The mission of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller (ASA(FM&C)) requires non-severable, non-personal services of an accredited university to provide university affiliation services for program coordination and administrative support services necessary to award a Master of Business Administration and an Executive Master of Public Administration Degree to students who successfully complete the established curriculum. Historically, beginning in 1952, in response to financial problems identified in
World War II, the Army developed the Army Comptrollership Program. The passage of Public Law 216, as an amendment to the National Security Act of 1947, required that "comptrollers" serve throughout the Department of Defense (DoD). Over the following 60+ years, more than 2,000 military and civilian personnel attended the Army Comptrollership Program. The education provided graduates the skills necessary to financially manage conflicts ranging from Vietnam to Overseas Contingency Operations, major fluctuations in the size of the Defense Budget, and management changes to make the Department more efficient and business-like. In 2006, the name was changed from Army Comptrollership Program to Defense Comptrollership Program to better reflect the participation of students from other Services and Defense Agencies. The goals of the Defense Comptrollership Program are to provide students with essential tools of private and public sector business practices and the ability to analyze and develop public policy. With the Department of Defense’s efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its business practices and processes, both skills sets are considered essential.
