THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE ASMC UTAH CHAPTER

the importance and want to assist others in achieving their certi-fication to promote their careers. For this reason, we've estab-lished another com-mittee called CDFM. That committee will establish tutorials and study sessions for each

module beginning on Aug 18th. Our annual Mini PDI will offer CDFM tutorials and our chapter will spon-sor the teleconfer-ence tutorials for each module that National ASMC will provide this year. Hopefully these

efforts will increase the number of CDFM

holders within our chapter. Please make this one of your goals also. If you already have your certification, please accept my con-gratulations and I in-vite you to attend (cont’d, page 2)

ASMC is a great or-ganization and I feel privileged to be a part of it. I became in-volved when the Na-tional PDI was held in Salt Lake City and vol-unteers were being recruited. It was a great way to meet oth-ers in the financial se-ries. It was a self-ish reason to be-come involved, but the more I did, the more addictive it be-came to me. We've had some great managers and leaders serve as presidents in the past, and I believe in continued process improvement and know we can build on this great organiza-tion to make it a vital tool for every mem-ber. I feel humbled to serve as the current president and I ask for your help, suggestions, and support. I base my goals on past ob-stacles, one being the lack of funding to at-

tend National PDI. To enable our chapter to relieve some of that situation, we've added a fundraising commit-tee to raise money to assist members with National PDI expenses. I also recommend you increase your chances of attending by fore-

casting your training requirements into ETMS now. All signs point to the increasing importance of obtaining certifica-tion. I'm embarrassed of my excuses and put-ting it on my back burner, but recognize

Our New President’s Goals By Linda Spencer, President

AUGUST 2010 VOLUME 6 ISSUE 5

THE WATER COOLER

Our Five Star

Chapter’s Annual

Goals:

Increase CDFM

certifications.

Increase atten-

dance at lunch-

eons.

Increase atten-

dance at National

PDI.

Inside this issue:

“Our New President’s

Goals,” President’s Mes-

sage

1-

2

July Activity: Golf & 2010

PDI Wrap-Up 2

What’s Happening….. 3

ASMC National News 4

CDFM Study Group Now

Meeting! 5

Additional CDFM Informa-

tion 5

Contact 5

Linda Spencer, our new President.

these study groups as a mentor to the rest of us. Another one of my goals this year is to increase the number of our awards and recognize our members' accom-plishments. With a strong Awards committee, we'll increase our National award submissions. Our publicity and program committees have merged and plan to offer more

than luncheons with great speakers. They're including activities to socialize with other members. Watch for those dates. Hopefully by achieving these goals, our chapter will increase membership, have more certifications, obtain more awards for our deserving members, and we'll come to know and respect each member more.

Our New President’s Goals, cont’d from pg 1

July Activity: Golf & 2010 PDI Wrap-Up

For our July activity, Scott Johnson talked to our chapter about his experience at the 2010

PDI. After his talk, the participants teamed up and played 18 holes on the putting green.

Here are some pictures of this fun event!

“Hopefully by

achieving [our

chapter’s annual

goals]….we’ll

come to know and

respect each

member more.”

Page 2 VOLUME 6 ISSUE 5

L-R: Gina Patterson, Angela Widmer, Becky Burns,

& Wendy Myers!

L-R: Peggy Flores, Dave

Sisson, Andrew Singleton, &

Linda Spencer.

L-R: Angela Widmer, Gina Pat-

terson, Becky Burns, & Scott

Johnson!

Daniel Gladwell won the coveted PDI 2010 bag—

doesn’t he look so happy?

L-R: Tris Peraza, Linda

Spencer, and Joel Hatch.

L-R: Jay Roller, Daniel Gladwell, & Bruce Young

intent

Our August luncheon was a teleconference presentation by Major General

Alfred K. Flowers, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Budget). The topic was

“Developing Financial Management Leaders for the 21st Century.” Gen-

eral Flowers’ presentation focused on development and communication.

He stressed the value of pursuing development opportunities such as pro-

fessional military education and civilian education as early in your career

as possible. Employees that pursue development opportunities early on

are in a far better position to take advantage of unexpected career oppor-

tunities as they arise.

On communication, General Flowers stressed brevity in presentations.

He suggests that if you cannot give a briefing in ten slides or less then,

“you need to go figure out what is you are going to talk about and learn

more about it”. General Flowers suggests that leaders never lead by e-

mail, noting that the “e” stands for evidence and can get you in trouble in

the future. Further, he strives to keep his e-mails as short as possible,

with responses typically limited to: “Yes”, “No”, and “Come see me.”

A special thanks to James Davis for submitting this summary of August’s

activity!!

walk. Details will be forth-

coming, so keep your

eyes peeled for date,

time, and other specifics!

Contact Peggy Flores at

775-5350 if you have any

questions.

With closeout upon us,

the chapter thought that

we might be in need of

some stress relief. So,

like in previous years,

we will provide you the

opportunity to let off

some steam at a closeout

stress-reliever 5K run/

…..in September?

“Closeout Stress-Reliever 5K Run/Walk”

Page 3 VOLUME 6 ISSUE 5

….in August?

“Developing Financial Management Leaders for the

21st Century”

Come out to relieve some

stress and get some exer-

cise in September!

OMB Mid-Session Review shows slight improvement in the FY2010 deficit: The FY2010 federal deficit will not be quite as large as projected in February, according to

the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In its annual Mid-Session Review of the

budget and the administration’s economic projections, OMB now expects the FY2010

deficit to be $1.416 trillion, about $85 billion less than it projected when the FY2011

budget was released. [Aug 13, 2010]

GAO recommends comprehensive cost and benefit analysis of tactical aircraft

shortfalls: The General Accountability Office (GAO) has told Congress that DoD needs a comprehensive cost and benefit analysis to better assess its tactical aircraft shortfalls. According

to the GAO, the continuing uncertainty surrounding the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

(JSF) and the low priority given to funding to maintain and upgrade legacy sys-

tems are the main challenges to the DoD’s ability to meet future tactical aircraft

requirements. The report urged Congress to recommend that the Secretary of

Defense should 1) explain the “size and severity” of anticipated aircraft shortfalls,

2) provide the main assumptions for shortfall projections, 3) report the cost of po-

tential alternatives to mitigate the shortfalls, and 4) clearly state how the comple-

mentary capabilities of unmanned aircraft and other weapon systems are

“accounted for and quantified.” [Aug 13, 2010]

Secretary Gates announces closures, personnel freezes, and contractor funding cuts: On Aug 9, 2010, Secretary Gates announced a wide-ranging plan to achieve $100 billion in savings for the DoD.

Gates said in a news conference that the Pentagon would shut down some high profile DoD organizations,

reduce the number of senior military and civilian personnel, cut back on contracting, and make other

overhead reductions. [Aug 10, 2010]

ASMC National News, August 2010

Page 4 VOLUME 6 ISSUE 5

House subcommittee marks up FY2011 DoD Appropriations Bill: The House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee (HAC-D) marked up the FY2011 DoD Appro-

priations bill. The HAC-D bill provides $523.9 billion for the base budget (excluding

Overseas Contingency Operations), which is $7 billion less than the president re-

quested. The subcommittee did not announce specific reductions, but a review of the

summary table shows that procurement programs were cut by $4.8 billion (about

45% coming from AF aircraft programs) and operation & maintenance funding was

cut by $2.7 billion. [Aug 6, 2010]

FY2010 war costs supplemental requires release of more contractor information: In case you missed it, Setion 3010 of the FY2010 war cost supplemental appropriations bill, signed by the President on July

29th, amends the 2008 Clean Contracting Act by requiring OMB to make information on contractor integ-

rity available on a public website. [Aug 6, 2010]

NSPS office issues performance management transition guidance: The NSPS Transi-tion Office has released the final chapter of its “NSPS to GS Transition Guide.” The chap-

ter contains information for transitioning employees on 1) performance management dur-

ing transition, 2) NSPS pay pools, 3) NSPS ratings of record, and 4) performance awards.

[Aug 6, 2010]

All of these articles are available on the ASMC National website at http://

www.asmconline.org/category/news/defense-financial-highlights/.

The CDFM committee

would like you to know that

they have formed a

study group for

CDFM. The group will

meet every Wednes-

day beginning on Au-

gust 18th in Bldg

1289’s NW wing, in the

FMA conference

room. Future group

meetings are subject

to change. For more

information, please

contact Joel Hatch (586

-2183), Liz Clawson

(777-2369), or James

Davis (586-0830).

W E ’ RE ON THE W EB !

A SMCUTAH .ORG

Linda Spencer, President, 586-0555

Bruce Young, President-Elect & Community Service, 775-2650

Scott Johnson, Past President, 777-9202

Brad Thomson, Treasurer, 777-7802

Tris Peraza, Secretary/Historian, 775-3575

Wendy Myers, Awards, 777-3558

Joel Hatch, CDFM, 586-2183

Liz Clawson, CDFM, 777-2369

Gina Patterson, Elections & Fundraisers, 586-1247

Nancy Wold, Fundraisers, 586-1242

Brooke Wallwork, Membership, 775-4347

Daniel Gladwell, Mini PDI, 777-8365

Amanda Davidson, Newsletter, 586-1047

Peggy Flores, Programs/Publicity, 775-5350

Bret Poll, Scholarships, 777-9054

Michael Chinn, Webmaster, 801-779-1800 ext 124

Page 5

Come study for the

CDFM exam with

us!!

Additional information on CDFM:

The American Society of Military Comptrollers offers the Certified De-

fense Financial Manager (CDFM) program to those persons desiring to

demonstrate proficiency in the core aspects of defense financial manage-

ment. The program is open to all candidates who have met the qualifica-

tions below. Most candidates will be civilian or military members of the

Department of Defense, U.S. Coast Guard, or employees of defense con-

tractors and suppliers.

The candidate must:

Adhere to the ASMC Pledge of Professionalism

Have a high school diploma or equivalent

Successfully complete the required examinations

Have completed the required years of financial

management experience as follows:

- Complete three years of defense-related financial management

experience (without degree), OR

- Complete two years of defense-related financial management

experience if the candidate holds an associate degree or higher,

OR

- If no defense related financial management experience, then

complete four years of federal government-related financial

management experience (with an associate degree or higher).

See also http://www.asmconline.org/certification/cdfm-

information/ for additional details.

CDFM Study Group

Now Meeting!