((a)) The Secretary of the Air Force shall provide that the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management shall direct and manage financial management activities and operations of the Department of the Air Force, including ensuring that financial management systems of the Department of the Air Force comply with subsection (b). The authority of the Assistant Secretary for such direction and management shall include the authority to—

((1)) supervise and direct the preparation of budget estimates of the Department of the Air Force and otherwise carry out, with respect to the Department of the Air Force, the functions specified for the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) in ;

((2)) approve and supervise any project to design or enhance a financial management system for the Department of the Air Force; and

((3)) approve the establishment and supervise the operation of any asset management system of the Department of the Air Force, including—

((A)) systems for cash management, credit management, and debt collection; and

((B)) systems for the accounting for the quantity, location, and cost of property and inventory.

((b))

((1)) Financial management systems of the Department of the Air Force (including accounting systems, internal control systems, and financial reporting systems) shall be established and maintained in conformance with—

((A)) the accounting and financial reporting principles, standards, and requirements established by the Comptroller General under ; and

((B)) the internal control standards established by the Comptroller General under .

((2)) Such systems shall provide for—

((A)) complete, reliable, consistent, and timely information which is prepared on a uniform basis and which is responsive to the financial information needs of department management;

((B)) the development and reporting of cost information;

((C)) the integration of accounting and budgeting information; and

((D)) the systematic measurement of performance.

((c)) The Assistant Secretary shall maintain a five-year plan describing the activities the Department of the Air Force proposes to conduct over the next five fiscal years to improve financial management. Such plan shall be revised annually.

((d)) The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management shall transmit to the Secretary of the Air Force a report each year on the activities of the Assistant Secretary during the preceding year. Each such report shall include a description and analysis of the status of Department of the Air Force financial management.