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Ascension is seeking an accomplished Audit/Policy Subject Matter Expert with deep expertise in Department of Defense financial accounting, federal financial reporting, audit remediation, and interpretation of authoritative financial-management policy.

This is not a routine accounting or staff-auditor position. We are seeking a senior practitioner whom Marine Corps financial leadership can rely upon when an issue is technically complex, crosses multiple financial-management authorities, has audit implications, or requires a defensible interpretation of federal or DoD accounting requirements.

The ideal candidate has spent a significant portion of their career supporting the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, DFAS, a military service financial-management organization, an Inspector General organization, an Independent Public Accountant conducting federal financial statement audits, or a comparable federal financial-management environment.

The individual should be able to take an ambiguous financial or audit issue, independently research the applicable authorities, determine the underlying accounting or internal-control implications, identify practical corrective actions, and communicate a concise recommendation that can withstand scrutiny from senior financial leaders, auditors, inspectors, and other oversight stakeholders.

This role directly supports the RFA and SDI missions. RFA is responsible for Marine Corps General Fund accounting policy, financial accounting, analysis, reporting, accounting information systems, quarterly and annual financial statements, and full financial statement audit support. SDI supports the Marine Corps’ financial systems, data integration, DAI program management, automation, and efforts to maintain the Marine Corps’ unmodified audit opinion. SSN_ADCFAS_Enclosure_1_PWS_DRAF…

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Audit/Policy SME provides on-demand senior-level accounting policy interpretation, financial audit advisory support, audit finding remediation, and process-improvement expertise to HQMC Programs and Resources, principally the Accounting and Financial Systems Branch (RFA) and Systems and Data Integration Division (SDI).

The SME evaluates complex accounting and audit issues against applicable federal, DoD, Department of the Navy, and Marine Corps financial-management requirements and translates those requirements into clear, executable recommendations.

Under PWS 5.4, the contractor is specifically expected to provide guidance supporting compliance with Treasury Financial Regulations, OMB Circular A-11, OSD guidance, DoD Financial Management Regulations, DFAS guidance, MFMIP/FSIO, DON financial guidance, Marine Corps Order 7300-21, FISCAM, and OUSD(C) directives. The contractor also assists with auditor and Inspector General requests and helps identify and implement process improvements arising from audit findings to strengthen Marine Corps financial statements. SSN_ADCFAS_Enclosure_1_PWS_DRAF…

Because this is a surge position, assignments are expected to be episodic rather than continuous. The SME may be called upon during financial statement audit cycles, accounting-policy questions, corrective-action development, year-end closeout activities, significant auditor inquiries, or issues requiring specialized technical interpretation.

The successful candidate must therefore be comfortable entering an issue quickly, independently determining what information is needed, identifying the applicable authoritative guidance, reaching a defensible conclusion, and presenting recommendations without requiring extensive supervision.

Position Purpose

The purpose of this position is to give HQMC access to senior financial-management expertise when the complexity or risk of an accounting, audit, or policy issue exceeds routine operational support.

The SME helps the Government:

• Protect the accuracy and defensibility of Marine Corps financial statements.
• Resolve technically complex accounting-policy questions.
• Interpret potentially overlapping federal, DoD, DON, DFAS, and Marine Corps requirements.
• Respond effectively to audit inquiries and findings.
• Identify root causes rather than merely correcting individual audit exceptions.
• Develop sustainable corrective actions and process improvements.
• Reduce recurrence of audit findings.
• Support continued audit readiness and the Marine Corps’ objective of maintaining an unmodified audit opinion.

The broader PWS specifically establishes the SDI mission around maintaining the Marine Corps’ unmodified audit opinion and integrating financial systems and data functions. SSN_ADCFAS_Enclosure_1_PWS_DRAF…

Expected Day-to-Day / Surge Activities

• INTERPRET complex federal, DoD, DON, DFAS, and Marine Corps accounting and financial-management policies and determine their applicability to specific RFA/SDI issues.
• RESEARCH Treasury Financial Regulations, OMB guidance, DoD FMR, OUSD(C) directives, FISCAM, Marine Corps Orders, DON policy, DFAS guidance, USSGL requirements, and other applicable authoritative sources.
• ANALYZE complex accounting transactions, financial reporting issues, audit observations, internal-control deficiencies, and financial-management processes.
• DEVELOP written recommendations and analyses for specific issues (WRASI) that clearly document the issue, applicable criteria, analysis, conclusion, risks, and recommended corrective action.
• ADVISE Marine Corps financial-management leaders on technically complex or potentially precedent-setting accounting and audit matters.
• ASSESS audit findings to determine root causes, affected processes, financial-statement implications, and corrective-action requirements.
• DESIGN practical remediation strategies to address audit findings and strengthen internal controls and financial reporting.
• EVALUATE proposed corrective actions to determine whether they address the underlying cause of an audit deficiency rather than only the immediate exception.
• REVIEW policies, procedures, SOPs, desktop guides, accounting treatments, and supporting documentation for compliance with applicable authoritative guidance.
• SUPPORT RFA/SDI responses to auditor, Inspector General, and DFAS requests and follow-up questions.
• REVIEW Provided-by-Client/Provided-by-Entity documentation and supporting evidence for completeness, consistency, and responsiveness to audit requests.
• COORDINATE with accounting, financial systems, data, audit, internal-control, and operational stakeholders when an issue spans multiple functional areas.
• IDENTIFY opportunities for business-process improvement arising from audit findings, recurring exceptions, control deficiencies, or financial-reporting challenges.
• DOCUMENT technically supportable conclusions and maintain traceability between recommendations and authoritative requirements.
• BRIEF senior Government personnel, working groups, auditors, and other stakeholders on findings, policy interpretations, risks, and recommended courses of action.
• RESPOND rapidly to time-sensitive accounting or audit matters during financial statement audit, quarter-end, and fiscal-year closeout periods.
• VALIDATE that proposed accounting practices and remediation measures are consistent with applicable DoD and federal financial-management requirements.
• MONITOR changes to relevant accounting, audit, financial-management, and internal-control requirements that could affect RFA/SDI operations.

Written recommendations under the PWS generally must be completed within 5–10 business days of the Government’s request, with recommendations supported by detailed analytical findings and, when applicable, appropriate industry or military citations. SSN_ADCFAS_Enclosure_1_PWS_DRAF…

Tools, Systems, and Processes the Candidate Should Be Comfortable Using

The individual does not need to be a software developer, but should be comfortable operating in a modern federal financial-management and audit environment.

Relevant tools and environments are likely to include:

• Defense Agencies Initiative (DAI)
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Teams
• SharePoint
• Marine Corps Enterprise Network (MCEN-N)
• DoD and DON financial-management policy repositories
• Treasury and USSGL reference materials
• Audit PBC/PBE trackers
• Corrective Action Plans / CAP tracking
• Notice of Findings and Recommendations / NFR tracking
• Root-cause analysis
• Internal-control assessment
• Process mapping
• Risk assessment
• Reconciliation and variance analysis
• Financial-statement audit support
• Document/evidence traceability
• Policy crosswalks and regulatory research