May 29, 2020

Virtual Fun Run Keeps Auditors Moving

Fort Belvoir, Va — DCAA’s Northrop Grumman Enterprise Services and Northrop Grumman Corporate offices participated in a virtual fun run to celebrate "May the 4th Be With You Day" on May 4th the official Star Wars holiday. This is the fourth consecutive year for the race, and the first year it was conducted as a virtual fun run due to COVID-19 restrictions. Employees

May 28, 2020

Central New York Construction Companies and Others to Pay Nearly $4.5 Million to Resolve Allegations of Fraud Involving Contracting Opportunities Meant for Disabled Veterans

Fort Belvoir, Va. — On May 4, 2020 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York announced Northland Associates, Inc., its president James Tyler, The Diverse Construction Group, LLC, and their bonding agent, Rose & Kiernan, Inc., have agreed to pay the United States $4,470,000 to resolve allegations that they fraudulently exploited contracting

May 20, 2020

Success as an intern leads to a full time auditor

Fort Belvoir, Va. — I am Shwezin Oo, an Auditor with Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), McLean Resident Office. In 2018, I graduated from George Mason University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a major I chose because I love numbers. I am working toward my Master’s Degree in Information Systems and have one more year until I graduate.I initially joined DCAA

May 19, 2020

Technology and Communication Overcome Teleworking Challenges

Fort Belvoir, Va, — DCAA began teleworking 100 percent of the time in mid-March. Overnight, homes became offices, and the normal way of conducting an audit was no longer possible.  Social distancing and stay-at-home orders meant DCAA’s auditors could no longer physically visit a contractor to observe processes, verify procedures, and pick-up documents. Delays in

May 14, 2020

Thank You from a Small Business for Assistance During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Fort Belvoir, Va. — For a small business contractor, knowing you will be paid in a timely manner is essential to maintaining operations, particularly as these companies face new uncertainties associated with changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. DCAA’s Tampa Bay Branch Office understands this and, when the pandemic was declared, acted to support their small

May 7, 2020

No Shortage of Ideas to Maintain Employee Connections During Telework

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA employees have been teleworking for about a month now and managers and supervisors are coming up with creative ways to keep employees connected and morale high. While it is commonplace to check on each other with a phone call, DCAA’s managers and employees are thinking outside the box to maintain teamwork.Many creative ideas center around the

May 5, 2020

Teaching is Helping People and Watching Them Grow

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Editor’s Note: This is the final article in our series celebrating National Teacher Day. Laurie Wunderley has a passion for helping people and watching them grow. She applies this passion to her students in the Audit Applications course, which is the third course for DCAA’s new auditors. Laurie began teaching at DCAI in November 2018 as an adjunct

May 5, 2020

Teaching is Leading Students Down the Learning Path

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of our series celebrating National Teacher Day. Rick is one of the newest instructors in the Defense Contract Audit Institute's (DCAI) Leadership Academy where he teaches DISC behavioral styles and soft skills as part of the new hire onboarding curriculum. Rick joined DCAI in July of 2019 and brings extensive

May 5, 2020

Teaching is Influencing Others in a Positive Way

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Editor’s Note: This is the third in our series celebrating National Teacher Day. Susanne Gordineer teaches the New Hire Onboarding, Developing an Effective Audit Report, and Data Analytics courses. Prior to instructing, she was a senior auditor in the BAE York Resident Office in York, Pa. Susanne became an instructor because it allowed her to align

May 5, 2020

Teaching is a Calling

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Editor’s Note: This is the second in our series celebrating National Teacher Day. Instructor John Beaulieu began teaching for the Defense Contract Audit Institute (DCAI) after a career in the Air Force where he served for 20 years, first flying and then in the Space and Missile career field. John always had an interest in teaching and graduated

May 5, 2020

Highlighting Teachers in DCAA

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles highlighting DCAA’s instructors in honor of National Teacher Day. Did you know DCAA has its own school? The Defense Contract Audit Institute (DCAI), located in Atlanta, Ga., is where DCAA’s auditors learn everything they need to be successful as an auditor plus leadership skills to make them

April 22, 2020

Auditor Sews Masks to Help her Community

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Wichita Branch Office Supervisory Auditor Karen Roepke is contributing to the health of her community by making masks in her free time. Karen is now teleworking and supervises her team of four auditors ensuring their audits are completed efficiently. After work, she moves to her second office, the sewing machine. Karen, who bought a sewing machine

April 8, 2020

DCAA’s office in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA has over 300 offices in the United States and overseas, but each one is unique. One of the lesser known offices is located in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The office is small, just four auditors, but it has an important mission supporting US Foreign Military Sales (FMS). The office is a sub-office of the European Branch office, which

March 11, 2020

Commencement Ceremony honors 30 Graduates of DDPL

Fort Belvoir, Va. — The DCAA Director, Ms. Anita Bales, hosted the graduation ceremony for the Director’s Development Program in Leadership (DDPL) earlier this month at Fort Belvoir, VA. DDPL is an 18-month executive level leadership program designed to develop senior level careerists with the leadership knowledge, skills, and abilities for effective leadership at the

Feb. 20, 2020

Wisconsin Accountant Found Guilty of Conspiracy to Obtain over $260 Million in Small Business Contracts

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Mark F. Spindler, CPA, was found guilty of conspiring with Brian L. Ganos to use front companies to obtain over $260 million in set-aside contracts intended for small businesses led by service-disabled veterans and disadvantaged individuals. The scheme involved operating three construction companies with straw owners who qualified as disadvantaged

Feb. 12, 2020

My DoD FM STARs Program Experience

Fort Belvoir, Va. — I am a Supervisory Auditor with the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). I recently returned from a 5-year tour with DCAA European Branch located in Germany. While in Europe I traveled extensively for work and for pleasure, and it had a significant impact on how I view the world. Most significantly, I now approach my career as a grand adventure.

Jan. 22, 2020

Policy and Quality team up to Discuss Guidance, Address Common Issues

Southbridge, Mass. — DCAA’s Policy & Plans and Integrity & Quality Assurance Directorates conducted a weeklong conference at Southbridge, Mass. The two directorates meet together once a year to discuss areas of shared interest. The Policy & Plans directorate writes Agency policy related to the conduct of audits while the Integrity & Quality Assurance Directorate

Dec. 19, 2019

Mentoring Program Celebrates 2nd Cohort Graduation with Live and Virtual Ceremony

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA is creating a culture of mentoring across the Agency through its mentoring program. At the ceremony marking the end of the 2nd cohort, Deputy Director Bentz said of mentoring, “you can’t overstate the importance of having a mentorship relationship to career success.”  For the 2nd cohort, their successful completion of the mentoring program

Dec. 10, 2019

DCAA Inducts Two into Senior Executive Service

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA inducted two new members into the Senior Executive Service during a ceremony on December 5th, 2019.  Ms. Angela Moomand, Corporate Audit Director for the Lockheed Martin Corporate Audit Directorate, and Mr. Chuck Benson, Assistant Director, Integrity and Quality Assurance, took their oath of office in a ceremony hosted by DCAA Director

Dec. 4, 2019

Defense Contractor Agrees to Pay $45 Million to Resolve Criminal Obstruction Charges and Civil False Claims Act Allegations

Washington D.C. — Unitrans International Inc., a privately held Virginia defense contracting company, has agreed to pay $45 million to resolve criminal obstruction charges and civil False Claims Act allegations relating to the illegal transportation of goods across Iran in connection with a contract to provide material and logistical support to U.S. troops in

Nov. 4, 2019

Agency Executives Plan Future Direction of DCAA

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA’s senior executives met to update the Agency’s strategic plan in light of changes in both the Agency and the acquisition environment. During the weeklong conference, attendees analyzed the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats facing the Agency; brainstormed ways to mitigate or capitalize on these results; and finally discussed and

Oct. 24, 2019

DCAA Audit Confirms Overbilling

Seattle, Wash. — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and CH2M Hill Inc. reached a $6.4 million settlement to resolve allegations that CH2M Hill overbilled the U.S. Air Force for environmental consulting work and then continued to overbill despite a DCAA audit by the Denver Branch Office highlighting the problem. Former DCAA Investigative Support Auditor, Mary Kay

Sept. 25, 2019

Annual Senior Leadership Conference

Southbridge, Mass. — DCAA’s Regional Audit and Corporate Audit Managers (RAM/CAM) met for a week at Southbridge, Mass., to receive topical updates and to focus on the future. DCAA staff updates provided the attendees the opportunity to hear firsthand about ongoing initiatives in the areas of information technology, audit policy, audit operations, and human resources.

Sept. 12, 2019

Auditor's Support Leads to $4.02 Million Payment

Fort Belvoir, Va. — A Virginia-based military contractor will pay $4.02 million to resolve allegations that it improperly billed the United States for extra payments to employees. Mission1st Group Inc. improperly billed for extra payments to employees, known as uplifts, that were not actually paid to its employees. DCAA Auditor David Gotlib was vital to the

May 7, 2019

Audit Saves Taxpayers $1.2 Million

Nashville, Tenn. — DCAA’s Nashville Branch Office performed an assist audit on a $19.4M firm fixed price proposal for infrared countermeasure flares, which protect aircraft from heat seeking missiles. This audit had a tight deadline, just over a month to complete, so the customer could award the contract before the end of September. The audit team made the deadline