Fort Belvoir, Va. –
An audit team at the Northrop Grumman Mission Systems/Electronic Business Systems Linthicum Resident Office saved the taxpayer $3.2 million through their performance of an audit on a contract for support to the Longbow Apache AH-64 D/E helicopter fleet.
The team, consisting of Eryn Farley, Lead Auditor; Angela Brown-Johnson, Auditor; Kevin Dean, Auditor; Jason Fuentes, Supervisory Auditor; Minnie Taylor, Resident Auditor; and Melissa Shaw, DCAA Financial Liaison Advisor to Army Contracting Command-Redstone performed an audit on a $19.2 million proposal for life cycle contractor support for the helicopter fleet. This was the first time the team worked with the procurement contracting officer (PCO). The team worked hard to establish a good working relationship with the PCO and held bi-weekly meetings to keep him informed of the audit progress. During contract negotiations, the team participated to clarify their audit findings and assist in cost calculations.
After the contract was signed, the team received the final pricing memo and saw that their support led directly to $3.2 million in cost savings. The team received an email from the PCO thanking them for their support throughout the negotiation process. The PCO stated:
DCAA's support was timely and critical to the successful completion of the Longbow negotiations and they could not have completed the effort without help of DCAA's expertise. DCAA did a fantastic job in negotiation support and helped the Army acquire the services and products at fair and reasonable price. The taxpayer received significant savings from the proposed price and the agreement was reached during a turbulent time of economic inflation and steep supply chain challenges.