Air Force Financial Services Center - Working Through the Challenges

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Edward Horsch
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Last fall, Financial Management implemented its largest change in its 60-plus year history with the establishment of Air Force Financial Services Center at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. Back shop military pay and travel processes migrated to the AFFSC with the goal of saving manpower while streamlining processes.

The growing pains resulting from the combination of new information technology systems, new processes and a new center have been felt by some FM customers. The AFFSC is keenly aware of the impact that long processing time has on Airmen and how disruptive it can be for Airmen and their chain of command.

The FM community remains committed to providing timely, accurate and reliable service and is working hard to resolve the issues that have impacted customers. The time it took to process transactions has been significantly reduced and adjustments are being made that will further reduce processing time and reduce lost or misplaced vouchers.

This article provides information on why customers may have noticed changes to their service, an update on current processing times, steps that Airmen can take to ensure their transactions are processed quickly and the resolution process for issues that arise.
When the AFFSC opened its doors in October 2007 the expectation was that the transition of back-office financial transactions would have no noticeable effect on customers. Although the men and women at all levels of FM worked to achieve this goal, the combination of information technology system challenges and the difficulty in standardizing processes, which had been done somewhat differently across all major commands led to several challenges the FM career field has had to overcome.
The current processing time for a TDY or PCS voucher is 10 to 15 days. 

This count begins when the customer submits the voucher to the local finance office and ends when the money is deposited in their account. Currently, processing time for military pay documents is less than five days from the time the document is submitted until it is processed. 

These processing times are not what most Airmen are accustomed to and several technology and process fixes are being implemented that are designed to reduce these times further, especially the voucher processing time. 

In addition to longer processing times, there have been occasions when documents have been lost. Improvements to the new document management IT system and its accompanying processes to be implemented in the near term should virtually eliminate cases of lost documents. However, if in the event that an Airmen's document has been lost, or if an Airmen's unique circumstances require special attention, following process can be used to resolve the issue.

If a claim has not been paid within 15 days for a military pay document or travel voucher, the first stop should be the local finance office. The local finance office can place the document in a priority folder, which will get it to the front of the queue. If this does not promptly resolve the issue, you should work within your local chain of command to ensure payment. 

If a transaction has not been processed within 15 days, please do not wait to contact the financial services office. Early notification of a delay is the best measure to ensure the claims are being processed.

Airmen can also take actions to prevent delays in payments, by following the basic rules: 

 Use existing automated systems such as Defense Travel System, myPay and LeaveWeb for transactions.

 Remember to claim all of reimbursable expenses and annotate proper modes of transportation.

 Remember to have a complete set of orders when filing.

 Have the proper signatures for travel vouchers.

 Indicate the desired amount disbursed to your Government Travel Card.

 The Unit Agency Program Coordinator is the first place to go for GTC issues, not the AFFSC or local finance office.

 Write clearly and legibly so documents can be easily read.

At present, the AFFSC rejects 10 to 15 percent of documents because of incorrect or missing information. This can add days and sometimes weeks to the processing time. Doing a quality check before taking the documents to the local finance office will help expedite payments.

Even though significant improvements have been made in the last few months, there are still changes to come. The AFFSC remains committed to excellence in all we do and continues to reduce transaction processing times and deliver the service that customers expect and deserve. The AFFSC understands the affects on customers and asks for patience and assistance as they transform the FM operations.