OUSD(C) IT Development Initiative

Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and Financial Systems: This request seeks additional funding to implement, sustain, and fully realize benefits from previous investments for automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and financial systems for FY 2027 and beyond. These technologies will automate internal controls to sustain the opinion and reduce the annual cost of audit sustainment. This effort supports the Department’s goal of using these technologies to achieve an unmodified audit opinion as directed in the Secretary of War's memo "Achieving a 2028 Unmodified Financial Statement Audit Opinion" dated June 16, 2025. A portion of this funding will be used to execute this directive. The RDT&E request supports new enhanced digital infrastructure and software licenses necessary for AI solution development and prototyping. RDT&E will also be used to modernize existing systems, develop new capabilities, and evaluate whether legacy systems should be retired. This includes technology innovations, developing system upgrades, testing, and transition planning to retire outdated platforms that support DoW’s auditability goals. This includes interoperability improvements to ensure older systems can communicate with new platforms. With the focus on enterprise / Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)-centric solutions, the procurement and implementation of additional system capabilities will be required. As part of the Department’s focus to reform Advana to accelerate AI and enhance auditability, the OUSW(C) is establishing Advana for Financial management, from the War Data Platform, to support its financial operations and audit. The request supports the development of new AI and automation capabilities in support of the audit. To accelerate the modernization of DoW’s financial management system environment, the FY 2027 request capitalizes on the initiatives that the Department began. The request will accelerate the consolidation of the DoW's financial operations into a highly centralized, ERP-centric model, enforcing new data standards that generate savings. Concurrently, the OUSW(C) will use AI and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) bots to automate high-volume, error-prone manual tasks, such as, validating journal entries, reconciling account balances, and retrieving evidential matter. This will lead to directly improving data accuracy and audit readiness.

The Office of the Under Secretary of War (Comptroller) (OUSW(C)) is responsible for advising the Secretary of War on all Defense budgetary and fiscal matters, for Defense budget development and execution, and for overseeing financial management across the Department. The OUSW(C) has a broad set of responsibilities in supporting the Planning, Programming, Budget and Execution (PPBE) process. The Office of the Director, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE), provides independent analytic advice to the Secretary of War on all aspects of the Defense program, including alternative weapon systems and force structures, the development and evaluation of programs and defense program alternatives, and the cost-effectiveness of defense systems. OUSW(C) and CAPE use multiple systems to formulate, justify, distribute, and execute DoW budgets. The information managed by the budget formulation and programming systems is redundant, and reconciliation of information is difficult and inefficient. These systems require extensive manpower investments to provide executives the information needed to make timely key financial decisions. The OUSW(C) and CAPE require a more efficient and effective Defense budget environment that optimizes the budget cycle to ensure users are processing and reporting efficiently and DoW Senior Leadership has the information to make informed, critical decisions. The OUSW(C) requires capabilities to provide for the effective formulation, and justification of the Defense budget to be adaptable and modern. This includes the following: • Automated exchange and reconciliation of budget data • Improved efficiency through the utilization of a unified budgetary model • Instantaneous ability to generate data for management reviews and decisions • Capability to accommodate emerging business practices • Agile methods to launch and terminate new development efforts more quickly • Seamlessly combine the outputs of multiple efforts at various levels of maturity for organizational responsiveness and alternative resource allocation for innovation adoption As of the 3rd Quarter FY 2022, the NGRMS has been developed and has deployed Initial Operating Capability (IOC) to all Department of War Services and agencies.