Financial services get makeover

  • Published
  • By Erin Lewis
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing
The Air Force financial management is making changes in the way it handles information and financial processes. McConnell members will notice two major changes.

The first change will involve financial services. Previously, the majority of financial services required one-on-one assistance from personnel in the financial services offices on base. 

It will now provide the majority of its financial support by way of an Air Force Financial Services Center and improved Web-based tools such as MyPay. This (call) center will be located at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., and will become the central location of financial operations.

"This helps customers as they will no longer be wasting time coming into the office," said Maj. Mark Snow, 22nd Comptroller Squadron.

The AFFSC is scheduled to open its doors in October and will begin transferring some of the workload from the field immediately; Air Mobility Command transfers to the center will begin in February 2008.

"This is a considerable change in the way of handling financial services, but the conversion will remain unnoticed to most customers, as is the goal of the transformation," said Major Snow.

Centralizing most of the operations from 93 bases, will allow members direct assistance for financial service transactions as well as timely responses to inquiries, according to a message from John G. Vonglis, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force on the Air Force Portal.

The center will be fully staffed (775 civilian and military personnel) around the clock to improve efficiency and will bring together the largest contingency of Air Force Financial Management professionals anywhere in the world, according to Mr. Vonglis.

The AFFSC will be at full operation capability in the spring of 2008, and at this time customers will also be able to contact the AFFSC through e-mail.

There will still be a local presence as financial services offices on base will remain open, smaller staffed, to assist members personally.

The second change McConnell is experiencing is the Financial Advisor Transformation. The goal of this change is to provide an improved, more efficient financial support system by providing highly trained financial advisors.

"The financial advisors are from the financial services office and our analysis division," said Major Snow.

Advisors will provide accurate and reliable financial recommendations for commanders and key decision makers, according to the AF Portal. Each group will get a combination of financial services and analysis personnel to support their financial management teams.

"Helps the [financial services] staff as they become exposed to all aspects of financial management, instead of focusing on one general area, as they were," said Major Snow.

Delays in service may occur while trying to adapt to the changes, but members will benefit in the end of having assistance available 24/7 via the (call) center or the Web.