WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Marine Corps documented its cost estimates, but the documentation did not include the source data used to develop the estimates or the calculations performed and estimating methodologies used, the GAO pointed out.
“Marine Corps cost estimates for sustaining the equipment to support a Marine Air Ground Task Force capability [in Norway]… may not be fully reliable, in that they do not fully meet the four general characteristics for reliable cost estimating,” the report, issued on Thursday, said.
Marine Corps officials stated they were drafting guidance for developing cost estimates for budget plans for fall 2015, but this guidance will not address the four general characteristics for reliable cost estimating — that they be accurate, well-documented, credible and comprehensive, the report explained.
“Without ensuring that this guidance fully addresses those characteristics, the Marine Corps will not be positioned to know whether its budget proposals will meet the goal of sustaining equipment for a Marine Air Ground Task Force capability [in Norway],” it warned.
The Marine Corps relies upon the Norwegian Equipment Information Management System (NEIMS) for data needed to manage its equipment inventory due to limitations in its own system, the GAO acknowledged.
It results in a time lag in the accuracy of information in the Marine Corps system until it is manually updated with information from the Norwegian system — a time-consuming process that introduces a vulnerability to errors, the GAO explained.
The US Government Accountability Office is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress and investigate show the federal government spends taxpayer money.
