Volume 3, Chapter 8, Section 0804 of the Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation dated November 2000 established the requirement to perform obligation review 3 times a year to validate outstanding obligations. Upon the release of this directive, ONR approached The Columbia Group to assist with its compliance as our company was known for having the capability to retrieve live financial data from ERP, STARS and MOCAS.

In collaboration with ONR, The Columbia Group team developed a web-based, email enabled, workflow to assist with the obligation review process. This, Smart Tri-Annual Tool (STAT), has been continuously optimized and customized to meet the needs of other customers such as SPAWAR and NAVSEA.

ONR was so pleased with this tool that the office gave a briefing to the other systems commands at a Major Claimants conference describing the success it had had in reviewing closing year obligations using this tool.

Features

  • Captures baseline identifying all outstanding obligation that need to be reviewed for both MOCAS and non-MOCAS paid documents
  • Includes ERP, STARS and MOCAS obligation and disbursement information
  • Performs pre-review sampling for fund holders review.
  • Allows administrators to easily
    1. Filter or focus review based on a variety of user defined preferences.
    2. Send targeted and customizable emails to knowledgeable parties.
    3. Track current ERP and STARS data and responses inserted directly to database via web link in email.
  • Performs post-review sampling for BSO review.
  • Allows BSOs to perform review using an interface with checklists and document uploading features.
  • Provides user configurable threshold which allows review to be limited to documents meeting a customizable dollar amount threshold
  • Gives results exportable to EXCEL for use in compliance reporting

Benefits

  • Maximizes return for time spent reviewing outstanding obligations
  • Ensures up to date and accurate information is included in data calls for obligation review
  • Increases response rate by sending emails requesting status to POCs and automatically following up with unresponsive parties
  • Saves time and increases accuracy by eliminating the need to collect and re-enter data when collecting responses
  • Pays for itself by identifying funds that can be deobligated
  • Provides documentation of the review process and results with detail required by auditors to ensure compliance.