The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended that the Department of Defense (DOD) enhance performance measures with regard to business transformation efforts and come up with a process to standardize the documentation of cost savings to ensure that they are aligned with DOD’s definitions of reform.
Although DOD has initiated steps to improve its data on business operations, the lack of reliable cost data has hampered the department’s ability to track its reform efforts, according to a GAO report published Tuesday.
In November, the congressional watchdog reported that the Pentagon has made progress in establishing baseline costs of real estate management and logistics, among other activities, and has current initiatives to set baselines for its enterprise business operations.
“However, DOD needs better data about how it performs its business functions,” the report reads.
GAO has called on DOD to establish clear roles, authorities and responsibilities for managing business reform efforts and allocate resources for such activities. The office assessed DOD’s implementation of the chief management officer position, which was created under the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act but eliminated under the FY 2021 NDAA.
“GAO found that, while Congress had given the CMO both significant responsibilities and authorities, DOD had not resolved unanswered questions about how those authorities would be carried out, nor communicated the CMO's roles and responsibilities department-wide,” the report states.
