On May 27, 1986, the Disbursing Instructional Section, Personnel Administration and Disbursing School Company, and the Fiscal Instructional Section, Supply School Company, consolidated and officially activated as the Financial Management School Company. The new school was placed under the command of Captain R.C. Edelbrock.
In June 1986, Financial Management School implemented the first Financial Management Officer Course. The course was based upon the former Disbursing Officers Course and graduated technically proficient officers in the functional areas of Financial Management consistent with their first duty assignment. The curriculum included military pay, travel, public vouchers, accounting for public funds, budgeting, resource evaluation and analysis and management controls.
In March 1992 Financial Management School began the first Basic Disbursing Clerk Course. The course consolidated and expanded upon the former Personal Financial Records Clerk and Basic Travel Clerk Courses. The 8-week curriculum included military pay and allowances and travel entitlements and procedures. In June 1994 Financial Management School implemented the first Fiscal Budget Technician Course. The course was designed around the former Fiscal Accounting Course. The 6-week curriculum included basic Marine Corps accounting techniques and procedures, budget formulation, funding control and a working knowledge of formal mechanized accounting techniques.
All courses underwent major revision during 1995 and 1996 in response to the increasingly dynamic Financial Management field. Commensurate with these changes, in April 1996 Financial Management School launched the first Financial Management Career Course. The 5-week curriculum provided skills progression training in accounting and budgeting issues.
In January 1997 the courses then known as the Basic Disbursing Clerk Course and the Advanced Disbursing Course were changed to the Basic Finance Technician Course and the Advanced Finance Course in keeping with joint operational terminology. The Advanced Disbursing Course was removed from the school curriculum in July 1997.
During the summer of 1997, courses were again reviewed and modified. The end result was the implementation of "Just-In-Time" training. All courses were streamlined to ensure only core classes are taught in order to graduate marines sooner for duty in the Fleet. In doing so, the school became a benchmark for other Marine Corps entry-level schools.
In October of 2001, with coordination with Defense Finance Accounting Service personnel in Kansas City, the Comptroller Instructional Section started using the SABRS emulation in the classroom. In the past, SABRS screens were printed and provided in the student handouts with blanks to 'fill in.' With the emulation, each student is now able to enter the accounting system via 3270 and process accounting information, research, and view reports as he or she would in a Comptroller office.
In the fall of 2014, Financial Management School commenced a comprehensive review of existing Programs of Instructions, including identifying gaps in training systems and the needs of the operating forces and supporting establishment. As a result of this review, and new Financial Management Training and Readiness Manual that was signed in December 2014, significant changes to the existing Programs of Instruction were made.
Updated Programs of Instruction
- Basic Finance Technician Course (3432)
- Advance Finance Course (3432)
- Financial Management Resource Analysts Course (3451)
- Advance Resource Management Course (3451)
- Financial Management Officers Course (3404)
- Advanced Financial Management Officers Course (3404)
- Appropriations Law Course
These courses are taught by dedicated military instructors and have been developed over the years based on the evolving needs of the financial management community and changing financial management environment.
As Financial Management School looks to the future, there will be increasing demand for a more educated financial management workforce as we enter an austere fiscal environment and cope with our Nation’s larger fiscal challenges. The mission of the Marine Corps Financial Management School is to train and educate the Financial Management workforce in the fundamentals of DoD resource management while sustaining the transformation of Marines for service in the operational and supporting establishments. Since 1986, the Financial Management School has stayed at the forefront of advances in budgeting, accounting, disbursing, and resource evaluation and analysis in order to prepare Marines and civilians for the challenges they will face in all operational environments. Today, Financial Management School is implementing a new systems training environment, incorporating advanced methods of instruction focusing on case studies, tactical decision games, and practical applications, and developing new courses of instruction across a continuum of training and education and targeted at appropriations law and contingency operations, while continuing to graduate nearly 400 financial management professionals annually. These efforts will ensure that Financial Management School continues to provide efficient, effective, and relevant financial management training in the coming years and in more challenging fiscal environments.
Commanding Officers of Financial Management School
- Capt R.C. Edelbrock (21 May 1986 – 30 Jun 1987)
- Maj E.R. McLyman (01 Jul 1987 – 28 Sep 1989)
- Capt C.R. Samson (29 Sep 1989 – 26 Jul 1990)
- Maj W.H. Malone (27 Jul 1990 – 23 Jul 1992)
- LtCol D.A. Woodard (24 Jul 1992 – 24 Oct 1994)
- LtCol E.F. King (25 Oct 1994 – 01 Aug 1996)
- LtCol D.R. VanPeursem (02 Aug 1996 – 13 Jul 1998)
- LtCol D.A. Brabant (14 Jul 1998 – 20 Jul 2000)
- LtCol R.J. Blewis (21 Jul 2000 – 6 Aug 2002)
- LtCol T.J. Fuhrer (7 Aug 2002 – 5 Aug 2005)
- LtCol K.J. Hackbarth (04 Aug 2004 – 7 Jul 2006)
- LtCol M.E. Cordero (7 Jul 2006 – 18 Jul 2008)
- LtCol R.A. Gallant (18 Jul 2008 – 28 Jul 2009)
- LtCol R.T. Brady (28 Jul 2009 – 1 Jul 2011)
- LtCol R.D. Brewster III (1 Jul 2011 - 11 Jul 2013)
- LtCol D.E. Moore (11 Jul 2013 - 29 Jul 2015)
- LtCol J.J. Yoder (29 Jun 2015 - 14 Jul 2017)
- LtCol A.K. Kessel (14 Jul 2017 - 12 Jun 2019)
- LtCol M.E. Feuquay (12 Jun 2019 - 25 Jun 2021)
- LtCol S.P. Dagher (25 Jun 2021 - Present)