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Defense Contract Audit Agency: Difference between revisions

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The DCAA responded on July 25 that it had asked the US Department of Defense's (DoD) [[Inspector general|Inspector General]] (IG) office to investigate the GAO's claims.  "We take the GAO report very seriously," said [[April Stephenson]], DCAA's director.  US Senator [[Claire McCaskill]] said GAO may have uncovered the "biggest auditing scandal in the history of this town," and asked the DoD to immediately fire the supervisors cited in the report.<ref>Brodsky, Robert, "[http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0708/072808rb1.htm Report of Defense audit scandal makes waves] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203202402/http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0708/072808rb1.htm |date=2009-02-03 }}", GovernmentExecutive.com, July 28, 2008.</ref>
The DCAA responded on July 25 that it had asked the US Department of Defense's (DoD) [[Inspector general|Inspector General]] (IG) office to investigate the GAO's claims.  "We take the GAO report very seriously," said [[April Stephenson]], DCAA's director.  US Senator [[Claire McCaskill]] said GAO may have uncovered the "biggest auditing scandal in the history of this town," and asked the DoD to immediately fire the supervisors cited in the report.<ref>Brodsky, Robert, "[http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0708/072808rb1.htm Report of Defense audit scandal makes waves] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203202402/http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0708/072808rb1.htm |date=2009-02-03 }}", GovernmentExecutive.com, July 28, 2008.</ref>


An ''[[Associated Press]]'' report on November 10, 2008, revealed that DCAA challenged $4.6 billion, or only 1.2 percent, of the contracts it audited as lacking necessary documentation.  The agency has not used its subpoena authority in over 20 years to produce the required paperwork from defense contractors under audit.  According to the Associated Press, in contrast to the GAO, which saves taxpayers $94 for every dollar it spends, DCAA's return on investment is only $7.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcaa.mil/products.htm|title=DCAA Products and Services|publisher=Defense Contract Audit Agency|date=February 22, 2011|access-date=August 31, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026194036/http://www.dcaa.mil/products.htm|archive-date=October 26, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>  As an example, the Associated Press reported that a May 2008 audit of [[Bechtel Group]], supervised by DCAA regional director [[Christopher Andrezze]], showed a "chronic failure" by Bechtel to produce the required documentation for the audit.  In spite of this, DCAA issued a report rating Bechtel's internal accounting procedures as "adequate," a passing grade which meant DoD auditors could ease up on the company.  The DCAA report did not mention the company's failure to produce the required documentation.<ref>Lardner, Richard, (''[[Associated Press]]'') "Auditors Can Be Easy On Defense Contractors", ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', November 10, 2008.</ref>
An ''Associated Press'' report on November 10, 2008, revealed that DCAA challenged $4.6 billion, or only 1.2 percent, of the contracts it audited as lacking necessary documentation.  The agency has not used its subpoena authority in over 20 years to produce the required paperwork from defense contractors under audit.  According to the Associated Press, in contrast to the GAO, which saves taxpayers $94 for every dollar it spends, DCAA's return on investment is only $7.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcaa.mil/products.htm|title=DCAA Products and Services|publisher=Defense Contract Audit Agency|date=February 22, 2011|access-date=August 31, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026194036/http://www.dcaa.mil/products.htm|archive-date=October 26, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>  As an example, the Associated Press reported that a May 2008 audit of [[Bechtel Group]], supervised by DCAA regional director [[Christopher Andrezze]], showed a "chronic failure" by Bechtel to produce the required documentation for the audit.  In spite of this, DCAA issued a report rating Bechtel's internal accounting procedures as "adequate," a passing grade which meant DoD auditors could ease up on the company.  The DCAA report did not mention the company's failure to produce the required documentation.<ref>Lardner, Richard, (''Associated Press'') "Auditors Can Be Easy On Defense Contractors", ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', November 10, 2008.</ref>


A [[Government Accountability Office]] (GAO) report in September 2009 found that agency auditors failed to follow "basic auditing standards" in 65 of 69 audits.  In its report, the GAO noted that the agency  
A [[Government Accountability Office]] (GAO) report in September 2009 found that agency auditors failed to follow "basic auditing standards" in 65 of 69 audits.  In its report, the GAO noted that the agency