New office consolidates FM workforce development Published April 10, 2003 By Staff Sgt. A.J. Bosker Air Force Print News WASHINGTON -- The Air Force financial management community recently consolidated all its various workforce-development efforts into a single centralized office.The financial workforce management directorate at the Pentagon is now the single point of contact for providing the FM community with professional development guidance, according to Michael Montelongo, assistant secretary of the Air Force for financial management and comptroller at the Pentagon."By pulling all our (workforce-development) efforts together, we are creating one cohesive team to help our leaders better develop their people to meet future challenges," Montelongo said.It will assist financial management leaders in developing customized approaches, based on individual strengths and aspirations, to help people reach their full potential, he said.The creation of the directorate was not prompted by any particular problem in the financial management community itself, but rather the need to transform that community from a transaction-based organization to a decision support organization, according to James Short, deputy assistant secretary for financial operations at the Pentagon."As our people are moving away from manual transactions and data calls toward providing analytical financial services, we must ensure they have the right skill sets in place to do that effectively," Short said.Montelongo said the directorate is also a critical component in achieving the financial management vision."Our vision lays out an end state where every Air Force organization operates at peak efficiency and effectiveness, and where the financial services that we deliver are every bit as sophisticated as the weapons systems and warfighting concepts that we're supporting," Montelongo said."Air Force people, military and civilian, give us the competitive edge that we enjoy today," he said. "Therefore, it's our responsibility to make sure they are ready to meet future challenges."However, it must be done in a deliberate and purposeful approach, Montelongo said."If we, as an institution, want our people to possess certain skills or competencies, we must provide them with the opportunities and framework throughout their careers to acquire those skills and competencies," he said.This directorate is the first step toward that end and the platform from which other personnel development initiatives will be launched, he said."Our Air Force is the best in the world because we are a team," he said. "For a team to succeed, it requires everyone to do their part. This effort is going to make the financial management part of the Air Force team even more capable and competent to deliver the best in FM services."