We spotted this article from Federal Computer Week that discusses the Defense Department's stance that more auditors are needed to effectively conduct DCAA audits. If you do work in the government contract space, are you prepared for an audit?
Agency officials must invest in their workforce, even in these times of shriveling budgets, to ultimately save money down the road, said several federal procurement experts at a Congressional committee hearing.
An organic government employee base with adequate skills is the alternative to over-reliance on contractors, and could be the key to reducing fraud and waste in contingency operations, the members of the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Oct. 4. But it requires investment now, despite tight budgets.
“There has to be some spending to save money,” said Dov Zakheim, a commissioner and former Defense Department comptroller and chief financial officer.
In the same vein, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a member of the House committee, said the government could have saved the at least a portion of the money wasted because of poor contracting in the decade-old contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Government Accountability Office too blames DOD’s lack of planning for workforce shortfalls—including the number of employees at the Defense Contract Audit Agency—along with contractor accounting problems. The two problems are costing DOD money due to delayed audits of the contractors’ incurred costs.
Zakheim told the House committee that DCAA needs auditors, and without them, the government is bearing the cost of delayed audits and contracts that are not properly closed.
"If you don't have auditors, you don't have audits. It's as simple as that," he said.
Head on over to Federal Computer Week for the rest of this article.
