After the February 1st HSGAC Contracting Oversight Subcommittee hearing, the DCAA director, Patrick Fitzgerald has been on a media campaign to tout all the new changes he has implemented and how they have improved the quality of DCAA audits. According to Fitzgerald, DCAA has saved about $3 billion with a “tightened net” which focuses on […]
New Memorandum Lays Groundwork for More Powerful DCAA
To get the New Year off to a frustrating start for government contractors, Shay Assad, Director of the Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP), released a memorandum called: “Better Buying Power: Guidance for Obtaining Greater Efficiency and Productivity in Defense Spending; ‘Align Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) Processes to […]
Contractors are going to feel the Rigor of DCAA in 2011
Do you remember back in 2008 when the Government Accountability Office gave a very critical review of the DCAA audit practices? DCAA was told to be more independent. Now, several years after DCAA criticism, government contractors are finally going to start feeling the effects. Instead of DCAA acting as a friendly business partner with contractors, […]
DCAA Preaward Audits of Accounting Systems
Contracting officers request a Preaward Audit in order to understand the accounting system which is being used by a government contractor. Many government contractors are stupefied to find out that their accounting system isn’t adequate, even if the books are being meticulously kept. For the DCAA, it isn’t enough just to keep good records though. […]
DCAA Accounting System Requirements
DCAA auditors are not just looking to see if a contractor’s accounting system meets a checklist. The DCAA auditor takes under consideration the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP, and will perform various tests to make sure that the accounting system is in accordance. Here are the areas that a DCAA auditor will be looking […]
Training Employees about DCAA Timesheet Regulations
Your DCAA timesheet may be one of the most demanding tasks when it comes to surviving an audit. However, it isn’t enough for just you to understand the DCAA timesheet regulations. Many firms fail audits because of problems their employees make. This can be avoided with a good training program. The first thing that employees […]
Problems and Reforms Facing DCAA
Talk about government reform is sure to make you groan, especially when in regards to DCAA regulations. It is hard enough to grasp these DCAA regulations without the added challenge of continual changes in policies and procedures. As contractors, what we need to remember is that the DCAA is not just a scrutinizer, but is […]
11 Reasons Why A DCAA Proposal is Rejected
When reviewing a DCAA proposal, auditors are to look for 11 deficiencies as outlined in The Defense Contract Audit Manual. To help you understand why a DCAA proposal might be denied, we have listed the 11 deficiencies here and described their meaning: 1. Unsupported Costs: This means that your DCAA proposal did not contain enough […]
What to Look for in DCAA Software
There are many different types of DCAA software out there covering many different aspects of the audit, including timekeeping and accounting. Even though you may detest DCAA as a contractor, you should not forget why it exists. The DCAA is necessary to ensure that the government is not spending taxpayers’ money on frivolous expenses or […]
Contract Disputes Can be Avoided: It’s All About Communication
Contract disputes are a part of the contract process — it just seems to happen and be a part of the process. The parties involved shake their heads in wonderment while questioning how the dispute began in the first place.  Before you know it people are assigning blame, lots of fingers are being pointed, voices […]