Aug. 12, 2020

SAIC Agreed to Pay $5.98 Million to Settle a False Claims Act Investigation

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a major defense contractor headquartered in Reston, Virginia, has paid $5,982,865 to resolve allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act.  The settlement arises out of a contract for SAIC to provide information technology support to the U.S. Army.The United States Attorney’s

Aug. 6, 2020

DCAI Instructors Earn Kirkpatrick Gold Level Certification

Fort Belvoir, Va. — Defense Contract Audit Institute staff members Dr. Haywood West and Mr. Charles Beard earned the Kirkpatrick Gold Level Certification.  The Kirkpatrick Model is one of the best-known models for analyzing and evaluating the results of training, educational, and talent development programs. It takes into account any style of delivery, both informal

Aug. 4, 2020

Government Reaches Settlement with The Ross Group Construction for $2.8M

Fort Belvoir, Va. — A coordinated effort among multiple government agencies including DCAA, the Justice Department, Small Business Administration, Veterans Administration, General Services Administration, and the military investigative services resulted in a settlement agreement for $2.8M. DCAA Auditor Jon Barrett and Supervisory Auditor Vernon Moore III supported the

July 31, 2020

Frequently Asked Questions about the CARES Act Now Available

Fort Belvoir, VA — DCAA has posted a Frequently Asked Questions document related to Corona Virus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to our website. Many contractors and practitioners have contacted their local DCAA offices with questions about unique cost issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the CARES Act and its impact on contract billing

July 28, 2020

Shadow Program Improves Audit Quality

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA’s Integrity and Quality Assurance Directorate created a Shadowing Program to develop the skills of FAO Assistants for Quality, who are assigned to Field Audit Offices and assist auditors in conducting high quality audits. Each program participant is paired with a Quality team for approximately 10 weeks. This program exposes participants to the

July 23, 2020

Team Building across Eastern Region

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA’s Eastern Region is conducting a series of virtual team building events to increase camaraderie. The first event was a trivia contest, which, while successful, had questions that were deemed “too easy” by the participants. Regional Director Don McKenzie and Deputy Director Cathy Carrell, event hosts, increased the level of difficulty and round

July 16, 2020

Auditor Education Continues via Virtual Instructor Led Courses

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA’s Defense Contract Audit Institute, like most educational institutions, closed its doors and ended in-person classes in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No one was certain how long the closure would last, or what conditions would be required to reopen. Whatever the future held, one thing was certain - DCAA’s auditors need their

June 23, 2020

Legal Settlement for Substandard Steel Components

Fort Beloir, Va. — The Department of Justice announced that Bradken Inc. paid $10,896,924 to resolve allegations that they produced and sold substandard steel components for installation on U.S. Navy vessels.  The United States alleged that a Bradken employee knowingly falsified test results to conceal the fact that the components did not meet the Navy’s

June 16, 2020

DCAA's Chicago Branch Office - Value People, Keep Promises, and Above All Do Right

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA’s Chicago Branch Office motto is Value People, Keep Promises, and Above All Do Right. The office strives to develop and foster teamwork in a growing office.  They have been extremely successful in bringing new hires on-board, training them quickly, and giving them their own audits to complete, which makes the new hires feel like valued

June 9, 2020

European Branch Office Wins Salute to Savings Award

Fort Belvoir, Va. — DCAA’s European Branch office in Wiesbaden, Germany, earned The Department of Defense Salute to Savings Award for their work on high profile, high risk audits related to the F-35 fighter aircraft, which is being built in the US, Italy, and Japan with components from over 1,900 companies.  DoD presents this award annually to recognize teams whose

June 5, 2020

Congressional Fellowship Introduces Auditor to the Legislative Process

DCAA’s Corporate Audit Manager Jacque Hlavin spent 2019 as a Congressional Fellow working for Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D – FL) as a policy advisor. This opportunity was possible through the Brookings Legislative Fellowship Program.  Her first two weeks in the program were a “boot camp” on how Congress works. Then she was off to work in the

June 2, 2020

Car Rental Agency Enters a Civil Settlement Agreement for $3 Million

Fort Belvoir, Va. — On May 14, 2020, Enterprise Holdings entered a civil settlement agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri, Civil Division acting on behalf of the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO). Under the settlement, Enterprise paid $3 million to the U.S. Government to repay overcharges billed to DTMO from October 1, 2010, to

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