3953
mtgeiser1@nps.edu
Academic Associate
Amilcar Menichini, Ph.D.
Code GB, Ingersoll Hall, Room 208
(831) 656-2694, DSN 756-2694
aamenich@nps.edu
Brief Overview
The objective of the Defense Financial Management Curriculum is to prepare officers for management, financial, and analysis positions within the DoN and DoD. Financial Managers assist the DoN's decision-making processes at all levels by providing accurate, timely and relevant information and analysis. They are concerned with the optimal allocation of human, physical and financial resources to achieve the DoN's goals and objectives while assuring efficient and effective expenditure of public funds. Graduates of the Defense Financial Management Curriculum will be prepared for assignment to positions in strategic planning, management analysis, financial analysis, budgeting, accounting, business and financial management, and internal control systems and auditing.
Graduate courses cover topics such as financial reporting standards, cost standards, cost analysis, budgeting and financial management, internal control, auditing, management planning and control systems, strategic resource management, quantitative techniques used in planning and control, system acquisition and program management, and the Planning Programming, Budgeting Execution System (PPBES) used within the Department of Defense. The program can be delivered in 12 to 18-months, by adding Joint Professional Military Education courses or elective academic certificates as required.
Competency: Graduates will be able to apply state-of-the-art financial management concepts to military management problems.
Requirements for Entry
A baccalaureate degree with above-average grades is required. Completion of at least two semesters of college algebra or trigonometry is considered to be the minimum mathematical preparation. An APC of 345 is required for entry. International students should refer to the Admissions section for current TOEFL and entrance requirements.
Convenes
Winter, Summer
Program Length
Four to Six Quarters
Degree
Requirements for the Master of Science (MS) in Defense Financial Management degree are met en route to satisfying the Educational Skills Requirements.
Financial Management Subspecialty
Completion of this curriculum qualifies a U.S. Navy officer as a Defense Financial Management Subspecialist, subspecialty code 3110P. Completion qualifies a U.S. Marine Corps officer for MOS 8844.
Typical Subspecialty Jobs
Comptroller: Naval Bases/Naval Air Stations/SYSCOMs
Budget Analyst: Office of Budget, N-82 SYSCOMS, U.S. STRATCOM
Public Works Officer: CONUS/OUTCONUS
Comptroller: Naval Hospitals
Business Financial Managers: Program Offices
Action Officer/Program Analyst: OSD
Budget Analyst: OPNAV
Fiscal Officer: BUMED
Budget Officer: CINPACFLT/CINCLANTFLT
Curriculum Sponsor
N-82, Director, Office of Budget and Fiscal Management Division.
Degree requirements
Completion of a minimum of 48 credit hours of graduate-level courses, at least 12 hours of which are at the 4000 level.
Completion of an approved sequence of courses in the student's area of concentration with a minimum of 20 credit hours.
Completion of an acceptable capstone project.
Approval of the candidate's program by the Chair, DDM.
Typical Course of Study: Curriculum 837
Quarter 1
| MN3041 | Managerial Data Analysis | | 4 | 0 |
| MN3050 | Financial Reporting and Analysis | | 4 | 0 |
| MN4053 | Defense Budget and Financial Management Policy | | 4 | 0 |
| MN3070 | Fundamentals of Cost Benefit Analysis | | 4 | 0 |
Quarter 2
| MN3051 | Cost Management | | 3 | 0 |
| MN3510 | Defense Financial Management Practice | | 3 | 0 |
| MN4052 | Managerial Finance | | 3 | 0 |
| MN3301 | Acquisition of Defense Systems | | 4 | 0 |
MN3301: Equivalent to DAU courses ACQ101 & ACQ102. May be replaced by MN3331. May be replaced by MN3031 for international students.
Quarter 3
| MN4520 | Internal Control & Audit | | 3 | 0 |
| MN3010 | Leading Innovative Organizations and People | | 4 | 0 |
| NW3230 | Strategy & War | | 4 | 2 |
| NW3285 | Theater Security Decision Making | | 4 | 0 |
Quarter 4
| MN4045 | Defense-Focused Managerial Inquiry | | 3 | 0 |
| MN4510 | Strategic Resource Management | | 4 | 0 |
| MN4530 | Management Control Systems | | 4 | 0 |
| MN4014 | Competitive Strategy and Innovation | | 4 | 0 |
| MN4044 | Defense-Focused Managerial Inquiry and Innovation Lab | | 3 | 2 |
Quarter 5
GB4999 or JPME.
MN4090 or Thesis or Innovation Lab Capstone.
Quarter 6
GB4999 or JPME.
MN4090 or Thesis or Innovation Lab Capstone.
Educational Skills Requirements (ESR)
Defense Financial Management - Curriculum 837
Subspecialty Code 3110P
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Management Fundamentals: The graduate will have the ability to apply quantitative techniques, accounting, economics, finance, organization theory, information technology, and other state-of-the-art management techniques and concepts to military management problems. In addition, the graduate will know basic management theory and practice, embracing leadership, ethics, written and oral communication, organization design, team building, human resource management, conflict resolution, quality assurance, cost-benefit analysis, risk analysis, stakeholder analysis, and planning within military organizations, as well as military sub-units and activities. This ensures internal and external constituencies are considered in resource management.
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Strategic Vision and Defense Budgeting: The graduate will understand the roles the executive and legislative branches in strategic planning, setting federal fiscal policy, allocating resources to national defense, budget formulation, budget negotiation, budget justification, and budget execution strategies, including the principles of Federal Appropriations Law. In addition, the graduate will have knowledge of all aspects of the federal, Defense, and Navy budget cycles including the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution system with emphasis on budget formulation and execution.
- Funds Management: In support of approved programs, the graduate will be able to manage appropriated, revolving, and non-appropriated funds in compliance with regulations of the Comptroller of the Navy and the federal government. In addition, the graduate will be able to develop and review financial reports, analyze budget execution against operating and financial plans, develop alternate plans based on analyses of an activity's financial performance, and prepare recommendations or make decisions regarding the reallocation or reprogramming of funds. The guidelines of the Defense Finance and Accounting System and the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board are relevant.
- Accountability, Control, and Auditing: The graduate will be able to acquire and analyze financial data and communicate the results to a diverse audience, including maintaining an integrated financial information system and appropriate internal controls to ensure timely, accurate, and consistent financial information. In accordance with the auditing standards of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Defense and Navy audit organizations, and the professional standards of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the graduate will learn to apply audit techniques that enforce sound internal accounting, and administrative controls, safeguard defense assets and assure the completeness and integrity of financial reports.
- Acquisition and Program Management: The graduate will understand the purpose and concepts, fundamentals and philosophies of the defense systems acquisition process, and the practical application of program management methods within this process. This includes systems acquisition management; the systems acquisition life cycle; user-producer acquisition management disciplines and activities; and program planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. This satisfies the Defense Acquisition University education equivalency requirements for defense acquisition professionals as specified in Congress' Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA).
- Economy, Efficiency, and Effectiveness: The graduate will have the skills for solving complex and unstructured management problems in which alternatives must be identified, evaluated, and selected in accordance with economical procurement of resources, and effective accomplishment of overall Defense and Navy goals and objectives. This includes cost/benefit analysis, systems analysis, cost estimation, value engineering, business process reengineering, and application of relevant OMB and Defense regulations.
- Cost Management and Analysis: The graduate will be able to design, implement, and evaluate different costing systems encountered within Defense and Navy organizations and activities, as well as those found in private sector organizations conducting business with the federal government. In addition to private sector cost management policies and practices, the graduate will understand the application of Defense unit costing guidelines to functional business areas, and the Office of Management and Budget 's Cost Accounting Standards for major suppliers of goods and services to the federal government.
- Strategic Resources Management: The graduate will use knowledge of strategic vision and strategic core competency concepts for setting long-range goals, objectives and funding; designing programs to achieve objectives; assigning individual responsibility for resource management, actions, and decision making; measuring performance; reporting results; and evaluating and incentivizing performance. This includes assessing customer needs and customer satisfaction, making recommendations, and implementing improvements in the effective delivery of goods and services to customers or users.
- Innovation and Creativity: The graduate will demonstrate innovation and creativity in developing solutions to complex financial, budget, and program management issues that increase program effectiveness and customer satisfaction, while controlling the efficient utilization of financial, physical, and human resources. This involves the ability to identify problems and potential concerns, providing leadership, and teaming with others in the decision making process, and obtaining support for recommended decisions or courses of action.
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Strategy and Policy: Officers develop a graduate-level ability to think strategically, critically analyze past military campaigns, and apply historical lessons to future joint and combined operations, in order to discern the relationship between a nation's policies and goals and the ways military power may be used to achieve them. This is fulfilled by completing the first of the Naval War College series leading to Service Intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) and Phase I Joint PME credit
Curriculum Sponsor and Educational Skill Requirements Approval Authority:
Defense Financial Management (837)
Chief of Naval Operations (N8/N82)