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Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School

USMC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT EDUCATION SNCO DEGREE COMPLETION PROGRAM ACCOUNTING DEGREE

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is required by the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 to provide annual financial reports to stakeholders. For fiscal year 2021 and prior, independent auditors of these reports have produced a disclaimer of opinion with numerous material weaknesses and departures from standards in financial reporting and internal controls. Our thesis analyzed one course of action to improve Marine Corps auditability. Would better participation and utilization of the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer Degree Program (SNCODP), specifically the baccalaureate degree in accounting, improve the Marine Corps capability to achieve an unmodified audit opinion? Our methodology consisted of a task comparison, a capabilities comparison, and a cost benefit analysis (CBA). The task comparison reviewed the Marine Corps' requirements to be completed by technically competent personnel. The capabilities comparison reviewed attributes of each specialized personnel. The CBA analyzed which personnel type was the most cost effective. Our data was primarily sourced from GAO, Navy, and Marine Corps publications, as well as publicly accessible costing information. Results of our thesis show that the SNCODCP produces the most versatile individual for the job, but hiring a General Standard employee was a more cost-effective option to improve.

Degree

thesis:*
Department dc:contributor.department
Department of Defense Management (DDM)
Grantor dc:publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Year dc:date.issued
2022

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Authors dc:creator
  • Austria, Marc K.
  • Horning, Raymond M.
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Sullivan, Ryan S.

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
https://hdl.handle.net/10945/71428
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/71428

Chain of custody

source
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Naval Postgraduate School
Base URL
calhoun.nps.edu/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-27
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Austria, Marc K.; Horning, Raymond M.. USMC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT EDUCATION SNCO DEGREE COMPLETION PROGRAM ACCOUNTING DEGREE. Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School, 2022. https://hdl.handle.net/10945/71428