IG finds holes in Army financial data system
Army managers did not reengineer their Logistics Modernization Program system to perform Procure-to-Pay functions correctly, leaving the program open to fraud and poor bookkeeping.
Army financial and system managers did not reengineer their Logistics Modernization Program system to perform Procure-to-Pay functions correctly, leaving the program open to fraud and poor bookkeeping, according to a new report.
The LMP system is set up to record accounting transactions for goods and services while also processing data for the Army Working Capitol Fund’s business operations.
However, the Defense Department’s inspector general reported that Army managers didn’t provide effective oversight for building the LMP system and setting up system access templates. The result was a lack of data integrity for the Procure-to-Pay process, according to the report released May 29.
As of Aug. 31, 2011, LMP reported more than $10.6 billion in abnormal balances within the Procure-to-Pay general ledger accounts.
Furthermore, the Army Enterprise Systems Integration Program Management Office didn't determine the standard financial data attributes needed to establish the vendor master database and populate the correct domain values for Army systems to process Procure-to-Pay transactions correctly.
The IG recommended the Army create a vendor database on the System for Award Management [SAM], a new comprehensive center for acquisition data hosted by the General Services Administration. It's scheduled to go live this summer.
Army officials agreed with the IG’s other recommendations as well. Officials said they would conduct reviews of the system and how it is used. As for using SAM, the Army said it would take some changes to adapt the system to fit DOD’s current setup.