By MC1 Lewis Hunsaker

Rear Adm. William K. Lescher, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget, addresses financial management students during an Admiral's Call in Ingersoll Hall, July 12. Lescher took advantage of the opportunity to address students while on campus for the financial management curriculum review.

"The conversation that you will routinely find yourself having, or contributing to, as you learn very technical aspects of accounting and the broader aspects of strategic research management, is the formula for balancing the budget … strategy plus risk equals resources," said Lescher. "You understand strategies, and you understand resources, such as the Budget Control Act. How do you balance those two elements with the fundamental element of risk?"

During the discussion, Lescher answered student questions on payback tours, establishing a new financial management (FM) officer community, and the auditable effects of budget cuts.

"The fact that you get to go back and forth between the operational and FM perspective tours is extremely important," said Lescher. "Financial management is all about facilitating well-informed choices."

Lescher has served as the Department of Navy budget officer since December 2013, and is an NPS alumnus, graduating from the university's aeronautical engineering program in 1987.