Delivering excellence in every audit: Carolina Branch Office spotlight

By DCAA Staff Writer

At DCAA, excellence is a core value reflected in every audit. Every DCAA auditor is well versed in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) standards and Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). In addition to full familiarity with DFARS and FAR, auditors ensure they're comfortable with the specific contract's internal controls and information reliability to ensure full compliance with the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS). With this knowledge, Justin Gorman, Branch Manager, and his team at the Carolina Branch Office worked together to deliver detailed and understandable working papers with thoroughly documented audit packages.

A recent post-award accounting system audit from the Carolina Branch Office exemplifies how DCAA audits consistently exceed expectations throughout the entire audit and demonstrates the extra time and care DCAA auditors put towards every audit to maximize the DoD's buying power. Throughout the audit review, the team held proactive and essential weekly status meetings, providing the opportunity for extra flexibilities and a space that facilitated information sharing. These meetings ensured clear communication and alignment with the risk-based audit plan. Justin reflects, "From the start of the audit, the team adopted a collaborative, team-oriented approach." As a result of the audit team conducting in-person system demonstration meetings at the contractor's location, auditors had a full understanding of the contractor's internal controls and processes. David Van Dingenen, a Quality Assurance Auditor, shared, "The audit team's documented understanding of internal controls was impressive."

Throughout this audit, auditors exemplified DCAA's excellence through collaboration, teamwork and audit knowledge expertise. The work DCAA does ensures the DoD receives fair and reasonable prices to provide the Warfighter with the necessary equipment to increase lethality and readiness.