The Government Accountability Office has called on the Defense Department to align its data on civilian and military positions that have headquarters functions with its updated definition of departmentwide headquarters activities.GAO said in a report released Thursday that DoD also lacks plans to gather data on costs related to headquarters functions.
“This may hinder DoD’s ability to conduct an in-depth review for purposes of consolidating and streamlining headquarters functions,†GAO said in the report.
The Pentagon initiated in 2014 four programs that aim to achieve efficiency within its headquarters organizations, but GAO said it was not able to evaluate the effects of the initiatives due to lack of available results at the time of its review.
These programs include the Office of the Secretary of Defense Organizational Delayering Initiative, Business Process and System Reviews, Services Requirements Review Board, and Review of the Organization and Responsibilities of DoD.
DoD also assessed its six business processes in 2015 and determined potential cumulative savings of between $62 billion and $84 billion over a five-year period starting in fiscal year 2016, according to the report.
The congressional audit agency also found that DoD has launched efforts to comply with a GAO recommendation, including the creation of a framework for activities within headquarters organizations and identification of organizations that meet the revised definition of headquarters activities.
DoD also plans to introduce updates to a database in an effort to make headquarters resources more visible, the report noted.
