2013 represents 18 years on the High Risk List for the Defense Department. DoD has a 2017 deadline for a clean audit, but it’s also required to make interim progress by 2014. On this week’s edition of Pentagon Solutions, Francis discusses whether the Pentagon will meet those deadlines and the challenges it has in meeting them.

Francis’ guests on the show include:

• Al Tucker, former deputy chief financial officer at the Department of Defense; former deputy assistant inspector general for audit in the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Defense, and former executive director of the American Society of Military Comptrollers
• Asif Khan, director of financial management and assurance at the Government Accountability Office

This interview is part of the special report, Rise of the Money People.

In the gambling world, high risk leads to high rewards. In the federal government, getting rid of high risk leads to high reward. The Air Force Materiel Command earned some high reward for the implementation of a process called High Velocity Maintenance. Dr. Steve Butler, executive director of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, was honored with a Presidential Rank Award by the Senior Executives Association. Butler spoke with Francis about how the new process could help save his agency $1 billion. This interview is part of Federal News Radio’s special report, Rise of the Money People.

President Obama’s choice to lead the Energy Department is Ernest Moniz. He has an extensive background in academia, but at his confirmation hearing yesterday, he talked about his experience inside the Energy Department in the Clinton Administration. Charles Ebinger, director of the Energy Security Initiative at the Brookings Institution, used to work with Moniz. He spoke with Francis about what Moniz brings to the table and how it is likely to be very different than current Secretary Steven Chu.

Some agencies are taking the Office of Federal Procurement Policy’s mythbusting initiative to a whole new level. Now, they can earn some recognition when they go above and beyond. ACT-IAC is now accepting nominations for its 2013 Mythbusting Awards. Jeremy Arensdorf is vice chair of ACT-IAC’s Acquisition Management Shared Interest Group and vice president of Jefferson Consulting Group. He spoke to Francis about the criteria for the award.