GAO-01-696 Customs Service Modernization: Results of Review of First Automated Commercial Environment Expenditure Plan

Since the enactment of key financial mgmt. (FM) reforms, the fed. gov¿t. has devoted significant resources to improving FM activities and practices. Yet continuing attention is needed to address persistent, long-standing accountability problems and to redefine success for fed. FM. Many gov¿t. agency FM systems do not produce the accurate, timely, and meaningful info. needed for mgmt. decision making. This forum brought together FM leaders from the fed. gov¿t., incl. the CFO, CIO, and IG communities, and other officials with extensive experience in FM from both the public and private sectors. The forum addressed: the future of fed. FM; applying lessons learned from fed. FM system implementations; and strategies for transforming fed. FM culture.

The Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) invested more than $6 billion in 2009 on large-scale, info. tech. (IT) systems to help it achieve mission outcomes and transform departmentwide operations. For DHS to effectively leverage these systems as mission enablers and transformation tools, it needs to employ a number of institutional acquisition and IT mgmt. controls and capabilities, such as using an operational and technological blueprint to guide and constrain system investments and following institutional policies, practices, and structures for acquiring and investing in these systems. Also, employing rigorous and disciplined system life cycle mgmt. processes and having capable acquisition and IT mgmt. workforces.