ANALYSIS OF MARINE CORPS CANCELED ACCOUNT PAYMENTS
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Authors
Combs, Clinton L.
Subjects
Canceled Account Payments
Government Accounting
Government Financial Management
Government Accounting
Government Financial Management
Advisors
Sullivan, Ryan S.
Kaczorowski, David W.
Date of Issue
2021-12
Date
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Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
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Abstract
Over $1.2 million remains unpaid in United States Marine Corps canceled account payments due to a failure to properly closeout over-aged contracts used for the procurement of goods and services. The authority of government agencies to make further expenditures and payments against these contracts cancels at the end of the appropriation’s five-year period of availability. Pursuant to 31 U.S. Code § 1553, current year funds must then be utilized to pay those closed account invoices in addition to any interest accrued over time. This presents an issue within constrained budgets, already insufficient in meeting Force Design initiatives. While an effort has been made by Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC), Programs and Resources (P&R) to streamline the reconciliation and payment of these invoices, both internal and external factors continue to undermine the Marine Corps’ funds execution credibility. My research examined findings from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and data from HQMC, P&R and found that labor shortfalls within the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) along with internal visibility issues impede the closeout of canceled account payments. To address this impact, the implementation of a tiger team within DCAA is recommended. Additionally, the promulgation of official payment and policy guidance should be provided to applicable commands, including Marine Corps Systems Command, which accounts for nearly half of all Marine Corps canceled account payments.
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Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.
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This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.