FRCSW Comptroller Receives Department of the Navy and Secretary of Defense Financial Management Awards

Year after year, Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) proves that the command is the best maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in the Department of Defense (DoD). FRCSW provides the men and women of the Navy and Marine Corps with the lethal aviation assets necessary to fight and win. In FY22, FRCSW delivered 35 F/A-18, 66 MH-60, 18 V-22, 17 H-1, 6 CH-53, 5 E-2D and 4C-2A aircraft, as well as more than 25,000 aircraft components.

This is of course a tribute to all of the employees of FRCSW. However, without the stellar financial stewardship of the comptroller team, these successes would not have been possible. Caroline Thomas, FRCSW Deputy Comptroller, describes the culture shift that was created by the team as being a “financial prudency driven mindset” that changed the financial approach throughout the command and drove the success of the comptroller’s “Get Well Plan" (GWP).

The success of this plan was brought to the attention of Navy leadership and this eventually led to the team winning both the Department of the Navy Financial Management (FM) Award and the Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Calendar Year 2022 Financial Management Award – both of which are outstanding achievements.

Since 1993, the FM Award Program recognizes significant contributions of individuals or teams to the FM community. In demonstrating innovation in taxpayer dollar optimization, FRCSW developed a financial, “Get Well Plan.” That was designed to guide the command in addressing the negative AOR trend that had developed over the previous few years. The GWP resulted in a $0 AOR balance by the end of FY22, a major success for the team and command.

At the same time the FRCSW Comptroller team was enacting their GWP, they were also in the midst of a large Navy-wide systems conversion dubbed Navy-Enterprise Resource Planning (N-ERP). N-ERP is a software-based resource management system used to align and integrate crucial business functions. It modernizes and standardizes Navy business operations, provides unprecedented management visibility across the enterprise, increases effectiveness and efficiency, provides the flexibility to accommodate different reporting strategies and supports sound management decision making at all levels. During this financial system conversion and throughout the implementation of the “Get Well Plan,” the command’s efforts in surpassing their goals proved just how resilient the FRCSW Comptroller team is in the face of adversity and aggressive timelines. Mr. Ji Kim, the FRCSW Comptroller, passionately led collaborative efforts across all departments and ensured the command was fiscally informed throughout the N-ERP conversion. In an excellent representation of agile and innovative efforts, Mr. Kim’s team developed a tailored, user friendly, training curriculum, embarked on critical data cleansing and feeder system reconciliations, implemented necessary governance and business rules around financial data, and developed financial reporting strategies to meet the unique business needs of a working capital fund entity. As they embraced new technological operations and seamlessly transitioned the command to N-ERP while at the same time implanting their own GWP, FRCSW was brought back to financial wholeness.

Integrity and commitment to ethical and prudent financial decision-making are what drive the FRCSW Comptroller team to continue safeguarding taxpayer funds, provide accountability to the American taxpayer, and protect the long-terms assets of the organization. Their critical contributions are key to allowing the command to continue having an outsized impact on the ongoing efforts of the warfighter. Their knowledge, skills, and abilities play a vital role in providing the resources that ensure the service men and women are mission ready on the frontlines in order to preserve America’s way of life on the home front. FRCSW is proud to represent some of the brightest innovators in the FM community who excel in furthering the DoD mission.

“The team is well aware of their place in the ‘big picture.’ We take pride in doing our best and understand that the efforts made here are in direct support of Naval Aviation activities occurring on the battlefield and to better allow our men and women of the US Navy and Marine Corps to continue to protect our safety and the future of democracy.” – Ji Kim said.

The awardees will be recognized at the DoD FM Conference in August.