30 Sep End of the Fiscal Year is Coming

It's getting close to 30 Sep and, for us Department of Defense finance folks, that means it's time for the end of the Fiscal Year. For some people, conversations about the military budget may sound like a foreign language but regardless of your rank or position in the military, it's a language worth learning. Understanding the budget process can help you immensely in your career from the lowest ranking enlisted member to a 4-star general. Here are some common terms you may need.

• Fiscal Year - Our fiscal year goes from 1 Oct to 30 Sep. So FY14 started 1 Oct 13 and will end 30 Sep 14.
• Appropriations - These are the different types of funds we receive from Congress. Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution states, "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time." This means we can only spend the money given to us by Congress; no more, no less. 
• "O and M" - Your Operations and Maintenance (O&M) appropriations are the types of funds that 90% of the military use in their day-to-day operations. There is also Procurement, Investment and R/D.
• Obligations - An obligation simply means we've spent the money given to us. You may also hear "commitment" which means we've committed to spending money but we haven't actually completed the transaction. By 30 Sep, the DoD must be 100% obligated which means in the month of September, a lot of End-of-Year spending happens. Some of this spending may get frivolous as each level or organization ensures it doesn't have to return the funds given to them. For tips on how to prevent this frivolous spending, check out my post earlier this year. End of Fiscal Year Discussion
• Bona Fide Need - This is a law that states we must have an immediate need for something when we purchase it. So you can't use FY14 funds to buy something you know you won't need until March FY15. The law allows us to purchase some items that have lead time so we have necessary supplies and equipment the first couple months of the new FY. 
• Form 9 - Certain requirements need to be purchased through your Contracting organization. In the Air Force, we call this a Form 9. I'm not sure what the other services call it but this is the Form your resource advisor will help you create to get the requirement you need. It can take a significant amount of lead time, so if you need something, get the leg work done sooner than later. 
• MIPR - This is an intra-agency form we use to send other agencies money to execute a requirement for us. If you have a requirement that will require a MIPR, then you'll have to get with your Resource Advisor to find out what information you'll need.
• "CRA" - Continuing Resolution Authority (CRA) is a temporary, yet restricted, authority to spend money until Congress passes the budget. Starting 1 Oct to the time the budget is passed, the DoD is under CRA which means you'll be restricted in how much you can spend and you're unable to start any new projects. Many units become risk averse and severely restrict spending during this time.
• Initial Distribution - Once the budget has been passed, each organization will eventually get its Initial Distribution, which just means it will get its budget for the whole year and normal spending can resume.

Hopefully, this helps you understand some of the conversations you'll hear this month. A lot of military members get bogged down with arguing and fighting how the system has been set up, but the successful ones learn the system. If there is a term you hear that you want explaining please leave a comment and I'll explain it.