TOP STORY>>Airmen must revalidate dependents for BAH

By Staff Sgt. Jessica Condit
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

Airman stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base must provide their servicing finance office with documentation for all dependents as part of Air Force audit readiness efforts.

This one-time, Air Force-wide recertification process will allow the Air Force to validate Airmen’s basic allowance for housing entitlements, ensuring every dollar of the $5.4 billion the Air Force spends annually on BAH is fully auditable.

“When we say the Air Force is not audit compliant, that doesn’t mean that money is missing or being misspent,” said Doug Bennett, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for financial operations. “Generally, it means that we lack the required documentation for our spending to be considered auditable. In the case of BAH, we need Airmen’s marriage certificates, birth certificates for children and divorce decrees that require child support properly documented by our finance offices to ensure we can audit $5.4 billion in Air Force spending.”

Beginning this month and continuing through December, Air Force finance offices will contact Airmen across the total force by email to notify them of their responsibility to provide dependent documentation. Their finance office will tell them exactly which documents are required. Additionally, Airmen who recently provided documentation may not be required to do so again. Airmen should wait to be notified by their finance offices rather than bringing in documentation unsolicited, Bennett said. Waiting to receive notification will eliminate unnecessary duplication of effort for some Airmen.

Once notified, Airmen will have 30 days to provide the required documents to their servicing finance office or have their housing allowance status reduced to single-rate. Deployed Airmen and those on extended leave or temporary duty will be given special consideration in meeting the 30-day deadline.

The push for revalidation of dependent documentation comes as the Air Force prepares to meet financial improvement and audit readiness requirements laid out in the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. The Air Force currently retains dependent documentation for six years, which is insufficient to meet audit readiness requirements. This one-time revalidation will ensure Air Force compliance with audit requirements, Bennett said.

“America entrusts the Air Force not only to spend taxpayer dollars wisely and efficiently, but also to account and justify that expenditure,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III in a recent memo. “Preparation for this important and legislatively-mandated effort rests in the hands of every Airman, not just the financial community.”

Although revalidation of Airmen’s dependents will be a one-time recertification, Airmen will continue to play a vital role in the Air Force’s audit readiness. Starting in 2015, independent auditors will visit work stations for Airmen to review processes, procedures and transactions that directly impact the Air Force’s financial statements.

“Ensuring we have the proper documentation to account for every expenditure in a very large budget is a difficult but essential effort,” said Dr. Jamie Morin, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller. “Becoming audit ready will help us demonstrate to the American public that we are responsible stewards of taxpayer money at a time when we must make every dollar count.”

For questions regarding the BAH certification, please contact Senior Airman Arielle Wilson at (501) 987-5126.