What will the new service provide?
The Financial Management Service Improvement Initiative (FMSII) is a major acquisition program that will replace the Coast Guard’s existing accounting systems with a new financial, procurement and asset management service designed to enhance financial policy compliance, transparency, management, execution and long-term sustainment.
Instead of developing a unique solution, the acquisition program will obtain commercial off-the-shelf financial management and procurement services in accordance with new federal guidelines. This program is part of a larger effort across the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to modernize and standardize financial services. The Coast Guard is working closely with the Transportation Security Administration and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office to implement a solution that can be scaled to meet the needs of multiple DHS components.
What will the new service provide?
The new financial management service will consolidate many of the Coast Guard’s financial processes. Some financial tasks currently completed at the unit level will be centralized at regional centers, freeing up time for unit commands without reducing their authority over unit-level mission resource decisions.
The new service will replace five separate programs, simplifying many financial processes necessary to Coast Guard operations. Moving these functions to a single service will reduce redundancy for users. Rather than entering and processing data in multiple programs, Coast Guard personnel will only need to perform these tasks once, and the data will be available throughout the Coast Guard when needed.
The service will also simplify the auditing process. Auditing allows the Coast Guard to evaluate its own spending to make informed budget decisions and also helps the service clearly articulate its funding needs to policymakers.
Why this program?
The software service obtained by FMSII will replace the current Core Accounting System (CAS), a financial suite that the Coast Guard has used since 1998. The CAS no longer complies with federal standards. It is extremely difficult and expensive to maintain basic functionality and to correct system issues, and the business practices upon which it was built have become outdated. A modernized financial solution will enhance the Coast Guard’s capabilities to realize improvements in performance, data integrity and financial transparency.