Fed: DMO and CPA Aust work to improve Defence finances

AAP General News (Australia)
12-06-2004
Fed: DMO and CPA Aust work to improve Defence finances

CANBERRA, Dec 6 AAP - The Defence Department's procurement arm today joined forces
with Australia's peak accounting body to improve the way it looks after finances.

The Defence Material Organisation, which buys and maintains the equipment used by the
Australian Defence Force (ADF), signed a memorandum of understanding with CPA Australia
designed to strengthen the financial management side of the agency.

DMO accounts for about one-third of the department's budget, spending around $3 billion
annually on its capital program and $3 billion on maintaining equipment each year.

In its annual report last month, Defence revealed an audit of its books found it could
not account for half a billion dollars worth of stock - from aircraft engines to army
boots.

While the department insisted there was no evidence to suggest anything was missing,
management failures and an apparent inability to keep track of inventory meant it could
not be sure.

Under the deal between CPA Australia and the DMO, the accounting group will train DMO's
finance staff, as well as helping them better understand the impact of certain decisions
on the agency's finances.

"We will also be supporting them to attract eligible finance, accounting and business
graduates to provide the next generation of business advisers within DMO," CPA Australia
chief Greg Larson said.

DMO chief executive Stephen Gumley said DMO needed to keep abreast of the complex and
changing technical regulatory, organisational and strategic environments.

"(As well) the heightened operational tempo means our people need to be best practice
professionals so Australian warfighters can stay leading edge," Dr Gumley said.

AAP so/sb/drp

KEYWORD: DEFENCE

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