Finances now better managed

Volume 48, No. 19, October 19, 2006

AIR Force is contributing to Defence-wide efforts to make the organisation’s financial management more effective and efficient.

The first quarterly report on Air Force’s compliance with Federal government financial management framework, policy and legislation will be submitted by October 31.

According to Assistant Secretary, Financial Controls Framework Project, Mike Gibson, “there is nothing new in the need to comply with the framework, legislation and policy”.

“What is new is the need to report compliance,” he said.

The Government now requires all Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 agency Secretaries and Chief Executive Officers to sign an annual Certificate of Compliance attesting that their organisation complies with the Federal Government financial management framework and 14 pieces of legislation and policy.

“The reporting also requires us to note areas of non-compliance and explain what we have done to address those issues,” Mr Gibson said. “Financial managers have nothing to fear about this new requirement. This reporting process is about highlighting where compliance has broken down and what we have done to fix it. It is just another way of making Defence’s financial management more effective and efficient.”

CAF and the other Service Chiefs, Group Heads, the Inspector General and Defence Materiel Organisation division heads will report on their entity’s compliance with the framework, legislation and policies every quarter. They will also sign a replica certificate.

The information collected through the quarterly reports will be collated annually and will form the basis of the Certificates of Compliance that the Secretary and the Chief Executive Officer of DMO will sign off by October 15 each year, from 2007.

A full list of the legislation and policies that apply to the certificate can be found at the new Finance in Defence – FinD – website. Go to http://intranet.defence.gov.au/find and click on Compliance on the left-hand side. For more information contact Michael John on (02) 6265 5907.

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