ASMC Viewpoint

PDI 2008 Input Needed

PDI 2008 will be held in Orlando, and plans are already underway for a dynamic event. The committee is seeking input for workshop topics for their next meeting in  late September. If you have a topic or workshop suggestion, please leave a comment below or e-mail Pat Tyler at ASMC Headquarters, asmchq@asmconline.org by September 30, 2007.

Types of Training

Training for defense financial managers comes in many forms.  At one extreme in terms of scope and cost, there are lengthy schools for junior, mid-level, and senior professionals.  At the other extreme is the on-the-job training that can be provided, sometimes in a few minutes, by an experienced colleague.  In between are short courses, audio conferences such as those run by ASMC, written articles in publications such as the Armed Forces Comptroller Journal,  professional blogs like this one, and others.  What types of training do you find most helpful?  Do you prefer reading about an issue and its resolution?  Would you prefer an instructor to talk to you about it?  Do you prefer interactive approaches to learning or classroom teaching situations?  Or other approaches?

Your Choice for Four Hours

Doing a good job of defense financial management requires a great deal of knowledge. There are about 6,000 pages in DoD’s financial management regulations and, while no one needs to know all of this material, you must know when you need to consult the regulations and where to look. Training is available from many sources, but the training often requires a lot of time and travel funds – items in scarce supply at many bases and installations.  Another approach would be to look for targeted training – training that could be brought to you or your base and accomplished in about four hours or less.  If you could request a presentation or training on any topic in defense financial management that could be covered in about four hours or less, what topic would you ask about?

Training and Managing Contractor Employees

According to Mr. Ron Speer, former FM SESer and now president of JPAssociates consulting, federal managers need better training courses to prepare them to deal effectively with a workforce that includes both government and contractor employees.  In his article in the Summer 2006 issue of the Armed Forces Comptroller Journal ("Managing a Contract Workforce in the Financial Management Workplace", pages 25 to 27), Speer suggests that ASMC could help by designing such courses – perhaps in partnership with other management organizations. 

Do you work with contractor employees?  If so, do you feel that you need additional training in managing contractor employees in the federal workplace?  What types of training would you find most useful?