May 13, 2021

Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Launder $600K from DoD Bribery Scheme

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA auditors assisted in an investigation that led to a guilty plea. Liberty Gutierrez pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder the proceeds of a bribery scheme involving a former employee of the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC), and various defense contractors. According to the plea agreement, the NIWC employee solicited and accepted things

May 6, 2021

DCAA's work environment

Fort Belvoir, Va. — I am Sasa Jiang, a Senior Auditor in Maryland Branch Office, Redondo Beach Sub-Office.  I earned my Master’s Degree in Accountancy from California State University, Los Angeles in 2012 and joined the Defense Contract Audit Agency in 2014.I greatly appreciate that the management maintains a work environment of mutual respect and appreciation for 

May 4, 2021

Changing Career Path to Become an Auditor

Fort Belvoir. Va. —

April 21, 2021

Professional Support Advisory Board Advocates for Administrative Professionals

Fort Belvoir — DCAA’s Professional Support Advisory Board (PSAB) represents DCAA’s more than 200 professional support staff. The Board is established to assess and analyze potential career development avenues, submit work process improvements and modifications, submit proposals for change, and address training needs for the professional support workforce.Once a

April 12, 2021

Ms. Fodje Selected for Defense Senior Leader Development Program

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Ms. Mercy Fodje, Customer Relations Branch Chief, Information Technology Division, has been selected to participate in DoD’s Defense Senior Leader Development Program (DSLDP). The two-year program consists of attendance of a senior service college and participation of leadership seminars. DSLDP develops senior civilian leaders with the enterprise

March 31, 2021

Being authentic at the workplace as a leader

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA’s Joni Youngberg and René Morgan are both Deputy Directors for a DCAA subordinate organization but had different paths to leadership. Yet as they rose through the ranks, they both concluded that they needed to be true to themselves and not change to fit a preconceived model of a leader. Rene’s advice for future leaders, “Stay true to yourself

March 29, 2021

Mr. Robert Landry Inducted into Senior Executive Service

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Mr. Robert J. Landry was inducted into the Senior Executive Service and assumed duties as the Director for the General Dynamics Raytheon Technologies Corporate Audit Directorate (CAD) on March 15, 2021. Mr. Landry has over 30 years of defense contract audit experience and has held a variety of leadership positions in DCAA including first-line

March 24, 2021

Leading as a reward and challenge

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Leading and managing people is both rewarding and challenging, however, the rewards far outweigh the challenges therefore one should strive to be the top leader in your functional community.DCAA’s director of Human Capital, Kimberly Litherland, has over 30-years of working for the government and continues to focus on becoming a Senior Executive one

March 23, 2021

DoD Contractor Settles Civil Case for $3.9 million

Fort Belvoir, Va. — COLAS SA Djibouti SARL reached a civil settlement to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by selling substandard concrete used to construct U. S. Navy airfields in the Republic of Djibouti.In addition to the civil settlement, a separate Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with Colas Djibouti pursuant to which Colas Djibouti

March 18, 2021

Leaders who put people first

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA leaders Jennifer Desautel and Cornesia Green share a similar leadership philosophy; people first. Both have benefited from listening and acting on the advice of their supervisors and mentors. As they were moving up the ranks, someone put them and their professional development first and now they are doing the same for their employees.Jennifer,

March 10, 2021

Perseverance in leadership

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Jacque Hlavin, Corporate Audit Manager, Northrup Grumman Corporate Audit Directorate, has been in a leadership role for over 20 years. Jacque credits her mother with giving her the determination to keep growing and learning. Her mother was a good role model and encouraged not only her but her sisters to strive for the best and to make a difference.

March 9, 2021

Peer Review Results

DCAA Staff Writer — The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) released the report of its Peer Review of the DCAA today, March 9th.  The review resulted in an opinion of “Pass with Deficiencies.”  We appreciate the review performed by the DoD OIG staff and their opinion that we conducted our audits in accordance with professional standards.  While

March 8, 2021

Federal Contractor Agrees to Pay More than $6 million to Settle Overbilling Allegations

Fort Belvoir, Va. —  Virginia-based Information Innovators, Inc. (Triple-I) has agreed to pay the United States $6.05 million to resolve allegations that a predecessor company, Creative Computing Solutions, Inc. (CCSi) violated the False Claims Act by knowingly overbilling the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for work performed by CCSi employees who lacked

March 3, 2021

Voices of DCAA: Grow as a leader

Fort Belvoir, Va. — How do you climb to the top of the corporate ladder and become one of the top leaders in an organization? Does someone tell you that you have what it takes to be a leader? Do you need a detailed plan? Do you need a mentor to guide you? Do you need to study leadership? There are many paths to leadership and for Angela Moomand and Laura Michaels, the

Feb. 25, 2021

Learning Contract Auditing through a DCAA Internship

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Sarah Mapley, is an Intern Auditor at DCAA’s North Central Branch Office, Rochester, N.Y.  She is originally from Port Byron, N.Y. and currently attends St. John Fisher College in Rochester. She joined DCAA in June 2020, the summer after her sophomore year of college and anticipates graduating in December of 2021.Sarah is the fourth intern at the

Feb. 23, 2021

Three Generations of Service

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Senior Auditor Essence Williams, Mountain View Branch Office, Arlington, TX, comes from a family with a long history of military, federal, and state service. Her maternal grandparents have a combined 70 years of public service and her parents have a combined 66 years of public service. Her grandfather fought in the Vietnam and Korean Wars while her

Feb. 16, 2021

DCAA’s New Orleans Branch Office Meets the Mission While Defying Mother Nature

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Editor’s Note: Today is Mardi Gras, a seemingly appropriate day to highlight our New Orleans Branch Office. Laissez les bons temps rouler!DCAA’s New Orleans branch office, as its name implies, is located in New Orleans, La. The office has sub-offices in Baton Rouge, La., Fort Walton, Fla., and Fort Rucker, Ala. They provide audit service to the

Feb. 11, 2021

Former Government Contractor Sentenced for Role in Bribery and Kickback Scheme

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA auditor Racquel Alvarado and former auditor Ebony Bumphus assisted in the investigation of a bribery and kickback scheme that resulted in a prison sentence.On Jan 15, 2021, John Winslett, a former government contractor, was sentenced to 70 months in prison, followed by 3 years supervised release, and $150,000 in fines, for his role in a

Feb. 9, 2021

Family life as a DCAA auditor

Fort Belvoir, Va. — My family is large; my mother is one of 12 children who could turn a few simple ingredients into something so amazing!  Due to the massive number of people, our family gatherings are basically events. Although times have changed, I have made it my mission to embrace those things that I wish would never change. Growing up in a single parent home,

Feb. 2, 2021

Paying Forward Positive Family Influences

Fort Belvoir, Va. — LaTonya Johnson, Financial Liaison Advisor (FLA), Detroit Arsenal, Warren, Mi. credits her mother and cousin for influencing her to become the person she is today. As a teenager and young adult, her cousin encouraged her to educate herself in things of interest. He believed she should learn as much as possible about anything she might consider

Jan. 26, 2021

INSITU, Inc. to Pay $25 Million to Settle False Claims Act

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA auditor Jim Knauss assisted in the investigation of an alleged violation of the False Claims Act by INSITU, INC. His knowledge of the contracts and his damage calculations significantly contributed to the successful results of the investigation.On January 12, 2021, Insitu, Inc., headquartered in Bingen, Washington, agreed to pay $25 million to

Dec. 22, 2020

Auditor Retires after 54 years with DCAA

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Mr. Charlie Silverman is retiring January 2, 2021, after 54 years of working for DCAA. He began his career as an auditor trainee at the Boston Branch Office in 1966 after graduating from Suffolk University. After about a year, he transferred to the General Dynamics (GD) Shipyard office in Quincy, Mass. He fondly remembers working near the water and

Dec. 18, 2020

Professional Support Staff Supervisor of the Year

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Sharon Richman, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Office, Fort Worth, Texas, is DCAA’s Professional Support Staff Supervisor of the Year. Sharon supervises the support staff in three offices located in three states. She is dedicated to the smooth day-to-day operations of the office and does so by prioritizing duties, exhibiting outstanding leadership

Dec. 16, 2020

DoD's 2020 Auditor of the Year Awarded to DCAA's Joel Lehman

DCAA’s Joel Lehman, manager of the Pittsburg Branch Office, was recently named the Department of Defense Auditor of the year, and he is DCAA’s Audit Manager of the Year.  In her remarks during the virtual awards ceremony, the Honorable Ellen Lord, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, stated in part, “Mr. Lehman managed and

Dec. 11, 2020

Audit Team From Atlanta Branch Office Earns Letter of Appreciation

An audit team from DCAA’s Atlanta Branch Office was recognized for their exemplary performance and communication while providing support to U.S. Army Contracting Command – Detroit Arsenal. The audit was on a $285M follow-on contract proposal for the High Mobility Engineering Excavator. The audit evaluated $171M of proposed subcontract, direct