ASMC National Capital Region PDI: It’s What We Do Next!
Written by: Vera Medici
On March 13, 2024, the American Society of Military Comptrollers (ASMC) Washington Chapter hosted the annual National Capital Region Professional Development Institute (PDI) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The sold-out event reached its capacity of 1,400 attendees on-site. Management Concepts was proud to support the event as a Diamond Sponsor, presenting a session and welcoming visitors to our booth at the exhibit hall.
The theme “It’s What We Do Next!” carried into the learning content throughout the day, with keynote and plenary speakers, including the Honorable Michael McCord, undersecretary of defense, comptroller, and chief financial officer; the Honorable Robert Hale, commission chair, Planning, Programming, Budget, and Execution (PPBE) Reform; and the Honorable David Norquist, former deputy secretary of defense. Concurrent sessions included topics on automation and new technologies, innovations in decision-making in financial management, and proactive approaches to internal control and mitigating risk
The Management Concepts session, “Proceed with Caution: AI and Data Ethics,” left hardly an open seat, with attendees following along to the fascinating discussion between guest speaker Carrie Meza, strategy and operations portfolio manager; assistant secretary of the Navy financial management and comptroller, financial data and digital transformation; and David Doane, senior instructor, analytics, at Management Concepts. The overarching question centered around how defense financial management professionals can prepare to leverage data with advanced technologies—such as AI—while remaining compliant. The presentation began by defining the federal Data Ethics Framework and the harmful outcomes of not adhering to data ethics and then moved into machine learning topics, breaking them down further into artificial intelligence and deep learning and illustrating points by exploring use cases. Audience members were fully engaged throughout the session and lined up to ask follow-up questions during the time reserved for Q&A.
As always, Management Concepts enjoyed connecting with familiar faces and new acquaintances in the exhibit hall, where DoD FM professionals could learn about our updates to the Enhanced Defense Financial Management Training Course (EDFMTC), full range of federal financial management courses, and free mini-courses for Washington Chapter members.
Check out event photos on our Facebook page and visit our ASMC partnership page to stay up to date on Management Concepts’ participation at upcoming ASMC events, including the national PDI in Phoenix, Arizona, this May.
