Budget Analysis of Military Sealift Fleet Support Command (MSFSC) Civilian Mariner (CIVMAR) Hotel Contracts

Abstract

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The goal of this project was to conduct research on the current method MSFSC uses to budget for its CIVMAR Support Unit (CSU) hotel contracts, how they are receipted throughout the course of the fiscal year, and finally how they are closed out at the end of the contract period. The client suspected that there were flaws in the current process and was interested in hearing any recommendations to improve the procedures in place to help alleviate the problem of over obligating the CIVMAR Pipeline Budget. Through in-person and telephone interviews, the current process for developing the Hotel Contract portion of the budget as well as the contract award, monitoring, and receipting portion were discovered. Additionally, historical hotel usage rates and historical financial data were analyzed to help determine if there were corrective actions that could be taken. In the end, it was discovered that there was a thorough process in place for awarding, monitoring, and receipting the CIVMAR Hotel Contracts and that this process was currently working as it was designed. The true cause of the problem that the client was witnessing was due to the fact that the budget for the CIVMAR Pipeline, and therefore the CIVMAR Hotel Contracts that fall into this budget, was solely based on historical performance rather than future requirements. Using this method to establish the budget does not take into account changes in the out years and creates a budget that is not in line with the goals of MSFSC. The researchers recommend that MSFSC develop a budget for Expense Type 25812 Hotel Contracts that is reflective of the future goals of MSFSC by taking into account future manning levels and what impact those levels have on the size of the CIVMAR Support Units and the hotel contract requirement that goes along with the CSUs.