Ms. Candice M. Kinn was appointed as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller on 12 May 2025. She advises Army senior leadership on all matters related to financial management and comptrollership, with an emphasis on financial statement audit, risk management and internal controls, internal review, financial information management systems, and financial operations. She supports the development and oversight of the Army’s multi-hundred-billion-dollar budget and leads enterprise-wide efforts to modernize financial and asset management systems and improve financial stewardship.
Ms. Kinn brings over 20 years of experience leading complex financial, technical, and strategic transformation initiatives, with a focus on the Department of Defense since 2008. She has provided executive-level leadership in defense financial management, audit remediation, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and system integration for a broad range of military departments and agencies, including the Department of the Army, Department of the Air Force, Department of the Navy, Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS), Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), and Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).
Prior to her appointment, Ms. Kinn held senior roles in consulting for both government and industry, including at a Big Four consulting firm, where she led large-scale defense financial management and transformation efforts. Her portfolio includes oversight of enterprise SAP S/4HANA transitions, information technology (IT) enabled audit remediation aligned to the DoD’s Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) strategy, and enterprise transformation initiatives supporting Army and joint agency integration goals. She has also led efforts to integrate cybersecurity considerations into operational technology environments and has applied emerging technologies such as robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline financial operations and strengthen internal controls.
Known for her ability to operate at both the strategic and technical levels, Ms. Kinn has advised SES and flag-level leadership, developed enterprise-wide financial reform strategies, and executed high-visibility programs aimed at improving financial data integrity, auditability, and operational alignment.
CAREER CHRONOLOGY:
• July 2024 – May 2025: Principal Consultant, cBEYONData
• May 2009 – July 2024: Senior Manager, Deloitte Consulting
• April 2007 – May 2009: Senior Consultant, BearingPoint Consulting
• April 2003 – April 2007: Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) Specialist and Budget Analyst/Contractor, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
COLLEGE:
• Master of Psychology (Graduate Certificate), Cleveland State University
• Master of Public Administration, Cleveland State University
• Bachelor of Arts, dual majors in Political Science and Computer Science, minor in Mathematics, The University of Findlay
SIGNIFICANT TRAINING:
• Leadership Cleveland / Cleveland Bridge Builders
CERTIFICATIONS:
• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Actively pursuing Certified Defense Financial Manager (CDFM)
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS:
• Society of Defense Financial Management (SDFM)
• Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Leadership Cleveland / Cleveland Bridge Builders Alumni Network
MAJOR PUBLICATIONS:
• “Position Control: Managing and Maintaining Positions and Position Budgets,” Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) Collaborate Forum, 2009
• “Public Sector Budgeting: Automating the Financial Monitoring Process,” Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) Collaborate Forum, 2008
• “Position Control: Managing Budgeted Positions in the Public Sector,” Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) Insight Magazine, Fall 2007