DOD Inventory Management: Revised Policies Needed
NSIAD-88-75
Published: Jan 14, 1988. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 1988.
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Highlights
GAO provided information on the Department of Defense's (DOD) inventory management system.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should require adjustments to inventory records as soon as they are identified through physical inventories or other methods. |
Closed – Not Implemented
DOD agrees that inventory variances, once identified and validated, should result in posting an adjustment to the inventory records as soon as possible, and requires components to do this.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should develop a comprehensive policy on inventory management and measuring inventory accuracy, addressing such areas as: (1) the adequacy of the Inventory Control Effectiveness (ICE) Report for management oversight; and (2) eliminating the practice of reversing prior inventory adjustments. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD stated that it has comprehensive policies for inventory control (DOD 4000.25-2-M). DOD does not concur with eliminating reversals, but has clarified its reversal procedures to prevent their use to improve performance statistics. Also, DOD is improving its ICE reporting criteria.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should reemphasize the need for effective causative research that identifies inventory variances and analyzes them to identify systemic problems. Variances currently under the monetary criteria for causative research should be sampled as further input to identifying systemic problems. |
Closed – Implemented
DOD has revised procedures in chapter 7 of MILSTRAP to require that all variances identified in the annual statistical sample will be subjected to causative research, regardless of the variance and results reported in the ICE report.
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Topics
Defense cost controlEquipment inventoriesEquipment managementInternal controlsInventory control systemsManagement information systemsMilitary inventoriesPolicy evaluationRecords managementInventory control