The Air Force earlier this month fielded its controversial Defense Enterprise Accounting and Management System (DEAMS) to four additional locations with a goal of expanding DEAMS capability to all active, reserve and guard units by the end of fiscal year 2017.
Air Force spokesman Ed Gulick said in an email DEAMS on Oct. 1 started deployment at Dover AFB, Del.; Grand Forks AFB, N.D.; Little Rock AFB, Ark.; and Pope Field, a former Air Force base in North Carolina, where they continue to “act nominally.” At locations where DEAMS was deployed during FY ’13, Gulick said the service successfully closed those locations’ year-end books using DEAMS.
DEAMS was implemented at Scott AFB, Ill., as a two-phased technology demonstration, fully deploying there in May 2010, the Air Force said in a June statement. DEAMS was also deployed at McConnell AFB, Kan., in October 2012 as a proof of concept. U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) headquarters staff at Scott AFB and the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) office at Limestone, Maine, which supports both installations, are also using DEAMS.
Gulick said the FY ’17 goal of expanding DEAMS to all active, reserve and guard units would encompass about 100 Air Force locations around the world and approximately 30,000 users. He added that the full deployment decision threshold goal is August 2015 with fielding scheduled to complete by the end of FY ’17, which is significant as it is also the Defense Department’s deadline for the military services to achieve full financial auditability.
DEAMS is a Major Automated Information System that uses commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software to provide accounting and management services. In its FY ’12 annual report to Congress, the DoD’s director, operational test & evaluation (DOT&E) office said DEAMS, in addition to its $2 billion overrun, is 7.5 years behind schedule.
The Air Force in June awarded DEAMS contractor Accenture [ACN] a two-year, $42.2 million contract to continue DEAMS work, according to a company statement. The service also awarded another $42 million contract to Accenture in February for DEAMS work.
Accenture spokeswoman Joanne Veto said on Oct. 30 in an email Accenture and the Air Force have three additional DEAMS rollout phases through October 2014: three additional bases by January, three more by spring 2014 and 13 more bases by October 2014, when a total of 25 bases should be using DEAMS. Veto said Accenture’s contract to provide application maintenance to DEAMS runs through October 2014 and that the company continues to support maintenance releases that support both new rollouts as well as ongoing capability maintenance.