Essential Work in Extraordinary Times: How DCAA continued supporting the Department during the shutdown

By DCAA Staff Writer

DCAA continued providing critical and essential service to the Department and the Warfighter throughout government shutdown. While many operations paused throughout the federal government, DCAA's dedicated workforce continued working to ensure vital tasks continued to support the mission throughout the 43-day lapse in appropriations.

Furnished Government Property team

Over the past year, the Contract Audit Standards and Assurance (CASA) team diligently completed the first phase of the Pentagon's government property support pilot. This pilot is part of the Department's Financial Improvement and Audit Remediation (FIAR) initiative, a long-term effort to achieve a "clean" financial audit for the Department.

Before the lapse in appropriations, CASA successfully completed the first phase of the pilot and issued four detailed reports by September 30, meeting the agreed-upon deadline. These reports provided critical insights into government property accountability and laid the groundwork for addressing the Department's material weakness related to government property held by contractors.

When the lapse in appropriations began, CASA continued working behind the scenes. The team coordinated with officials from the Comptroller's office to discuss the pilot results and identify the specific steps to address the material weakness. Thanks to their dedication, CASA secured the Comptroller's request to expand the project in 2026. The next phase involves inventorying and reporting on 19 contractors who have government property in their possession. By driving the project's expansion, the CASA team is playing a key role in helping the Department move closer to its goal of achieving a clean financial statement audit opinion by 2028.