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FROM THE FIELD

You may also need a list of the primary points of contact (POC) within the contracting office. Maybe
your command relies heavily on Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requests (MIPRs). What

agencies do you MIPR funds to and who are the POCs? Timelines and suspense dates for

contracts and MIPRs are critical limitations to resourcing your unit’s requirements. This is

especially true if your first 100 days fall at the end of the fiscal year.

Your unit may also spend the bulk of its funds traveling through the DTS, on GPC activity, or Class
II and Class IX requisitions within GCSS-A. Expertise in these systems will serve your unit well.
Although you will likely have experts in your office for these systems, you should focus on the
system processes to determine efficiency and effectiveness. Always work to improve the systems
and processes within your sphere of influence. Once you understand the process from “cradle to
grave,” you can then evaluate if products, process maps, and template emails achieve the desired
results. Create or modify anything necessary to provide better support for Soldiers and civilians
who will send requirements through your shop.
POST ASSUMPTION OF DUTIES (D+31 – D+70/PHASE III):

Strategic Messaging: The funding message is deliberate action you take to ensure consistent and
concise messaging throughout the command. The message will flow through several mediums of
exchange from spend plan submissions and the unfinanced requirements process to the use of
Program Budget and Advisory Committee (PBAC) meetings and the issuance of operations orders.
You must maintain this message when you are required to present budget material in periodic
command and staff meetings and situation reports. These forums provide opportunities to affect
the budget process and manage funding expectations within the command. Ensure you are aware
of the many messaging forums and how to integrate the budget information throughout the forums
to convey a unified and synchronized message.
Systems and Processes #2: You can set the stage by developing a process for annual spend plan
submissions by your subordinate units. The process should include consolidation and submission
to your HHQ. Evaluate the effectiveness of the PBACs and consider improving the delivery as you
see fit. In the matter of product development, you must assert your leadership role to “dictate the
format.” Dictating the format means you anticipate the need for products and specify a format for
all to use. This ensures you obtain the information required by HHQ and guide subordinate units in
providing information that is useful and easily managed by your office.
In the final stretch of your first 100 days you should have a sense of: the mission; the relationships
you need to foster and maintain; systems and processes to develop and improve; and the various
challenges in your office. Your level of understanding has increased and you are in an even better
position to revisit and periodically update the short-term and long-term strategies for your tenure
as the comptroller. What have you decided to change?

Conclusion: The first 100 days plan laid out in this article is not the perfect solution to stepping
into an assignment as a comptroller. We believe this article provides an initial framework to help
new comptrollers feel more comfortable about taking the reins of their new assignment and
establishing a good foundation within the first 100 days. We also believe this framework can be
used as a foundational guide for senior financial managers to mentor juniors, providing their own
experiences, successes, and challenges to shape the preparation and outcomes of those that are
the future of the financial management corps. Finally, we recognize this framework can be
improved. What tasks are important but not addressed? How do we, as a financial management
community, develop a more comprehensive framework for training leaders to succeed in their
assignments as the chief financial officers of their units? We invite you to join the discussion or
search for comptroller tools and lessons learned at
https://www.milsuite.mil/book/community/spaces/afms.
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