On May 19, 2025, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report addressing DCAA’s use of independent public accountants [TR1] to audit contractors’ incurred cost submissions. The GAO report comes on the heels of a January 21, 2025 DoD Inspector General (DoDIG) report that raised concerns about the quality of the independent public accountants’ work products, particularly related to obtaining sufficient evidence to support conclusions, using a sufficient sampling methodology to support conclusions, making inquiries of management, and documenting work performed in sufficient detail. GAO recommended that DCAA assess the future use of independent public accountants to perform incurred cost submission audits and present a plan to Congress by April 30, 2026.

The May 19 GAO report can be found here.

The January 21 DoDIG report can be found here.