Nashville, Tenn. –
DCAA’s Nashville Branch Office performed an assist audit on a $19.4M firm fixed price proposal for infrared countermeasure flares, which protect aircraft from heat seeking missiles. This audit had a tight deadline, just over a month to complete, so the customer could award the contract before the end of September. The audit team made the deadline earning kudos from the contracting officer who stated in an email “…your portion of the audit and office’s support was easily some of the best support that I have received with an audit and negotiations.”
The audit team was comprised of a Senior Auditor, new hire (8 months on the job), and an upward mobility employee (4 months as an auditor). Given the differing levels of experience, each step in the audit process – from risk assessment to walkthrough to examining data to writing the report – was done as a team to ensure complete understanding. The team completed the audit on time questioning $1.2M. They then assisted during price negotiations providing explanations and information so the contracting officer could get a fair and reasonable price for the flares. In the end, the contracting officer sustained 100% of their questioned costs– a win for the team.
Jennifer Black, the lead on the audit team, stated “the primary reason for the 100% sustention was the continual conversations with the customer after the audit report was issued. We established a personal connection with the customer, which helped the customer understand issues with contractor methodology before, during, and after the issuance of the report and on through negotiations.”