DVIDS – News – Southwest Fleet Readiness Center Accounting Automation Team Wins DOD Financial Management Award

Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) has once again demonstrated excellence in financial management, winning the prestigious Department of Defense (DoD) Financial Management (FM) award for its innovative contributions to data-driven decision-making. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and innovation of the FRCSW team, as well as the collaboration that drives their continuous improvement efforts.

The annual FM Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Awards Program honors the exceptional contributions of FM professionals throughout the DoD. This year, the Awards Program Board reviewed 152 nominations, ultimately recommending 29 recipients who highlight the diverse talents and achievements within the FM workforce. Among these esteemed recipients is the FRCSW Accounting Automation Team, consisting of Grazyna Waters, Sophia Dominguez, and Noelle Nordgren. The team is recognized for their outstanding efforts in automating and streamlining the handling of exceptions in Time Attendance and Payroll (TAP) timesheets.

The ‘Time Out Application’ developed by the FRCSW Accounting Automation Team generates timely notifications to supervisors, ensuring that issues in the command’s official timekeeping system are resolved before the end of the billing period.

FRCSW has a workforce of over 2,700 and the command relies on client-funded work to generate revenue. Ensuring accuracy in timekeeping and pay distribution is essential, as failure to enter accurate work data into the system can result in incorrect hours being charged. To address this issue, FRCSW worked with its IT team to develop an automated workflow application that distributes a “TAP Missing Time/Attention Report.” The application is designed to systematically generate reports for supervisors and deliver them to their inboxes, increasing awareness and facilitating timely resolution of issues.

“When the Navy introduced Flankspeed, an enterprise cloud-based environment, it brought with it a suite of different productivity applications. Then it hit me that we could easily automate this manual process in-house. I encouraged our accounting team to work closely with our local IT department to make this vision a reality. The team successfully leveraged the capabilities available through Flankspeed without relying on external software. said Ji Kim, FRCSW controller.

Previously, supervisors relied on inefficient spreadsheets that often led to discrepancies. The new Missing Time app streamlines this process by automating reports and ensuring that supervisors only receive relevant notifications. This automation has reduced manual efforts, improved internal controls, and improved workflows.

The successful implementation of the “TAP Missing Time/Needs Attention Report” project brought significant benefits to the command. Automation has enabled early identification and intervention of incorrect employee transactions, enabling timely corrections, which improves data quality. The project also made it easier to rebalance the working hours of Comptroller staff.

This reallocation involves shifting time from raw data compilation and administrative tasks such as report distribution to more valuable activities such as data analysis and decision support.

“It’s fascinating that we are witnessing a paradigm shift. As technology advances, we find innovative ways to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up valuable work hours for more strategic and creative endeavors. What previously took hours or even days of manual work can now be done with a few lines of code or the click of a button, just as we have automated the TAP exception reporting process. This change not only streamlines processes, but also enables financial management professionals to focus on critical thinking, data analysis and problem solving. It’s like having a team of tireless assistants working behind the scenes, allowing us to tackle complex challenges,” says Kim.

FRCSW’s commitment to improving financial management processes has not only ensured accurate pay for employees, but has also significantly reduced the time spent correcting pay discrepancies. Their efforts exemplify the innovation and time-keeping capabilities that drive FRCSW’s mission.

The full list of award recipients will be announced at the DoD FM conference, scheduled for August 26-27, 2024, at Fort Belvoir, VA, and then at special events at the Pentagon on August 28, 2024. As FRCSW continues to lead innovation in financial management, their achievements set a high standard of excellence and dedication within the Department of Defense.