Posted on Oct 6, 2021
Should the Government Purchase Card program be reinvented?
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I just recently went through the required training for the GPC, and such, and something hit me while I went through the training. A reviewing officer of GPC accounts is limited to only seven accounts they can review and approve.
That struck me as odd. As a financial professional who would crunch numbers 40 hours a week, seven credit card accounts to review seemed very small. That could be a financial analyst's morning task once a month (assuming everything is on the up and up).
Then I realized........ oh............. it's someone's additional duty outside of their regular job. That's why this process is so micro managed. So while I have had decades of financial education, training and job experience, someone who doesn't have a financial/accounting background just randomly got dumped this additional duty, and cram sessions of on-line training hope to make them functionally competent and protect the system from financial losses.
Now it makes so much sense why these GPC's can cause problems with abuse or neglect.
So I wonder............. wouldn't the system be better off just using fully designated financial analysts and professionals to review far more many accounts than trying to train folks who never anticipated doing entry level bookkeeping when they applied for the job they were originally paid to do.
Anyway.......... It just hit me, my chain of command is lucky they have a guy in place who oversaw the administration of hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and trading accounts who is now reviewing line by line items on a very limited Army Reserve GPC account, but on the other end of the spectrum some young NCO could be completely overwhelmed with GPC activity of an active duty Brigade who has never took an accounting class in their life and can barely balance their own check book
That struck me as odd. As a financial professional who would crunch numbers 40 hours a week, seven credit card accounts to review seemed very small. That could be a financial analyst's morning task once a month (assuming everything is on the up and up).
Then I realized........ oh............. it's someone's additional duty outside of their regular job. That's why this process is so micro managed. So while I have had decades of financial education, training and job experience, someone who doesn't have a financial/accounting background just randomly got dumped this additional duty, and cram sessions of on-line training hope to make them functionally competent and protect the system from financial losses.
Now it makes so much sense why these GPC's can cause problems with abuse or neglect.
So I wonder............. wouldn't the system be better off just using fully designated financial analysts and professionals to review far more many accounts than trying to train folks who never anticipated doing entry level bookkeeping when they applied for the job they were originally paid to do.
Anyway.......... It just hit me, my chain of command is lucky they have a guy in place who oversaw the administration of hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and trading accounts who is now reviewing line by line items on a very limited Army Reserve GPC account, but on the other end of the spectrum some young NCO could be completely overwhelmed with GPC activity of an active duty Brigade who has never took an accounting class in their life and can barely balance their own check book
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Posted 3 y ago
Responses: 3
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In situations like these I remember something someone wiser than me once said, that someone smarter than he told him: "The military is a system designed by geniuses to be run by idiots". The more advanced I get with my technical knowledge I see that there are civilians in place who know every obscure setting and fact about these systems and at the same time we're giving LTs and SGTs with a few years in the Army the keys to run these systems, but they're still well built enough that these juniors don't break them.
But specifically for your question, most Brigades have a Senior NCO or finance officer overseeing the purchase program and a civilian at the division or higher level. That's why there is so much oversight and micromanagement of the cardholders.
But specifically for your question, most Brigades have a Senior NCO or finance officer overseeing the purchase program and a civilian at the division or higher level. That's why there is so much oversight and micromanagement of the cardholders.
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SGM (Join to see)
I can almost whole-heartedly agree with "designed by geniuses to be run by idiots", but the decision to go with GCSS-A and IPPS-A don't quite follow.
SAP and PeopleSoft are designed brilliantly for what they do, but trying to adapt our processes to those designs is like trying to cram a square peg into a coin slot.
SAP and PeopleSoft are designed brilliantly for what they do, but trying to adapt our processes to those designs is like trying to cram a square peg into a coin slot.
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CPT (Join to see)
I completely see that the army is designed by regulations and every single service member's job, duties, and responsibilities are spelled out in the regulations (with the intent that anyone can be put in a position randomly and so long as they execute their job per the regulations the system will carry on). Early in my command, when I THOUGHT I was going to have all these ides of how things can be done and improved it became very clear that I'm merely the rubber stamp, and it was my job to make sure that things were done by regulation before I applied said stamp.
But the system as a whole, while written down in regulations theoretically is solid, the execution of that system is dependent upon overworked and underqualified individuals. Then, as a culture, there is a lot of rotation of duties just as someone might be starting to become competent.
So in regards to fiduciary responsibility it leaves gaps in a system that should otherwise protect itself. The financial losses usually occur when there is a break down in the split duties oversight. In weak institutions it's a result of incompetence, and neglect. Those entrusted to be the double check get the wool pulled over their eyes. In institutions where controls are strong and the wool is hard to pull over one's eyes it takes collusion of multiple parties in the chain of checks and balances (which really can't be defended against if enough collude).
I am just beside myself that folks can abuse the GPC, then in invariably becomes a result lacking oversight to have prevented an otherwise very overt abuse of the cards.
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I get it, the GPC is probably a result of a long drawn out supply chain system that otherwise would all but shut down small needs to goods and services on a micro scale that would otherwise never get executed at the lowest levels.
Getting things like pens, copy paper, and repairing broken windows effectively could become impossible without it.
However, things like using the GPC to purchase surplus consumables (that never get put on a property book) like paper, pends, spare parts, then flipping them on E-Bay becomes not all that hard to pull off.
But the system as a whole, while written down in regulations theoretically is solid, the execution of that system is dependent upon overworked and underqualified individuals. Then, as a culture, there is a lot of rotation of duties just as someone might be starting to become competent.
So in regards to fiduciary responsibility it leaves gaps in a system that should otherwise protect itself. The financial losses usually occur when there is a break down in the split duties oversight. In weak institutions it's a result of incompetence, and neglect. Those entrusted to be the double check get the wool pulled over their eyes. In institutions where controls are strong and the wool is hard to pull over one's eyes it takes collusion of multiple parties in the chain of checks and balances (which really can't be defended against if enough collude).
I am just beside myself that folks can abuse the GPC, then in invariably becomes a result lacking oversight to have prevented an otherwise very overt abuse of the cards.
************
I get it, the GPC is probably a result of a long drawn out supply chain system that otherwise would all but shut down small needs to goods and services on a micro scale that would otherwise never get executed at the lowest levels.
Getting things like pens, copy paper, and repairing broken windows effectively could become impossible without it.
However, things like using the GPC to purchase surplus consumables (that never get put on a property book) like paper, pends, spare parts, then flipping them on E-Bay becomes not all that hard to pull off.
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CPT (Join to see) There you go again. Trying to apply logic. Makes a lot of sense to centralize the function you describe - to an MOS designed for the work.
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I was a GPC reviewer. Luckily, our office only had one card and one user. Our internal policy was that we used a printed "shopping list." The NCOs and I would create the shopping list based on the items we needed. Once it was printed, I would sign it, and the card holder was only authorized to buy the items on the list. If something else was found, she would have to come back to the office, print an updated list, get my signature, and return to shopping. A little bit of a pain in the butt, but it kept both of us straight, and provided a checklist to verify the receipt, which was then used to review the monthly bill.
I remember when I was first in the S-3 (Operations) Shop at Battalion level, the HHC Supply Sergeant held the only GPC we could use. We had to use the SSSC (Self Service Supply Center) as our primary supply point. I would make a list and send a soldier and a truck with the Supply Sergeant to purchase, pick up, and deliver our supplies. It was only if the item was not available at the SSSC that we could go to an outside, civilian source.
I also had a number of junior soldiers (E-3 - young E-5) with Government Travel Cards. It may not have been strictly by the book, but I maintained all the Travel Cards for the group until they were needed. I was at Fort Campbell at the time, and there were a lot of lower enlisted soldiers and NCOs who were charged with Travel Card abuse. During that time, we only had one charge questioned. A soldier used his Travel Card to fill up the tank of his POV prior to starting travel. We submitted a copy of the TDY orders and POV Authorization and the issue was resolved.
I remember when I was first in the S-3 (Operations) Shop at Battalion level, the HHC Supply Sergeant held the only GPC we could use. We had to use the SSSC (Self Service Supply Center) as our primary supply point. I would make a list and send a soldier and a truck with the Supply Sergeant to purchase, pick up, and deliver our supplies. It was only if the item was not available at the SSSC that we could go to an outside, civilian source.
I also had a number of junior soldiers (E-3 - young E-5) with Government Travel Cards. It may not have been strictly by the book, but I maintained all the Travel Cards for the group until they were needed. I was at Fort Campbell at the time, and there were a lot of lower enlisted soldiers and NCOs who were charged with Travel Card abuse. During that time, we only had one charge questioned. A soldier used his Travel Card to fill up the tank of his POV prior to starting travel. We submitted a copy of the TDY orders and POV Authorization and the issue was resolved.
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