Fort Belvoir, Va. –
Teamwork, excellence, accountability, mutual respect, integrity and trust; at DCAA, these aren’t just values on a wall. They’re the foundation of how we work together. The audit team at the Boeing Corporate Audit Directorate (CAD), put these values into practice and delivered impressive results to the audit’s efficiency.
Contractor Fiscal Year 2023 was the first year the team used the newly revised incurred cost audit design. The revisions created efficiencies in parts of the audit that historically took the most time, the risk assessment. The Boeing CAD implemented early planning, strategic staffing and strong collaboration to reduce the total audit hours by 55 percent compared to the previous year. A key part of the team’s success was forming smaller dedicated teams of auditors for the assignment. This strategy allowed real-time responses as issues arose without taking time off another part of the audit. Historically, the Boeing CAD leveraged weekly tag-up meetings but on this audit, the smaller teams spread across the audit helped improve communication. “Each piece of the audit was more directly connected,” Lead Auditor Stephanie Aquilino shared. “It helped us stay aligned, quickly solve problems and understand how our work fit together.”
Planning began even before the contractor submitted their final incurred cost proposal. Supervisors and leads met in advance to review the revised audit approach to identify each step and create a milestone plan to guide the assignment. Another improvement process came from rethinking the direct materials testing strategy. In previous years, the team used statistical sampling. This year, the team made a judgmental selection from the direct materials universe. They focused on multiple items with prior findings and increased the audit’s effectiveness. The team also laid out clear expectations for contractor responses by providing a detailed spreadsheet of testing items and the required support for each basis of estimate.
The team worked together but they also worked closely with the Regional Technical Programs Division (RST). The RST attended audit meetings and provided in-depth insight into contractor responses from prior audits. Working together, the audit team re-evaluated their testing method for direct materials and subcontracts, updated their testing templates and streamlined the process. “This audit really showed what we can accomplish through shared expertise and strong communication,” Aquilino said. “We’re proud of what we achieved and proud that it reflects DCAA’s core values.