A key component of audit readiness is investment in human capital through work-force training. There were lessons learned from the observations and experiences of a Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) National Functional Training Lead (NFTL) who developed and managed related training both during the conversion of Operating Materials and Supplies (OM&S) from legacy material management systems to an approved Accountable Property System of Record (APSR) and into sustainment. Those lessons are examples of best business practices that can be leveraged by other Department of Defense (DoD) components working toward audit readiness.
NAVAIR’s best practices include the creation of role-based curriculums, use of gap analysis, compilation of student reference materials and collaboration with other subject-matter experts (SMEs). Both online and offline resources were developed to provide support for and deliver ongoing support to end users after training.
Requirement for Audit Readiness
The Secretary of Defense issued a memo titled “Improving Financial Information and Achieving Audit Readiness” in response to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2010, Section 1003 that said auditable financial statements were necessary to facilitate decision making and to ensure NDAA compliance while informing the public that DoD is a good steward of taxpayer dollars. NAVAIR designated Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) as the primary APSR for management of NAVAIR’s OM&S in October 2014 and directed program managers and accountable property officers (APOs) to ensure compliance. Senior Leadership then stood up the Audit Ready Inventory Team (ARIT) to facilitate and standardize APSR conversion throughout the Command. NFTLs supporting ARIT evaluated existing training constructs and developed new materials and processes to improve training efficacy.
Instructor-Led Training
The first step in the NFTL evaluation process was to review existing instructor-led training (ILT) materials. These consisted of eight role-based training programs covering warehouse management, materiel management, and two methods of conducting physical inventories—each from a supervisory and non-supervisory perspective. Upon completing a role-based ILT course, end-users are granted access to job specific transaction codes and authorized to operate in Navy ERP. The NFTL merged the supervisory and non-supervisory trainings for both physical inventory curriculums. Teaching supervisors and non-supervisors together increases students’ understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the overall physical inventory process. End-user certification time was reduced by 2 days as a result of condensing training from eight to six classes. These training packages were compared with those from other Commands to ensure consistency throughout the Department of the Navy. Incorporating audit requirements and new policies produced the first authentic NAVAIR-specific curriculum for Navy ERP material management.
A gap analysis compiled and analyzed a list of more than 180 transaction codes used for inventory and warehouse management in Navy ERP. The analysis was used to determine which transaction codes lacked end-user training material, such as videos or desk guides, and to prioritize the creation of supplemental materials for each transaction code. The gap analysis was also used to identify the appropriate training materials to be included within the ILT curriculum.
Videos and Desk Guides
NFTLs collaborated with a contractor to develop more than 100 videos and desk guides specifically tailored for the NAVAIR material management user community. The videos include open captioning and are intended to be played during end-users transactions in Navy ERP. Videos and desk guides were reviewed and revised by the NAVAIR ERP Business Office and the OM&S Branch (AIR 6.8.3.3) to ensure consistency and policy compliance.
NAVAIR Guidebook
In addition to the videos and desk guides, a guidebook was created to provide the end-user with over-arching, standardized processes across the NAVAIR enterprise. The NAVAIR Property Guidebook (NPG) provides Material Managers with a user-friendly reference document for the procurement and management of OM&S. The NFTLs, in collaboration with AIR 6.8.3.3 SMEs, developed and co-authored the “Manage-It-Right” section that includes scenarios covering the management of OM&S materiel from initial receipt to disposal. The NPG, representing current best practices for NAVAIR, is undergoing the final internal review process prior to publication. Once approved for dissemination, the NPG will be made available across the NAVAIR ERP community via a Web-based platform—SharePoint.
SharePoint
SharePoint is the common document management and storage system used by NAVAIR. The NFTL collaborated with the SharePoint Administrator to create the AIR 6.0 Navy ERP Training page that permits users to access training material as needed. It visually incorporates the overarching business process concepts of the NPG to provide cross-platform consistency. SharePoint provides users with access via interactive links to ILT course materials, desk guides and unique how-to videos, standard work packages, DoD instructions and NAVAIR policy. SharePoint also will be used to gather usage data and provide a user feedback mechanism regarding the perceived value of the training materials to facilitate future improvements.
Warehouse Management
Community Forum
The NFTL created a monthly forum to communicate pertinent issues directly to the material managers. This recurring meeting provides a means to socialize applicable information and create a collaborative network across the enterprise. The monthly forum is a continuous venue to share any roadblocks or success stories from the various sites. Additionally, training updates and products have resulted from recommendations made by the warehouse management community.
Summary
NAVAIR NFTLs are successfully mitigating the risks of the significant structural and cultural changes caused by becoming audit ready. Although much work remains to be accomplished, NAVAIR has made considerable progress toward improving audit readiness by investing in the training and preparation of its workforce. Just as NAVAIR built on lessons learned from previous conversion training, these best practices can be copied and modified for use throughout the DoD to ensure that holistic, student-focused training is the standard, not the exception, and that Congress’ audit readiness goals are fully achieved. CAPT Timothy Pfannenstein, AIR 6.0B, put it in perspective when he said, “We are expected to be good stewards of our tax dollars. Achieving audit readiness is not only our obligation to the taxpayer; it is simply the right thing to do.”
Vancelette has been the Naval Air Systems Command National Functional Training Lead for Inventory and Warehouse Management for more than 2 years. Since 2010, she has served in several Navy Commands as a Navy Enterprise Resource Planning Subject‑Matter Expert in Procurement and Material Management. Conroy has been assigned to Defense Acquisition University as a professor of Life Cycle Logistics Management and of Production, Quality and Manufacturing since 2005.
The authors may be contacted through
laura.vancelette@navy.mil and
William.conroy@dau.mil.
