10 U.S.C. § 135 — Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)

(a) (1) There is an Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), a civilian appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. A person cannot be appointed Under Secretary within seven years after leaving active duty as a commissioned officer of a regular branch of the armed forces. (2) The person appointed must have significant budget, financial management, or audit experience in complex organizations. (b) The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) is the Department of Defense's Chief Financial Officer for purposes of chapter 9 of title 31. The Under Secretary carries out the duties assigned in section 2222 of this title, plus any additional duties and powers the Secretary of Defense assigns. (c) The Under Secretary advises and assists the Secretary of Defense by (1) performing the budgetary and fiscal functions, duties, and powers needed to carry out the Secretary's powers; (2) supervising and directing the preparation of Defense Department budget estimates; (3) setting and overseeing the rules for organizational and administrative matters relating to (A) preparing and executing budgets, (B) fiscal, cost, operating, and capital property accounting, and (C) progress and statistical reporting; (4) setting and overseeing policies and procedures for spending and collecting funds the Department administers; and (5) creating uniform terms, classifications, and procedures covering all of the above. (d) In addition to subsection (c) duties, and subject to the Secretary's authority, direction, and control, the Under Secretary must (1) give guidance and instruction on annual performance plans and evaluations to (A) the Assistant Secretaries of the military departments for financial management and (B) any other Department of Defense official responsible for financial management; and (2) direct the military departments, Defense Agencies, and other Department of Defense organizations regarding their financial statements and the audit and audit readiness of those statements. (e) The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) takes precedence in the Department of Defense right after the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. (f) The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) must ensure that each congressional defense committee is informed, in a timely manner, about all matters relating to the Department's budgetary, fiscal, and analytic activities that the Under Secretary supervises.