Defense Finance and Accounting Service

Defense Finance and Accounting Service

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Agency overview
Formed	1991
Headquarters	Indianapolis, Indiana
Employees	>12,000
Agency executives	Audrey Davis, Director Jonathan Witter, Principal Deputy Director ~ Aaron Gillison, Deputy Director, Operations Deputy Director, Strategy and Support[1]
Parent department	Department of Defense
Website	www.dfas.mil

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense (DOD), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. DFAS was established in 1991 under the authority, direction, and control of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer to strengthen and reduce costs of financial management and operations within DOD. DFAS is responsible for all payments to servicemembers, employees, vendors, and contractors. It provides business intelligence and finance and accounting information to DOD decisionmakers. DFAS is also responsible for preparing annual financial statements and the consolidation, standardization, and modernization of finance and accounting requirements, functions, processes, operations, and systems for DOD.^[2]

One of the most visible responsibilities of DFAS is handling military pay. DFAS pays all DoD military and civilian personnel, retirees and annuitants, as well as major DoD contractors and vendors. DFAS also supports customers outside the DoD in support of electronic government initiatives. Customers include the Executive Office of the President, Department of Energy, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Health & Human Services, Department of State, U.S. Agency for Global Media and Foreign partners.^[3]

DFAS is a working capital fund agency financed by reimbursement of operating costs from its governmental customers (mostly the military service departments) rather than through direct appropriations. DFAS remains the world's largest finance and accounting operation.^[4]

In FY 2019, DFAS:^[5]

• Processed 140.8 million pay transactions (~6.5 million people/accounts)
• Made 6.2 million travel payments
• Paid 15.1 million commercial invoices
• Maintained 98 million General Ledger accounts
• Managed $1.17 trillion in Military Retirement and Health Benefits Funds
• Made $558 billion in disbursements
• Managed $616.6 billion in Foreign Military Sales (reimbursed by foreign governments)
• Accounted for 1,349 active DoD appropriations