Return to Article: Former employees say Defense audit agency is 'broken'
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57039
Hey Anon (Below) - I had a new SA come in my office not too long ago; he called me in to give me a new demand assignment - didn't know anything about me or the contractor. The only thing he did was pull my last 270 assignment and he slashed the budget right in half from 32 to 16 hours. I told him I can't do it in 16 hours - no one can, including yourself. He responded "I have the world of confidence in you - get to work". What ever happened to zero based budgeting? Another Metric Moron.
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57010
About 15 years ago, an RA at a major defense aerospace contractor residency directly instructed a Senior Auditor in my office to talk our ACO requestor out of an audit request for a price proposal. Why? The requestor wanted the auditor to prepare about ten supplemental schedules, by CLIN, on Excel,to make the DCMC's job a little easier to negotiate with the contractor. So what was the problem? The RA immediately recognized, upon receipt of the audit request, that the hours that would be required by the auditor to complete the assignment, would be hours substantially over the metric for the proposed dollars. So the RA concluded that we were better off just trying to weasel our way out of doing the audit, since busting the metric took precedence over providing our most important ACO customer with a product that they required our services for. This was an absolutely true incident, and by far, the best example of the metrics driving inappropriate - more likely "illegal" behavior in a DCAA manager, and certainly just goes to show how long this insanity has been going on for under Mr. Reed. Just imagine this same RA operating today under NSPS guidelines; he'd probably set all the budgets to zero and fire everyone!!! It's no surprise that contractor liaison representatives are always laughing when they pass in front of our DCAA offices; they know that we are all a bunch of idiots who are running scared with the timecharging.
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56557
DCAA seems more interested in showcasing the irish catholics on the payroll by giving them bloated evaluations and promoting them. NSPS is going to really complicate things with all of this prejudice going on.
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56391
Now we are to listen to RDs and DRDs at our stand down days preach. The only problem is some of us got to listen to them on teleconferences when the only thing which counted was the score card. What is the average amount of field time the "leaders" at headquarters and region have in an FAO? My bet is none have more than 1-2 years as a manager (at most). We know the director had a whole year as a manager- and yet are shocked she does not understand the field perspective. Wake up people. Nothing will improve until we promote people who have been there and done that. These people are all clones- plenty of program manager time and almost none in the field.
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56284
The metrix is doing what it was designed to do- drive behavior. The SES crowd went a bi crazy with it and did not drive he kind of behavior which the taxpayer might want.
If you say your award will be based on your metrix and you force items like elapsed days, hours per assignment and percent sustention bu nothing for CQ or having good issues, what do you expect?
The abusive behavior exists and always existed in DCAA and audit organizations. If you do not believe that- you are fooling yourself. The questions are how bad and why does it continue? We can name a RD or two who are pretty well known for screaming at staff. Why were they promoted up? Who really believes this can be fixed by focus on a FAO? Why no reviews at region which sets the climate and makes the metrix?
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56282
Anonymous posted the suggestion to PRIVATIZE the audit function that oversees the expenditure of governmnet funds to pay for contracted work. Why not just write the checks for payment before the work gets done and call it good enough for government work?
DCMA and DCAA are vital in ensuring that the governmnet gets what it pays for and at the quality and quantity required. What is happening is a friendly pro-profiteer administration is ensuring that the profiteers can leverage poor management.
If poor performers exist, its managements fault. If poor management exists, its the administrations fault.
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56278
It seems that almost everyone agrees that there are serious problems in DCAA. Now the hard part, how do we change the Bureaucratic Monster that is DCAA? In my opinion, unless the leader of DCAA embraces the findings that there are serious problems in this agency (not isolated incidents)it will only get worse.
I see how posters say all managers are rated on the metrics. I would love to see all the ratings and bonuses awarded to all the SES through GS-15 leaders in DCAA. I would bet a weeks pay they are all rated at the highest level available and receive the highest bonus possible. So my question is where is the pressure coming from? I believe this pressure is all self imposed. I doubt the metrics even come into play in the ratings. The metrics feed the non value added jobs in management. The metrics feed the competition by region. The metrics are the opiate for the masses. We have all these CPA's and none of them can figure that out. Please April, you have to kill the Beast before you can fix it. Blame it all on Bill he was blessed with "The Vision."
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56216
Last month's GAO report is the start of a situation that most definitely is to explode! The auditors were for the most part auditing the work being done by our major defense suppliers. All have operations in Russia, have been supplying Russia, selling it backdoors to bypass the defenses our suppliers implement apart of their US contracts, laundering Russian bribes to US officials, etc. In summary, every major US defense contractor is loyal to Russia. This is the same Russia that began to occupy Georgia 8/12/08 and show Vladmir Putin didn't leave his KGB and Cold War mentality in the past.
The auditors may have been rendered powerless, but very soon every major US defense supplier is to be labelled damaged goods by the public. The nation's small businesses will be more than ready to infuse into the defense industry the integrity every taxpayer is paying for!
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56206
I am a current DCAA employee and have over 20 years of federal and state government auditing experience. I believe most of the comments about DCAA and its management are too harsh. However, I also believe several very important points have been made and DCAA management would be well advised to read this comment board. First, the over reliance on metrics and the whole process of developing, tracking, reporting, and rewarding based on metrics is broken and nonsensical - most metrics can be, and are, readily manipulated. DCAA expects its auditors to know how an audit is to play out on the front-end and holds auditors accountable to that estimate. Some audits are clean and quick while others require digging and need to percolate - the metric system does not allow for this difference and often puts DCAA auditors in the ethical quandary of robbing one assignment to pay for the other so as not to blow the metric. In addition, there are a number of arbitrary timelines which are tied to metrics. So, when metrics are not met, on any level, the default management position is punishment, skip basic management 101 - no coaching, mentoring, or motivating - go directly to punishment. Second, the whole obsession with CPAs has gone overboard. Just because you are a CPA does not make you a good auditor, person, manager, or anything else for that matter. DCAA will not cultivate and/or promote high performers and/or a good people persons (potential managers) if they are not a CPA, period. That is an insane policy. Lastly, DCAA auditing is difficult. Many of the assignments deal with very complex issues and complicated accounting environments. The time crunch (metrics) and the sheer volume of audit assignments (permanent backlog) makes this the most difficult audit environment I have experienced in government and probably accounts for most of the attrition; that, combined with a working grade of GS-12. Nevertheless, I enjoy working for DCAA and believe it is not broken, however, improvements are warranted.
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56199
In my time with DCAA I found the real problem to be the agency's inability to remove poor performers from the workforce. Until upper management takes an aggressive approach to dealing with this, the agency will suffer. The one thing that poor performers are great at is pointing the finger, as some of the above comments prove. It's not a bad thing to have a report returned for correction because of misspellings and font inconsistencies; you would think an agency whose only product is a report would want it to look professional. Obviously, the audit should be complete and substantiated before issuing a report, but if you are complaining about the actual report receiving a thorough peer review, that in itself speaks volumes. In the end, if you fail to remove poor performers, they will matriculate into management, and the real harm occurs. Of course, we are speaking of a federal government institution (a majority of which have a union grieving cube space and other asinine issues), what do you expect? Privatizing the agency function is the only real answer.
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56130
I can see how these stand down days and audit quality is really going to help. It is not. The tone of Ms. Stephenson's memorandum seems to put the blame squarely on the auditors. We didn't stick up for our audits so it is our fault, not the managers. I believe all management from first level supervisors to the head of the Agency should spend one year in the field as a senior auditor for every 5 years as management. Let's see some of these jokers choke on their own budgets. 30 hours for an incurred cost audit for a brand new contractor, where no other review has been performed! You can't even do a decent risk assessment before you have to turn in your report.
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56129
DCAA needs to fire the western region director, the regional audit manager responsible for the offices, the branch managers/resident auditors, and the supervisors responsible for it. It's the only solution. One of the supervisors responsible was recently promoted - what does that say?
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56118
Most of us are hoping the agency can get its act together. I do not think the current management has the ability to do it. They have lead us down this road kicking and screaming now they got what they wanted. Shame on them.
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56117
The article mentions employees that do not like budgets, due dates, and metrics. What job does not have budgets, due dates, and metrics? Even McDonalds has metrics -- how many minutes should the burger be on the grill? Get real and stop complaining. Go find another job if you are so unhappy. If you think DCAA is bad, go work for a CPA firm where everything is based on metrics including your salary. DCAA is not broken -- it has been caught in a PR nightmare. Everyone is coming out from under rocks and other places to complain -- some of you probably do not even know what DCAA means. The real issue here is everyone trying to discredit DCAA -- you probably all work for contractors that do not like DCAA audits. Stop bashing DCAA and move on to more important news items such as rising gas prices, foreclosure rates and the general poor economy. Move on people!
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56116
Sounds like a horrible place to work.
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56112
Well, since we're all expressing our views, I can tell you it isn't just the audit process that's broken. There are managers who will NOT see any of the GAO report in their behavior, as well as supervisors. There is a broken culture but changing the culture may take changing the people. A person would only have to look at the region instructions to see how they work under a concept of being seperate operating units - instructions that directly conflict with the agency regulations. Try to report a reasonable failing in the resource management area and you'll be threatened with retaliation that includes taking away your job responsibilities, which has a negative effect on our performance, and that comes out the headquarters. Laws, Federal Laws established by elected officials are broken with no hesitation; remember our Privacy Act Training this year. I suppose that fix was "close enough for government work." I've heard at least one manager who thinks the metrics are being met if the people work overtime, off the clock and spend the night in their cube so they can wake up and get right back to work. That's something to be proud of? That's meeting the metrics? That's the management that has somehow made it to a position that generates situations like those in the GAO report. The failed audit was the tip of the iceberg and the supervisor's behavior isn't an unusal anomoly. There are a lot of good folks, but they can only make a difference within their four walls, and that's only if they're willing and strong enough to beat down the fools. We can do better, but it's going to take more the words, someone is going to have to take a serve some humble pie or pink slips.
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56098
After reading GAO's report which exposed the true status of this agency, I figured out that I am not alone. I felt somehow relieved from anxiety that I suffer from day one since I was asked and accepted this offer as an auditor. Aside from being illed I quit not long ago for being threatened that if I could not meet the budgeted hours assigned will be under separation process. For short period I learned 20% of my job and 80% of hatred and discontent. If majority and all types of leadership falls of these kind sooner or later this will bring destruction to this agency, for they have not invested for the future of the newly hired and for the agency's sake but only for their selfish and ambitious desires. When Ms Stephenson took over as new director she spoke to us during the class I attended in Memphis, she emphasized the value of Metric system and would prefer to see it in red than dishonest green but this is in contracdiction to what my supervisor believes in and even convinced me that what she said in untrue. I retired in the Navy three years ago and handled over 30 to more than 500 personnel of different background and was trained to mold the generation next to you to excel through patience, concern and love, this one reason why our navy is strong and powerful to this date. Bottom line I think this is what DCAA missed out "LOVE and genuine concern to their people" we have a saying in the navy; We protect and love our own!
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56090
I was an auditor that started work for DCAA at the entry level and was a "hands on" auditor at all levels to Supervisory Auditor at field offices and regional operations audits. In my opinion, many of the cited problems were due to many auditors specializing in non "hands on" auditing, ie: Information Systems, computer assistance, training etc. promoting to Region or Headquarters positions where they are promoted to Management Grades and returned to Field Offices to manage Field audits, with little "handsn on" experiance.
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56065
I think the real problem started with the Regional Directors. We couldn't believe that SESers were drilling down to get metrics at their level. Some of the RDs were mustangs from Regions to Hdqs and back as RDs without a lot of field experience. There appeared to be a lot of competition between RDs on metrics and who appeared to have the best.
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56058
This is a serious time for an agency that has done alot of good things for the taxpayers. My experiences at DCAA are filled with memories of working with intelligent, dedicated and hardworking individuals. I hope that those still there will continue to perform in that manner even in the midst of such ridiculus "metric management" techinques. Since laughter is the best medicine I hope the below Top 5 DCAA solutions will provide a moment of levity.
Top Five DCAA Solutions to the GAO Report
5. To encourage the newly hired auditors to seek out the best and brightest, DCAA will require all managers with degrees from CMU to wear their diploma gowns and tassels every Friday.
4.To increase morale at selected offices, former high risk postal employees will be sent in to remove non performing supervisors
3. To show that DCAA is serious about moving away from the metrics of red and green lights all supervisors with CPAs will be replaced by supervisors who are colored blind.
2. To show the GAO that they are serious about making a break from the management over the past 15 years and to use a successful Walt Disney technique, DCAA will put in front of the DCAA Headquarters building a tape measure with the words in scripted at the 5'4'' mark "No one under this mark is allowed to run the DCAA"
1. To show the GAO that DCAA is making changes from the current management, DCAA will shortly issue the 2009 DCAA Calendar with only 11 months, that is, purposely deleting the month of April.
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56057
I agree that the current system is broken. I have personally attended a meeting where Bill Reed stated we should tell auditors not to audit to the metric. However, when looking around the room, all of the GS-14's and above were looking down at their laptops ignoring these empty words. Why are they empty? The PC statement is that a good audit can have a red metric and a green audit can be a bad audit. Well, that is true. Now, it is extremely rare to be raked over the coals if you have all green metrics. Have a red one show up, and you know the drill, explain what happened, get input on how it could have been avoided, etc.
Why all of the browbeating for going over budget? RD's are judged and rated on metrics. So, you can zero base budget as long as the assignment is under the dollars per hour threshold for a particular metric.
So, how do you fix DCAA? Who knows? The current management regime has been in place so long, most levels of management are filled with like-minded individuals (especially senior leadership). Maybe start by placing less value on people who are willing to uproot and move anywhere for the next management gig.
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56047
It is thrue that DCAA is becoming a burocracy. My experience is the same as most ex and current DCAA auditors. If you challenged the contractor regarding faulty documents and data, right away the contractor threatened to file a frivolous report to our top management and right away management want to hang us/make an example of us. Our top management do not want to create waves because our customers are in disgust with the services provided. Our reports are a narrow view of management; management wants pretty reports, therefore we can not deviate from the manuals (that is when they want to use this issue to lower our appraisals). But, when is more convenient for them management uses unknown methods to create reports based on their personal preferences but not in accordance with the manuals. Management view on the auditor opinion is that we should follow our supervisory auditor guidance blindly, and if we challenge our supervisors we are to be brought on insubordination charges. The contactor i audit denied me data for one of my audits and right away filed a complaint to my supervisory auditor, almost instantly she conducted a nazy investigation and told me to take it easy, and she hoped that the complain was not going to reach upper management. The contractor protects their employees when money is at stake, but DCAA management conducts nazy investigaton and issue verbal and written reprimands based on the contractor's (wolf) complain. "DCAA Management want to get a job with the contractor after they retired from DCAA therefore they do not want to upsend the contractor (wolf).
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56046
Working for DCAA has been the most interesting and challenging position I have had. Although at times the agency may seem to emphasize its metrics, I have not seen any audit report or auditor which I have worked with or supervisor look the other way when there was a finding/issue to report. We report the findings. I have seen a lot of very hard working personnel and I am very proud of the work that has been done by those I have seen working here for over 25 years. Don't let a few isolated examples spoil your opinion of the agency. Its what you make of your job.
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56041
Alright, we have finally reached it: Mad Metrics Meltdown! The application of engineering and factory floor measurements to professional activity is a lazy, risk-aversive, anti-intellectual crutch of poor management. Instead of encouraging the application of schooled judgment and ethical values in the pursuit of meaningful outcomes, we have become prisoners of mindless rote behavior. NSPS: Look at DCAA and see your terrible future!
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56040
I am a current DCAA employee and have over 20 years of federal and state government auditing experience. I believe most of the comments about DCAA and its management are too harsh. However, I also believe several very important points have been made and DCAA management would be well advised to read this comment board. First, the over reliance on metrics and the whole process of developing, tracking, reporting, and rewarding based on metrics is broken and nonsensical - most metrics can be, and are, readily manipulated. DCAA expects its auditors to know how an audit is to play out on the front-end and holds auditors accountable to that estimate. Some audits are clean and quick while others require digging and need to percolate - the metric system does not allow for this difference and often puts DCAA auditors in the ethical quandary of robbing one assignment to pay for the other so as not to blow the metric. In addition, there are a number of arbitrary timelines which are tied to metrics. So, when metrics are not met, on any level, the default management position is punishment, skip basic management 101 - no coaching, mentoring, or motivating - go directly to punishment. Second, the whole obsession with CPAs has gone overboard. Just because you are a CPA does not make you a good auditor, person, manager, or anything else for that matter. DCAA will not cultivate and/or promote high performers and/or a good people persons (potential managers) if they are not a CPA, period. That is an insane policy. Lastly, DCAA auditing is difficult. Many of the assignments deal with very complex issues and complicated accounting environments. The time crunch (metrics) and the sheer volume of audit assignments (permanent backlog) makes this the most difficult audit environment I have experienced in government and probably accounts for most of the attrition; that, combined with a working grade of GS-12. Nevertheless, I enjoy working for DCAA and believe it is not broken, however, improvements are warranted.
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56038
Here is what we need to make NSPS honest accountability in all directions. Presently the performance assessments and flow are only in one direction from the top down. Most sophisticated commercial organizations have concluded that this is a dysfunctional design and instead have structured 360-degree feedback. Also known as 'multi-rater feedback', 'multisource feedback', or 'multisource assessment'. This is employee development feedback that comes from all around the employee. "360" refers to the 360 degrees in a circle. The feedback would come from subordinates, peers, and managers in the organizational hierarchy, as well as self-assessment, and in some cases external sources such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders. It may be contrasted with upward feedback, where managers are given feedback by their direct reports, or a traditional performance appraisal, where the employees are most often reviewed only by their manager. The results from 360-degree feedback are often used by the person receiving the feedback to plan their training and development. The results are also used by some organizations for making promotional or pay decisions, which are sometimes called "360-degree review." This really is the only way to prevent the corruption that is already proven rampent in those organizations that have already implemented NSPS.
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56036
Now we need an article from those employees who were never pressured to against their own findings; the supervisors who are really out there to stick it to the contractors where it really hurts and doesn't back down on their determination even if the assignment has passed its due date twice or more; and the upper mgmt who really didn't care about their metrics.
The GAO should attacked the folks who allowed billions of dollars and thousands of lives go to waste rebuilding an already broken down Iraq. WMD? Whatever happened to that?
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56035
A "House of Cards" is what Bill Reed built alright and the sad part is April Stephenson is adding on a big deck to that house of cards, and all her management CPA's are busy moving deck chairs. Counting and recounting the deck chairs and then being dishonest about how many deck chairs we really have. April believes DCAA is fine. In her own words "DCAA is a system of processes" she is unable to see how DCAA has become DCAA's reason for existence, through internal information requiremnts. Maybe April should stop flying to Memphis almost everyweek like Mr. Reed did and instead manage the the empire. It's not that DCAA has too much work, it's the make work that is killing us. Why do you need five regions in today's electronic work world? This is not 1988. I hope I get tasked to make a presentation at the Quality Conference.
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56034
I have been with DCAA for only 10 months. The comments and articles I've read about the agency are very true. I wish I would have never left my last job, which was with a major defense contractor. I didn't make as much money, but the work environment was great. I love the auditors in my office; they are very intelligent and most are working towards CPA certification and advanced degrees, but management is another story. I wish I could go back to the private sector. I have tried, but many employers aren't interested in interviewing or hiring someone with only 10 months audit experience.
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56031
Unfortunately, the world is seen differently by different people - even those performing the same job. I retired from the federal government in 1997; I subsequently worked as a contractor - oftentimes for the federal government - and retired recently. My experience is that those I encountered did their conscientious best to perform their duties. I often believed that they could have done better, but they did an excellent job under considerable constraints and expectations. While I have always tried to my very best, there were times that constraints did not allow me to achieve those goals. I am less critical of an agency's performance as to their committment to excellence. Seek to improve - DCAA is endeavoring to do that.
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56030
One only need to look at what all the offices involved had in common. The deputy regional director. Could she have been the "Former RAM" that watched a contractor's presentation on its accounting system thus determining there could be no CAS noncomliances, without testing the system. Could she also have been the Resident Auditor at one or more of these offices. Maybe someone should interview some of her former employees. My she climbed the ladder fast. Was it ability or not finding any problems and meeting metrics or maybe because she used to work down the hall from William Reed. Just an observation the IG may want to look into. If they really intend to be objective.
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56028
When I left DCAA 26 years ago, they had many of the same problems. They do not keep their best and brightest, they have too many in management that sit on serious findings far too long and they base too many results on insufficient work due to lack of adequate budgets. Quantity not quality has been driving the agency too long. On the other hand, I do not see any smaller contractors getting away with anything, once a problem is identified. The in-breeding of staff all the way up the line through managment is detrimental to a quality organization. The goal of DCAA should be professionalism and findings should be completely documented. DCAA auditors should be given the time to determine the truth and not penalized if an audit issue turns out to be a false alarm. On the other hand, thanks DCAA I have gotten some of my best staff from your agency.
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56020
I have currently worked for DCAA for over 22 years. Most DCAA employees are decent, hard working, honest people. In my entire career here I have never known of anyone who was pressured by management to change their audit opinion.
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56019
With the memorandum discontinuing the use of Alpha, Omega, and IPT processes the tax payers are the ones who will suffer. I have worked many alpha negotiations and have never had the contractor demand I not include a finding or to not tell the buying command of findings. According to the memo, we need to keep the "apperance" of independence. If an auditor favors the contractor, which no one I know of does (at least at the auditor level)then how is our independence jepordized? The alpha process speeds up the turn around time of getting products or services on contract...e.g. planes, helicopters, subcontractors who work on military instillations. As most of the people have commented, the top managers, from reginal directors all the way to Ms. Stephenson, need to come out of their ivory towers and in to the field every 5 years and see if they can audit a billion dollar proposal in 30 days and still save the tax payers millions of dollars and get our soldiers what they need.
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56018
Regarding the GAO report substantiating the allegations of audit improprieties against DCAA, it is regretable that what was once called an agency of junkyard dogs owing to its relentless efforts to expose contractor waste, fraud and abuse in DoD procurement is now the subject in an investigation of such egregious behavior. I was there at the creation of DCAA on 7/1/1965 and I attended the very first training and orientation conference for new DCAA auditors in Oct 1965 at the Woodner Hotel in Washington, D.C. The first DCAA Director, Mr. William Petty, spoke to all 300 of us on the first day and he stressed the importance of maintaining honesty, integrity, quality and independence in our audits and to never forget whom we worked for...the taxpayer. I am told that Bill Reed was at that same conference; it's too bad he didn't pay more attention.
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56016
When I worked for DCAA (The Audit Agency) most of the auditors were hard working and conscientious. Our management did not lose sight of their goal, even in the face of ever increasing bureaucratic red tape. DCAA auditors were, and are, some of the brightest auditors working for the US of A.
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56015
First off, having spent 11 years as DCAA CPA Senior Auditor, it is ironic that an internal control weakness finally brought down the "House of Cards that Bill Built". What happened to the "Periodic Rotation of Employee Duties" to prevent / detect fraud, waste, and abuse in DCAA? Unfortunately, Bill Reed was above that internal control standard. I guess we are doomed to the repeat the past since we learned absolutely nothing from the scandalous J Edgar Hoovers (endless) reign at FBI.
How can we prevent this problem from occurring in the future? First, since Bill Reed spent 25+ plus years as DCAA's Director, we must acknowledge that the DCAA senior executives are thoroughly entrenched in the Bill Reed management paradigm. Furthermore, DoD needs to fully implement periodic rotation at the senior executive level to prevent this from occurring in the future. Periodic senior management rotation will prevent "metrics system gaming" provide increased accountability and ultimately taxpayer savings.
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56010
It's "circle the wagons" time, folks. Mediocrity and incompetance will continue to protect its own. I love the "August is audit quality month" stand-down day idea, where Regional and Deputy Regional Directors will lead discussions on audit quality. Aren't these the guys who started and perpetuated this mess? If Ms Stephenson wants to give credibility to her efforts to reform DCAA, she had better start with an outside, completely independent group with no attachments to this scandal.
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56004
The metrics and obsessive control from HQ with Bill Reed at the helm are responsible for these breakdowns. DCAA provides excellent training and has had excellent, ethical, auditors performing a much needed service. NSPS will produce much the same results in other government agencies.
You want to fix DCAA? Radical thought - insist that each manager throughout FAO's, Regions, and Headquarters must spend some time in the Field at least every 5 years doing the work. These folks have lost all connection to the work - yet they make all the rules. Insist that Managers are rated by subordinates - anonymously of course. Management and Upper Management receive no feedback from the working level. The working auditor is the foundation of the Agency.
Suspend universal metrics - invest the time necessary to make metrics meaningful at individual locations or get rid of the metrics entirely. When you tie bonuses/raises to certain performance items - Strategic Plan Goals - the field will appear to meet the goals until you dig a little deeper.
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55999
The article is basically true but omitted another area of concern. Management's misuse of the Performance Improvement Program (PIP) which is used to penalize an employee who overruns budgets mainly due to poor management style of a person that was one of the good old boys, next in-line, regional reject that receives bonus points higher than someone with a CPA when measured for promotion potential to become a GS-13)who often permitted the favorites to be in noncompliance with agency guidelines for workpapers then assigned the mess to someone he/she disliked or wanted to get rid of by denying budget adjustment requests (BARS) because in his/her "opinion" the work can be done with the assigned hours. Take a survey of how many experienced employees were forced into retirements by placing them on PIPs then someone with less than 5 years of employment promoted over experienced auditor with more that 15 year plus CPA (is this age/racial discrimination) Let's not go there; it's prevalent in performance evaluations and to prevent those that are truly qualified from competing with them (GS-13)for a job they might want themselves.
Instead of sweeping it under that carpet with those annual Regional Human Resource field visits that hear the problems from the staff and report that the office had minor comipliance but overall had a clean slate shows that it's a major cover-up to save your own rear-end, never mind the livihood of those you push out the door for a metrics technicality. Incompetence begins at home. I worked for a supervisor that did not maintain an advanced degree but was considered great; however, it depends on who you were. It really showed when he retired and you found out how much reward money the favorites got just for performing a simple task and you wonder why folks go off when they have signifcant findings and someone else gets the credit for it because managements sits on it for a year; then reassigns it to a favorite who receives the accolades for the findings. Oh, the other auditor was reassigned to another team or office. Nothing is said because they need salary, they are given an "on the spot" cash award of $300; however, the person that receives the real recognition for his work receives $2,000 bonus and you never know it happen because rewards are given discreetly among management to subordinates. Wow, what a mess!
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55994
I think the new DCAA Directors memo to employees dated yesterday says it all. Her response to the GAO report and findings is "various guidance memorandums have been issued over the last few weeks and more memorandums will be issued in the future." This along with an "Audit Quality Stand Down Day" should fix all the problems that GAO reported in her mind. I don't say this to be mean but can they not see that more process, guidance and memorandums are what led us to where we are today? The basic problem is the love and infatuation with manipulated metrics that add no value to the US Taxpayer. The metrics have created what we have today, 5 regions and a HQ operation with way too many people doing non value added work, who have absolutely no clue, or desire to even learn what is going on in the field. They don't want to learn because that would involve talking with people and they would rather get their answers from DMIS metrics. DCAA needs people from the outside to lead this agency. No change will ever come from within. Can all these posters be wrong and we are not seeing the light?
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55991
This behavior, assuming it is ultimately substantiated, is criminal!
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55985
The problem with this whole mess is the ideas contained within the personnel management system. People's work performance is rightfully expected to be measured to be able to determine if an employee is in need of additional training or guidance to correct sub-par performance. The problem is the measurement period is being constrained by personnel management standards creating this whole mess. Many times the results of a person's action will not be able to be determined for an extended period of time. Most of the time well beyond the time frame established. So management "wing the measurement needed" and produce a biased/false measurement because they don't want to stand up and say the "system" is broken. They don't want to "rock the boat". They also don't want to face the fact that cookie cutter performance metrics that meet the "one size" fits most "DON'T WORK". They don't want to create individual performance metrics because they would be found to not be able to handle the work load and "guess what" be found to be performing below standards themselves. So it amounts to who gets "gored by the bull". And we all know how life works. If I go this way I get gored or if I go that way you get gored. Guess which way we will go, look out for the bull, buddy......
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55983
I worked for DCAA for 17 years as an auditor, supervisor and a manager. I can assure you this article is right on the money; including the comment about Bill Reed. This metric drivin culture definately came from that paranoid jail called DCAA Headquarters in Ft. Belvoir, VA, and started with Bill Reed and his Posse of Tyrants.
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55982
As a former DCAA employee- I am so glad that finally someone had the guts to bring these issues to light- I also left because I did not feel comfortable that the good auditors were being exploited and mistreated while the "yes men" who could not explain the basic accounting rules were promoted. You should also look into the herndon branch office 2003 to date. They had a supervisor who got rid-off 13 auditors in a matter of 3 to 4 years.
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55979
Now layer on top of this DoD's Pay for Performance and see what you'll get. Do you think DCAA's management obsession on metrics, performance and green stoplights will lessen? Do you think the pressure exerted to serve the organization instead of the taxpayer will decrease? Hah! Guess again.
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55975
If the DCAA system was tied to performance then why did it take so long to get audit reports back on contracts that were closed pending the final audit? When I retired from the Air Force we still had 5 contracts that were "inactive" for about 3 years waiting for the final audit. It might have been about performance, but we never saw it. I agree with the comment that DCAA is broken and needs to be fixed. It must have a sufficent number of highly qualified auditors who can examine the cost data of defense contractors and give an honest assessment of whether or not the costs in question are allowable, allocable and reasonable. This assessment must be made in a timely manner with the understanding they represent the Government not the contractor. Likewise when the contractor is due more money that is justifiable, the auditor must be able to document their case. It's a tough job, but it must be done correctly.
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55969
I think this story is very slanted. To bad journalism cannot be balanced. DCAA does good work protecting the taxpayer interests. Maybe you could follow up with a story about what we are doing at some locations where we have saved significant dollars but could do more if our findings were not often ignored by those who negotiate with the contractor.
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55961
I love the comment about the senior leaders getting upset about fonts/typos. I'm a senior leader in DoD and I've seen this 'can't see the forest through the trees' mentality of senior leadership first hand repeatedly. Too often this type of leader was promoted because at one time they did their operational job well, had been 'in line' for the promotion and it was 'their turn', or was a solid yes man/woman who sucked up/granted favors/etc. They don't know how to manage or are scared to do anything that would create disharmony between their leaders, military officers, contractors, or other DoD services/agencies ... better to smile and shuck and jive with each other. Meanwhile their subordinates accomplished great things for them. Sometimes analogous to writing the Bible but they'd complain and rant that the product was not satisfactory because a single 'i' was not dotted. Yet they'd strategically run the organization into the ground, let costs run rampant (build rice bowls/empires), and more. Metrics? Another topic where I've seen them 'produced' to represent just what one would want them to. It's not just DCAA that's broken ... it goes much deeper. When leaders are not held accountable for producing quality results, timely delivery, controlling costs, building employees, etc. ... would you expect anything else?
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55960
The insight into Agency pressures is interesting, to be sure. But it's also subjective and biased. Ask any contractor who's dealt with DCAA, and you'll get a litany of poor quality audits and findings unsupported by the facts.
Contrary to the assertions made by the Agency employee in the article, when contractors complain about an auditor, the general response is that nothing happens.
A fair, unbiased article would also interview contractors to get their side of the story.
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55955
The same problem is going to show up in the NSPS system.
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55954
It isn't just DCAA that's broken - all Gov't aquisition/procurement is broken. Just look at the news: cost overruns, schedule delays, severe technical problems, fraud, mismanagement, etc.. And the news only show the 'big ticket' items. I have seen these problems at all levels; if you don't think run-of-the-mill employees are pressured to select a supervisor's 'favored' contractor, or to hide the fact that the work that the contractors do is substandard/inadequate, you are sadly mistaken.
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55948
Focused on performance rather than watching out for the taxpayers. Hmmm. And now the DoD is moving to NSPS, what the higher up muckety-mucks call a "pay for performance" system. Gonna get worse, not better.
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55947
Substitute DCAA with DOJ/OIG, and it appears that the same audit problems and retaliation against feds are throughout other government agencies.
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55938
Actually you all know that DCAA is going to come back and say all this fuss and bother is due to disgruntled ex-employees. Don't you just love it?
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55929
After reading this report, I will expect more of the same as the alien NSPS culture takes root and spreads like a cancerous weed throughout DoD. The effects of the implementation of the Defense Management Information System sounds like the evil twin of My Biz. Metrics, metrics. . . metrics.
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55928
DCAA is just another broken government agency. The tremendous amount of federal taxes extracted from the citizens go to fraud, waste, and abuse more than taxpayer value. The one ray of hope is the GAO...and it's investigative findings. But so what? No one is ever held accountable.
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