What Is the U.S. Army Finance Corps?
The U.S. Army is a massive organization that must pay hundreds of thousands of soldiers each month. The U.S. Army Finance Corps not only disburses monthly pay to every soldier, it also funds operations, makes vendor payments and provides banking and accounting services. The smallest branch of the army, the U.S. Army Finance Corps acts solely as a combat service support branch and has no combat responsibilities.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
The Second Continental Congress appointed a Paymaster General of the Army on June 16, 1775, thereby creating a Pay Department consisting of finance soldiers that disbursed pay throughout the Continental Army. The Pay Department became a part of the Quartermaster Corps in 1912; the Finance Department became a separate army branch in 1920. At this point, the U.S. Army Finance Corps became responsible for more than monthly pay when it took on all auditing and budgeting for the entire War Department.
Training
-
The U.S. Army Financial Management School in Fort Jackson, S.C., has the mission of providing the army with enlisted soldiers, NCOs and officers trained in financial management and support. Soldiers take classes and train in subjects such as advanced accounting and analysis, accounts payable and disbursing operations. While training in financial management at Fort Jackson, soldiers must still participate in physical training and testing.
-
Functions of Enlisted Finance Soldiers
-
Enlisted personnel who are assigned the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 44C calculate payroll and other allowances, disburse pay, supervise internal controls, participate in budgeting and audit financial operations. These soldiers are usually part of small finance units embedded in larger units or bases to which they provide financial services and support. While serving in foreign countries, finance soldiers are involved in making disbursements to foreign military and civilian personnel as well as American soldiers serving in-country.
Functions of Finance Officers
-
Finance Corps officers supervise the enlisted soldiers under their command while coordinating finance and accounting operations and instituting audits and controls over the financial systems they oversee. These officers serve as advisers to their unit commanders on all financial subjects on both domestic military bases and in foreign countries. Finance officers in foreign countries deliver payments to foreign civilian and military personnel, as well as arrange payment for rewards and aid offered to the civilian population.
Future of the U.S. Army Finance Corps
-
The U.S. Army is constantly taking advantage of the same technological advances that have revolutionized private sector business and financial services. Complex information technology systems will soon record and control real-time disbursement of funds both on and off the battlefield. Soldiers with increasingly sophisticated technical training and the right financial systems at their finger tips will allow the Finance Corps to perform its functions faster and more accurately than ever before.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit u.s. army flag flies in front of home image by Christopher Martin from Fotolia.com
