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News | Oct. 28, 2021

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Forward Pricing Team Earns Team of Year Award

By DCAA Staff Writer

DCAA’s Team of the Year is the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Forward Pricing Team. Team members are:

  • Brenda Shorter - Supervisory Auditor
  • Amber Johnson - Auditor
  • Bernard Joseph - Auditor
  • Jane Latu - Auditor
  • Joshua Monthie - Auditor
  • Keisha Rice - Auditor
  • Reuben Thigpen – Auditor

The team earned this award for their efforts as they increased both efficiency and customer satisfaction, which they did through innovation and hard work. The team streamlined and standardized the risk assessment phase of the audit by developing templates. Another key to the team’s success was promptly identifying issues and then exchanging ideas and discovering alternative procedures. Finally, when necessary, they willingly worked additional hours to get the job done. The end result of these combined efforts was improved audit efficiency; reducing the number of days to audit a forward pricing proposal by six percent and issuing audit reports in 16 percent fewer days.

Constant engagement with the customer strengthened their relationship with major customers as did being very responsive to customer needs. The team engaged with the customer before the receipt of a proposal and continued through negotiations, which allowed them to forecast their workload and plan. For example, they determined several proposals would require completion at about the same time and since they had sufficient lead time, were able to bring in additional auditors. Additionally, the team’s reputation among customers is very strong and for this reason, they continue to be asked for assistance and receive very positive feedback. This customer engagement and outreach increased the number of proposals reviewed by 50% over the prior year and 350% over two years prior.

Kent Palermo, Corporate Audit Manager, said of the team “The Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control team is a collaborative group of individuals that support each other in any capacity.  They are all leaders whether they are leading up or in the lead auditor role.  Customers and peers alike appreciate the time and attention they receive from this team as they work to achieve the best value for the taxpayer. “