U.S. Air Force Accounting and Finance Office (AFAFO), United States

Knowledge Management Safeguards Financial Resources

Through the Air Force Accounting and Finance Office (AFAFO), the Air Force financial management (FM) community worked diligently to improve self-inspection procedures using a process-based knowledge application system developed by Intergraph Corporation. Instead of merely posting hundreds of checklist questions on the Web, the Self-Inspection Program (SIP) organizes the questions around the actual procedures FM performs, links to specific Air Force instructions that are the legal foundation for each question, and displays real-life cases where, because the procedure was not followed correctly, fraud resulted, dollars were lost, and/or customers were not adequately served.

Each of the Air Force Major Commands (MAJCOMs) and their bases within the Air Force FM community uses this Web-based system. Gone are the paper copies. Now, financial officers have access via the Web to their MAJCOM checklists and can complete their self-inspections online at any time with an area to annotate how they determined compliance. Furthermore, SIP report functions show the commander, at a glance, problem areas within their commands before the formal inspection takes place. In addition, since the answer for a particular question relates to a specific process, it has immediate usability, allowing financial officers to apply the knowledge contained in the system to their daily operations and situations, enabling them to identify best practices and facilitate the creation of an online Community Book.

Right Hand Column