The Financial Management occupational field encompasses the functions of finance, accounting, and budget, which are developed to ensure the continuing quality of the financial management process and to safeguard all public funds. Personnel serving in the occupational field assist and support the commander in the execution of the responsibilities, both command and legal, that relate to financial administration. Qualifications required include skills involving the disbursement of public funds, budget development and execution, managerial accounting, reporting, resource evaluation and analysis, and auditing.
What is an 3404?
Financial Management Officers formulate and supervise the execution of policies and procedures pertaining to the financial management of appropriated funds in the operating forces and the shore establishment. The functional areas of assignment are: budget formulation and execution, finance, and resource evaluation and analysis.
Are there any prerequisites to becoming a Financial Management Officer
There are no prerequisites to becoming a Financial Management Officer other than the MOS school(s).
Where do I go after TBS?
After TBS, officers must complete the 85 day Financial Management Officer Course at the Financial Management School aboard Camp Johnson, MCB Camp Lejeune, NC. The purpose of the course is to provide selected officer personnel with the training and education for the skills required of a Financial Management Officer in a Finance and/or Comptroller Office. Students will learn how to formulate and supervise the execution of policies and procedures pertaining to the financial management of appropriated funds in the operating forces and the shore establishment. The functional areas of assignment are: budget formulation and execution, finance, and resource evaluation and analysis. This course is designed to provide instruction in Marine Corps disbursing and comptrollership operations. Students are provided with a working knowledge of mechanized and automated accounting techniques; budgeting: resource evaluation and analysis techniques; pay, travel, and fiscal functions; fund control procedures and the use of Standard Accounting Budgeting Reporting System (SABRS). The instruction is provided through the use of lectures, demonstrations, practical application exercises and case studies with an emphasis on Operating Force scenario applications.
What is it like being a Financial Management Officer?
The support provided by Financial Management Officers is required aboard every major Marine Corps installation and in units across the MAGTF. A typical first-tour assignment for a Financial Management Officer is within either the Disbursing or Comptroller fields. As a Financial Management Officer within a Comptrollers Office, you may serve as a Budget Officer or Exercise Officer responsible for budget formulation and execution duties, which includes supervising the operations of a budget office or section; providing guidance for formulation of budgets; compiling budget estimates; and reviewing and monitoring budget performance and execution.
Additionally, you may be responsible for resource evaluation and analysis functions, which may include the evaluation and analysis of resource management issues and problems; work station inspections; and external audits liaison. Initially, daily responsibilities may consist of authorizing resources to subordinate commands, analyzing financial execution data, identifying deviations, conducting root cause and trend analysis, and leading the budget formulation process. As you gain experience, your responsibilities may evolve to forecasting fiscal requirements for future years, assembling Resource Working Groups (RWG) for critical events, ensuring fiscal resources support the Command’s overall mission, and applying the tenants of appropriations law to the decision making process.
As a Financial Management Officer within a Disbursing Office, you may be responsible for finance duties, which includes supervising the operations of a finance office or section within a finance office; providing guidance procedures; ascertaining the validity of disbursements and the collection of public funds; and supervising and directing the legal expenditure of public funds. Initially, you will serve as the OIC for10-20 Marines, with daily responsibilities that consist of on-the-job training, certifying documents for payment, attending section coordination meetings, addressing customer service calls and emails, scheduling training, and personnel management. As you gain experience in your first tour, you will serve as the OIC for 20-40 Marines, with increased responsibility for certifying documents for payment, personnel management, coordination with other sections to conduct training and inspections, and compiling data from the section for various reports.
Recommended reading for Financial Management Officers
The Science of War: Defense Budgeting, Military Technology, Logistics, and
Combat Outcomes. Michael E. O’Hanlon
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World. Niall Ferguson
Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World. Michael Lewis
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Patrick Lencioni
The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor. Jake Tapper
Related occupations
- 3402, Finance Officer (III) (CWO5 to WO) PMOS
- 3408, Financial Management Resource Officer (III) (CWO5 to WO) PMOS MOS 3450, Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) Officer (LtCol to Capt) FMOS
- 3432, Finance Technician (MGySgt to Pvt) PMOS
- 3451, Financial Management Resource Analyst (FMRA) (MGySgt to Pvt) PMOS
Sources/Credits: Please note that the information above was derived from and in most cases taken directly from the "Marine Officer MOS Assignment Handbook". The Basic School. Camp Barrett. March 3, 2019. All credit goes to the great staff at TBS for putting this together.
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