To support  its operations, DOD performs an assortment of interrelated and  interdependent business functions, such as logistics, procurement, health  care, and financial management. Independent assessments conducted by ATEC and AFOTEC have  identified operational problems with each system. Monitoring the status of the corrective actions, along with the  overall progress of DOD ERPs, is essential to help ensure that the  systems are implemented on schedule and within budget, and provide the  promised capabilities. Further, at the time of our review, GFEBS and DEAMS were  not providing DFAS users with the expected capabilities in accounting,  management information, and decision support. DFAS users stated that approximately two-thirds of invoice and receipt  data must be manually entered into GFEBS from the invoicing and  receiving system (i.e., Wide Area Work Flow) due to interface problems.DFAS personnel told us that manual data entry will eventually become  infeasible due to increased quantities of data that will have to be manually  entered as GFEBS is deployed to additional locations. Army officials  explained that the primary cause of the problem is that the interface  specification that GFEBS is required to use by the department does not  provide the same level of functionality as the interface specification that  the legacy systems are allowed to use. Army officials stated they are  working with DOD to resolve the problem. DEAMS is not able to produce the monthly  accounts receivable aging report as intended, officials told us, and  therefore, the report is produced manually.capability to produce the aging report existed in the legacy systems. The  DEAMS Financial Management Office (FMO) is aware of the problems  and is in the process of resolving them. However, at the time of our  review, no timetable had been set for the problem resolution. Further, given the Secretary of Defense’s goal for the department, that  the Statement of Budgetary Resources is to be audit ready by fiscal year  2014, the resolution of the issues identified at DFAS is even more critical  since GFEBS and DEAMS are an essential part of the ability of the Army  and the Air Force to meet the Secretary’s goal. Without timely and  effective corrective action, the department is at risk of making investment  decisions that may not provide the desired results—improvements in the  department’s business operations—and the ERP efforts could continue to  experience unnecessary schedule delays and cost increases. However, according to DFAS personnel, the training they  received for GFEBS and DEAMS, prior to the systems becoming  operational at the various DFAS locations, did not fully meet their needs  as users. DFAS personnel informed us that the training focused on an  overview of GFEBS and DEAMS and how the systems were supposed to  operate. While this was beneficial in identifying how GFEBS and DEAMS  were different from the existing legacy systems, the instruction focused  too much on concepts rather than the skills needed for DFAS users to  perform their day-to-day operations. During its implementation efforts, the department has identified system  weaknesses. In light of the Secretary of Defense’s recent decision that the Statement of  Budgetary Resources is to be audit ready by fiscal year 2014, it is critical  that the department have effective business systems in place to support  its auditability goals. Recommendations for Executive Action

To help provide for the successful implementation of Army and Air Force  ERPs, and to help ensure that DFAS users have the training needed, we  recommend that the Secretary of Defense take the following five actions:
Direct that the MDA for GFEBS, GCSS-Army, DEAMS, and ECSS  ensure that any future system deficiencies identified through  independent assessments are resolved or mitigated prior to further  deployment of the systems. Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

DOD concurred with four and partially concurred with one of the  recommendations in our draft report.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Defense (DOD) has stated that successful implementation of its enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is critical to DODs auditability goals. An ERP is an automated system that performs a variety of business-related functions. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 mandates that DOD be able to validate its financial statements as audit ready by September 30, 2017. GAO has previously reported that DOD has not effectively employed acquisition management controls to help ensure that the ERPs deliver the promised capabilities on time and within budget. GAO was asked to determine issues being encountered by the Army and the Air Force in the implementation of selected ERPs. GAO reviewed independent assessments and reports and interviewed the systems users and program management office officials.

What GAO Found

DOD has invested billions of dollars and will invest billions more to develop and implement its ERPs. The ERPs play a key role in DODs goal of audit readiness by fiscal year 2017. Furthermore, in light of the Secretary of Defenses decision that the Statement of Budgetary Resources is to be audit ready by fiscal year 2014, it is critical that DOD effectively implement the ERPs to support its auditability goals.
Assessments by independent agencies of the Armys General Fund Enterprise Business System (GFEBS) and the Global Combat Support System and the Air Forces Defense Enterprise and Accounting Management System (DEAMS) and Expeditionary Combat Support System identified operational problems, such as deficiencies in data accuracy, inability to generate auditable financial reports, and the need for manual workarounds. Further, according to DFAS users, GFEBS and DEAMS did not provide all expected capabilities in accounting and decision support. For example:
Approximately two-thirds of invoice and receipt data must be manually entered into GFEBS from the invoicing and receiving system due to interface problems. Army officials explained that the primary cause of the problem is that the interface specification that GFEBS is required by DOD to use does not provide the same level of functionality as the interface specification used by the legacy systems. At the time of our review, Army officials stated that they are working with DOD to resolve the problem, but no time frame for resolution had been established.
DEAMS cannot produce the monthly accounts receivable aging report as intended. The DEAMS Financial Management Office is aware of the problems and is in the process of resolving them. However, at the time of our review, no timetable had been set for the problems resolution.
DOD oversight authority has limited the deployment of GFEBS and DEAMS based upon the results of the independent assessments. Continued monitoring of DOD ERPs is essential to identify system weaknesses and to help ensure that the systems provide the promised capabilities. Without timely and effective corrective action, the department is at risk of making investment and system deployment decisions that may not provide the desired resultsimprovements in the departments business operations.
According to DFAS personnel, the training they received for GFEBS and DEAMS did not fully meet their needs. DFAS personnel informed us that the training focused on an overview of GFEBS and DEAMS and how the systems were supposed to operate. While this was beneficial in identifying how GFEBS and DEAMS were different from the existing legacy systems, the training focused too much on concepts rather than the skills needed for DFAS users to perform their day-to-day operations.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making five recommendations to the Secretary of Defense to ensure the correction of system problems prior to further system deployment, including user training. DOD concurred with four and partially concurred with one of the recommendations and described its efforts to address them.