In February 2008, I began working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Gulf Coast Recovery Office (GCRO) as a consultant. My team had been engaged to help the GCRO address several financial management challenges that had been identified by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). With a background in business management and technology, I was tasked with leading the design, development, and deployment of a database that would serve as the centerpiece in a redesigned invoice management process.
Eager to respond to the crisis and ill-equipped for long-term disaster recovery, the GAO determined FEMA’s invoice management process lacked rigor, standardization, and repeatability. This resulted in an inability to provide proper oversight of procurement activities and at least $30 million in improper payments being made to contractors. …show more content…
This included leading interviews with subject-matter experts and conducting a thorough review of historical documents. During this discovery phase, we learned that invoices were received by local offices and then forwarded to a location several states away to be processed. This led to delays and loss of visibility which, in turn, frequently resulted in unnecessary penalties due to violations of the Prompt Payment Act.
Armed with a better understanding of the “as-is”, I began coding a database with the “to-be” in mind. This included ensuring that the database could be accessed by contracting and procurement representatives throughout the organization. Recognizing we had a finite budget for our engagement, I also had to closely monitor my time and frequently met with the GCRO team to prioritize features to ensure that there would be enough funding to deploy the tool once
Eager to respond to the crisis and ill-equipped for long-term disaster recovery, the GAO determined FEMA’s invoice management process lacked rigor, standardization, and repeatability. This resulted in an inability to provide proper oversight of procurement activities and at least $30 million in improper payments being made to contractors. …show more content…
This included leading interviews with subject-matter experts and conducting a thorough review of historical documents. During this discovery phase, we learned that invoices were received by local offices and then forwarded to a location several states away to be processed. This led to delays and loss of visibility which, in turn, frequently resulted in unnecessary penalties due to violations of the Prompt Payment Act.
Armed with a better understanding of the “as-is”, I began coding a database with the “to-be” in mind. This included ensuring that the database could be accessed by contracting and procurement representatives throughout the organization. Recognizing we had a finite budget for our engagement, I also had to closely monitor my time and frequently met with the GCRO team to prioritize features to ensure that there would be enough funding to deploy the tool once