The Office of the Under Secretary of War (Comptroller) has issued a policy, reducing the number of Continuing Education and Training (CET) hours required to maintain your Department of War (DoW) Financial Management (FM) certification. This change is designed to emphasize quality, mission-relevant training over quantity while a broader review of the certification program is underway. This email provides details on the policy, incorporating clarifying guidance from the Office of the Secretary of War (OSW).
Key Policy Change:
- Effective with the 2024 – 2025 CET cycle, the requirement for all certification levels is now 40 hours per two-year cycle. This reduction from the previous requirements breaks down as follows:
- FM Certification Level 1: Unchanged
- FM Certification Level 2: Reduced by 20 hours (from 60 to 40 hours)
- FM Certification Level 3: Reduced by 40 hours (from 80 to 40 hours)
Implementation and Eligibility:
The policy change is effective for 2024 – 2025 CET cycle and all future cycles. FM Certification Level 2 or 3 personnel with non-compliant CETs for any cycle ending on or before 12/31/2024 are required to complete their original 60 or 80-hour requirement and are not eligible for this reduction for any past cycles.
CET Reduction Application:
To implement this change, a “CET Relief Reduction” line item will be added to the scorecards for all eligible FM Certification Level 2 and 3 members. This will automatically apply the 20 or 40-hour credit, respectively. Please be advised that the implementation of this system update is pending, and the exact date is to be determined.
Please note that requirements for obtaining an initial FM certification remain unchanged.
For questions regarding this policy, please reach out to your local or command component administrators or our SAF/FM Workforce Development Team.