Controls Over Navy Military Payroll Disbursed in Support of Operations in Southwest Asia at San Diego-Area Disbursing Centers

摘要

During calendar year 2008, the Navy disbursed about $136 million in Hostile Fire Pay/Imminent Danger Pay (HFP/IDP), Hardship Duty Pay, and Family Separation Allowance entitlements to support operations in Southwest Asia. Our objective was to determine whether Navy military payroll in support of operations in Southwest Asia was processed in accordance with established laws and regulations. Specifically, we determined whether the San Diego-area disbursing centers and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) efficiently obtained and maintained adequate support for combat zone (CZ) entitlements. Therefore, we reviewed the CZ entitlements processed for a population of 15,922 military members. San Diego-area disbursing center personnel were not always able to provide supporting documentation for CZ entitlements. They provided complete support for a statistically projected 18, 227 CZ entitlements, of which a projected 1,824 were inaccurate. However, they provided incomplete support for a projected 27,622 CZ entitlements. This occurred because personnel were not able to identify the geographically separated units that processed CZ entitlements under their Accounting and Disbursing Station Numbers to obtain the support. In addition, the disbursing centers did not have efficient and effective procedures in place to ensure that supporting documentation was adequately stored and retained. The lack of proper supporting documentation adversely affects the Navy's ability to detect fraud or improper payments.