The IDF Economic Array המערך הכלכלי‎
Symbol of the IDF Economic Array
Agency overview
Formed	1948
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	Israel
Operations jurisdiction	Israel
Governing body	IDF General Staff
Operational structure
Headquarters	Matcal Tower, Tel Aviv
Agency executive	Brigadier General Gil Pinchas, Financial Advisor to the Cheif of the General Staff

The IDF Economic Array constitutes the assortment of units in the fields of budgetary, economic, and resource concerns. These together, constitute a professional authority in the unit or organization in which they operate and are guided by the Financial Advisor to the Chief of General Staff as the highest professional authority.

The Financial Advisor to the Chief of General Staff is a Brigadier General who holds the role of the Head of the IDF Economic Array and is Head of the Budget Directorate in the Ministry of Defense. Due to his role as the financial advisor to the Chief of General Staff, the Head of the Economic Array is a member of the General Staff. The current head of the economic Array is Brigadier General Gil Pinchas.

Owing to his additional role as Head of the Budget Directorate in the Ministry of Defense, this is responsible for the overall management of the Israeli defense budget, the Financial Advisor to the Chief of General Staff reports to the Director General of the Ministry of Defense.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Economic Array is to bear overall responsibility of the management of the defense budget and to provide professional consultation to the Chief of General Staff, the Director General of the Ministry of Defense, and the IDF General Headquarters in the areas of budgeting, wage, economics, and contractual. The Head of the Economic Array serves as a supreme professional authority in the IDF in these areas.

Areas of Responsibility

1. Professional consultation on topics relating to budgeting, wage, economics, and contracts.

2. The overall responsibility for managing the defense budget including the responsibility for raising budget sources of the defense budget and the responsibility for their management and regulation. Both the sources allocated by the Ministry of Finance within the state budget, and other sources such as real estate and military sales abroad.

3. Formulation and publication of professional instructions and procedures for the IDF in the fields of budgeting, economics, streamlining, contracts and sales.

4. Development, guidance, and training of commanders in the IDF and officials who are involved in areas of budgeting and resource management, economics, salary, and manpower budget. This includes the implementation of streamlining processes and efficient economic thinking.

5. Representing the Ministry of Defense and the IDF before of the Knesset and government ministries, in particular the Ministry of Finance.

6. The preparation of the defense budget (construction and promotion for Knesset approval), as well as monitoring and adjusting as needed.

7. Regulation of the realization of the budget and its utilization by the objectives and priorities approved by the Chief of General Staff in cooperation with the IDF’s Planning Directorate.

8. Consulting in the construction of work plans of all budgetary authorities in the IDF, subject to budget frameworks and the military's orders about budgeting.

9. Initiating and leading streamlining measures in all IDF branches and units along with the management of efficiency funding, including efficient energy initiatives.

10. Monitoring the forecasted development year of the budget (expenses and revenues) by carrying out annual multi-budget situation assessments as a basis of work plans for the budgetary bodies in the Ministry of Defense, the various branches of the IDF, and major projects.

11. Preparation and processing of studies, reviews, and research papers on issues and processes relevant to the defense budget.

12. Dealing with the economic and budgetary aspects of government decision- making processes and political movements i.e., bills, government proposals, etc.

History

The Financial Advisor to the Chief of General Staff unit was established in 1948. The main role of the Financial Advisor is to consult the Chief of General Staff in the areas of budgeting and economics, the guidance of the IDF’s budgetary units, budgetary regulation, and the implementation of the national budget in the IDF.

The unit operates as a joint organization between the IDF and the Ministry of Defense since the Financial Advisor to the Chief of Staff is also the head of the Budget Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.

The Economic Array was established in 2009 as a unified professional array. It operates as a union of units in the fields of budgeting, economics, salary, and manpower budget under the authority of the Head of the Economic Array, who is the Financial Advisor to the Chief of General Staff and the head of the Budgeting Directorate in the Ministry of Defense.

Unit Structure

The Head of the Economic Array is a Brigadier General, who holds the position of a Financial Advisor to the Chief of General Staff and head of the Budget Directorate in the Ministry of Defense.

The Head of the Economic Corps is the supreme professional authority. As such all officers operating in the domain of economics, budgeting, salary and manpower budget, and resource management, in the various IDF units, are subject to his professional instructions in addition to mandatory IDF orders.

The head of the corps is responsible for the training, guidance, and development of manpower in the entire economic array. The economic array predominantly includes officers, but also civilian employees.

The economic array has a regular training program that includes officer training and a variety of professional courses conducted within the School of Economics and Budgeting of the IDF.

Units that Comprise the Economic Array

1. The unit of the Financial Advisor to the Chief of General Staff - the headquarters of the economic Array which consists of six professional departments:

• Department of Combined Arms and Special Budgets
• Department of Army Budgets, Payroll, and Manpower
• Department of Ministry of Defense Budgets
• Department of Planning (Including Streamlining)
• Department of Procedures and Information
• Department of Taxation and Economics

2. The Department of Budgets and Control in the Ground Forces.

3. Units to Human Resources.

4. Department of Budgets and Control in the Navy.

5. Department of Planning, economics & IT at DDR&D (MAFAT).

6. Budgeting Unit within the Planning Department of the Intelligence Directorate.

7. Budgeting Unit within the IT Division.

8. Budgeting Units within the Regional Commands (Southern, Northern,Central, and Homefront).

9. Budget Unit within the Border Administration.

10. Budgeting Unit for the Discharged Soldiers Fund.

All members of the Economic Array have at least a bachelor’s degree in economics or the fields of accounting and business administration. Most members enlist in the IDF as part of the academic reserve track.

Heads of the Economic Array

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