Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management)

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management)
Post	Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management)
Body	United States Department of the Navy
Seat	The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia
Appointer	United States Secretary of the Navy

Contents

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management).

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management) is a senior official within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for financial stewardship, resource allocation, and fiscal policy implementation for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. The office interfaces with senior leaders such as the Secretary of the Navy, the Under Secretary of the Navy, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller), uniformed finance components including the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and external stakeholders including committees of the United States Congress.

Role and Responsibilities

The DASN(FM) provides executive leadership in areas of budgeting, accounting, cost assessment, and Department of Defense financial management reform, advising principals like the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) and coordinating with the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). Responsibilities include developing annual budget submissions for the President of the United States and the Office of Management and Budget, supervising financial reporting aligned with standards promulgated by the Government Accountability Office and the Department of the Treasury, and directing audit readiness efforts for audit authorities such as the Inspector General of the Department of Defense. The office also manages working relationships with stakeholders including the Armed Services Committees (United States Congress), Congressional Budget Office, and Government Accountability Office.

Reporting lines place the DASN(FM) under the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) and in functional partnership with the Comptroller of the Department of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). The office liaises with Navy bureaus such as the Naval Sea Systems Command, the Naval Air Systems Command, the Office of Naval Research, and the Marine Corps Systems Command to integrate programmatic requirements into financial plans. The DASN(FM) maintains coordination with finance and resource entities like the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and the Chief Financial Officers Council.

A primary duty is crafting the Navy and Marine Corps portion of the Department of Defense budget cycle, including Program Objective Memoranda submissions to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), execution of appropriations overseen by the Appropriations Committees (United States Congress), and enforcement of statutes such as the Antideficiency Act. The DASN(FM) directs activity costing, capability-based budgeting for platforms like Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and F-35 Lightning II acquisition programs, and ensures compliance with financial statement preparation standards used by the Department of the Treasury. The office also leads efforts on audit remediation, working with auditors from the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General.

The DASN(FM) sponsors initiatives on financial modernization, auditability of Naval Air Systems Command and Naval Sea Systems Command led accounts, and enterprise resource planning implementations such as adoption strategies for systems used by Defense Finance and Accounting Service and Navy ERP efforts. Policy programs address cost-estimating for shipbuilding programs involving General Dynamics, Huntington Ingalls Industries, and Bath Iron Works, lifecycle sustainment cost analyses for platforms like Virginia-class submarine and AH-1Z Viper, and implementation of accounting reforms influenced by guidance from the Office of Management and Budget and the Government Accountability Office.

The DASN(FM) is typically a political appointee or a senior civil servant with extensive experience in fiscal policy, acquisition budgeting, and audit processes; qualifications often include prior service in offices such as the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of the Navy financial management divisions, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, or positions within the Department of the Treasury. Appointments are made by the Secretary of the Navy or designated officials and may involve Senate confirmation when tied to statutory billets; tenure varies with administrations of President of the United States and organizational reassignments. Holders often possess credentials from institutions like United States Naval Academy, Georgetown University, Harvard Kennedy School, or professional certifications from American Institute of Certified Public Accountants standards.

The financial management office evolved alongside post‑World War II organizational reforms in the United States Department of Defense and the National Security Act of 1947 era, growing in prominence during periods of large procurement like the Cold War and the Global War on Terrorism. Notable officeholders have moved between roles in Congressional Budget Office, Office of Management and Budget, and the Defense Department's comptroller community; some later held positions in defense industry firms such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, or returned to senior posts in Pentagon budgeting offices. The office’s history reflects major fiscal events including the Base Realignment and Closure Commission processes and budgetary debates over programs like the Zumwalt-class destroyer and Ford-class aircraft carrier.

The DASN(FM) testifies before panels such as the United States House Committee on Armed Services, the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations, and the House Committee on Appropriations subcommittees, providing budget justification materials and responding to inquiries from staff of the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office. The office coordinates interagency reviews with the Office of Management and Budget, engages in joint processes with the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, and collaborates on financial policy with counterparts in the United States Coast Guard and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration when missions or contracts overlap.