Aligning DCAA and DCMA Processes to Ensure Work is Complementary

In a January 4, 2011 memorandum, the Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy inventoried the progress that the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) have made since September 2010 to realign their roles and responsibilities in order to reduce overlapping efforts. Actually, the progress made to date has been one-sided - DCAA gives up a lot to DCMA and DCMA gives up nothing. These so-called achievements include:

• Increased thresholds for cost/price proposal audits - DCAA gives up fixed price contracts under $10 million and cost type contracts under $100 million.
• Forward Pricing Rate Agreements/Recommendations - DCMA takes over this responsibility.
• Financial capability reviews - DCAA gives up these audits in favor of DCMA
• Purchasing system reviews - DCAA plans to withdraw from these types of reviews.
• Contractor Business System - If the rules are ever finalized, they'll include clearly defined responsibilities for both DCAA nad DCMA. 

The increased thresholds for pricing have been well publicized and discussed in this blog and many other places. The shifting of forward pricing indirect rates, financial capability reviews and purchasing system reviews responsibilities is news. Makes one wonder what work is left for DCAA.