Fort Belvoir, Va. –
On July 1, 1965, the Defense Contract Audit Agency was officially created. On June 9, 1965, a message from the Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara included a Delegation of Authority stating,
“Pursuant to authority vested in the Secretary of Defense, a Defense Contract Audit Agency is hereby established as an agency of the Department of Defense under the direction, authority, and control of the Secretary of Defense and in accordance with Department of Defense policies, directives, and instructions.”
DCAA was created to do more than audit contracts. The very first employees were tasked with developing uniform audit guidance from the existing Service audit guidance, resulting in the first Contract Audit Manual (CAM). After 77 hand-written revisions within the first ten years of the CAM’s existence, it was reprinted in 1979 before it was officially printed in a paperback book version in 1988. In 2013 the CAM was officially digitalized and moved to an online version.
As the first DCAA employees worked on uniform audit guidance, the agency continued to evolve while maintaining the original mission, “furnishing government procurement and contract administration officials with vital data to use in the negotiation, administration, and settlement of defense contracts.” Auditors pushed forward from handwriting to the typewriter and embraced the modern computer. Embracing technology, DCAA increased efficiency and the scope of work, issuing 2,465 audit reports and 7,629 memos in 2024.
In 1966, just one year after officially becoming an agency, DCAA addressed the need for structured and unified training with the Defense Contract Audit Institute (DCAI) officially opening June 6. DCAA’s first formal training course was held in October 1965 in Washington, D.C. Since then, DCAA’s training needs were identified and the solutions evolved. In 1966, the Defense Contract Audit Institute (DCAI) was established in Memphis, Tn. The early curriculum was a technical orientation in contract auditing with an emphasis on duties and responsibilities for auditor trainees. A 3-week auditor intern course and 2-week statistical sampling course was also included after orientation.
Throughout the years, DCAA continued to grow, the training requirements grew alongside the agency. In 1983, DCAI moved to the University of Memphis South Campus before it relocated one final time to Atlanta, Ga. in September 2013, where it remains today.
Today, DCAA has modernized the agency’s mission, “DCAA delivers contract audit and advisory services that exceed our customers’ expectations to promote timely acquisition decisions and maximize buying power so DoD has the necessary capabilities to deter current and emerging threats.” While the verbiage may change, the agency never loses sight of the main goal, ensuring the DoD and the warfighter can focus on their missions to defend the nation.