Of the 173 respondents, almost 70 percent were military officers. The officers served mainly as comptrollers and budget officers at major commands and comptrollers at installations, and the civilians most often served in budget officer positions at installations. Two of the respondents also reported holding doctoral degrees. About 30 percent of these 158 respondents majored in accounting, while approximately 50 percent had other business-related majors. Table 4 shows the majors reported by the 99 officers and 30 civilians holding master’s degrees. Four respondents reported holding more than one major. About 50 percent of all respondents, officers and civilians, reported performing tasks in several financial management-related functions included in our review throughout their careers. The officers’ careers ranged from 3 to 38 years, averaging 18 years, while the civilians’ careers ranged from 12 to 44 years, averaging 27 years. Of the 86 officers and 45 civilians receiving training, 9 out of 10 listed general topics, such as computers and supervision, as examples of the training they had completed. Meanwhile, about one-half of both officers and civilians reported completing some training in financial-related topics, while only about 2 out of 10 reported completing training in accounting-related topics, such as accounting standards and financial reporting. Professional Certifications Held

Almost 20 percent of the respondents reported holding financial management-related certifications. In the Air Force, the 208 key financial managers selected for this review included:
4 senior executives in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller)—SAF/FM&C, including the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller); Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller); Deputy Assistant Secretary, Financial Operations; and Deputy Assistant Secretary, Budget;
10 SAF/FM&C staff involved in financial operations, financial management policy, and/or budget execution-related functions; and
194 staff serving in comptroller, deputy comptroller, budget officer, and working capital fund manager positions at 87 major commands and installations involved in operations, training, supply and maintenance, and the research, development, test, evaluation, and procurement of aircraft, missiles, and other Air Force systems, such as launch systems, satellites, and communications/electronics. Of the 208 selected Air Force financial managers located at 88 organizations, 177 from 79 of these organizations responded to this review. We then worked with Air Force officials in developing a data collection instrument to gather the following types of information under each indicator: formal education: degrees attained, majors, and specific accounting and financial-related courses completed; professional work experience: (1) number of years working in current position, years at DOD, years in other government agencies, and years in the private sector, and (2) experience in five specific financial management-related functions; training: during 1995-1996, specific subjects completed related to accounting, other financial-related topics, and general topics; and professional certifications: CPA, CGFM, other financial management-related certifications, and other nonfinancial management-related certifications held. Two civilians also held doctoral degrees, one in business administration and the other in law.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a legislative mandate, GAO provided information on key financial managers within the Department of the Air Force, specifically focusing on the qualifications and professional work experience of 4 Air Force management executives and 173 key financial management staff representing 79 of the 88 Air Force organizations.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) the four Air Force financial management executives included the: (a) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller); (b) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller); (c) Deputy Assistant Secretary, Financial Operations; and (d) Deputy Assistant Secretary, Budget; (2) each of the executives had attained masters degrees; (3) none held professional certifications; and (4) of the 173 other key Air Force financial managers responding to GAO's review: (a) almost 70 percent (117) were military officers, serving mainly as comptrollers and budget officers at major commands and as comptrollers at installations; (b) 56 were civilian personnel serving mainly in budget officer positions at installations; (c) all of the 117 officers and 41 of the 56 civilians reported holding bachelors degrees; (d) about 30 percent of respondents with bachelors degrees majored in accounting, while approximately 50 percent majored in other business-related areas; (e) 129 (99 officers and 30 civilians) also reported holding advanced degrees; (f) about two-thirds of these degrees were in business-related majors other than accounting, while the majors of the remaining respondents were not business-related, and two civilians held doctoral degrees--one in business administration and the other in law; (g) the officers' careers ranged from 3 to 38 years, averaging 18 years, while the civilians' careers ranged from 12 to 44 years, averaging 27 years; (h) officers with less than 12 years of experience were most often assigned as budget officers at installations; (i) about 50 percent of all respondents reported performing tasks throughout their careers in several financial management-related functions included in GAO's review; (j) 131 respondents (86 officers and 45 civilians) reported receiving training during 1995 and 1996, with 9 out of every 10 listing general topics, such as computers and supervision, as examples of the training completed; (k) about one-half also reported completing financial-related training during this period, while only about 2 out of 10 reported completing accounting-related training, such as accounting standards and financial reporting; (l) about 20 percent of the respondents reported holding one or more financial management-related certifications; and (m) of the 32 holding certificates, 6 were Certified Public Accountants (CPA), 6 were Certified Government Financial Managers (CGFM), and 24 were others, such as Certified Cost Analysts and Certified Acquisition Professional in Financial Management and Comptrollership.