The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has recently transitioned to an improved financial management system as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) overall modernization effort to improve budget oversight and increase efficiency.
The Financial System Modernization Solution (FSMS) includes “automated and integrated controls, a common appropriations structure and accounting line, standard business practices, up-to-date security, and functionality that will assist the USCG in overseeing their annual budget of more than $12 billion more efficiently and effectively,” a Jan. 7 DHS press release said.
“This is truly the beginning of a new era for the United States Coast Guard's Financial Management and Procurement Services,” Rear Admiral Mark Fedor, the USCG assistant commandant for resources and chief financial officer, said in the release. “I'm honored to help lead the Coast Guard through this financial transformation and confident the Service will be more efficient, adaptable to our dynamic operational environment, and better stewards of the taxpayers' dollars.”
FSMS will also update the USCG’s legacy financial systems “to provide greater security, data integrity, efficiency and flexibility,” the release said.
“Modernizing our financial support systems is vital to the Department of Homeland Security and is one of our top priorities,” DHS Acting Chief Financial Officer Stacy Marcott said in the release. “The new system will vastly improve the U.S. Coast Guard's business systems, help employees be more productive and allow them to achieve more reliable results when paying bills, procuring goods and services, reporting and managing budgets, and much more.”
The USCG is the third DHS office to transition to FSMS, the release said. The Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office made the transition in October 2019 and the Transportation Security Administration transitioned in October 2020.
