The continuing trend toward the diminution of pay and benefits for Government employees will have a negative impact on DCAA for many years to come. Over recent years, and especially the past few, DCAA has lost and will continue to lose its experience and knowledge base. Once those who can retire and those who can find employment elsewhere do so, the “preeminent” government audit agency with the primary goal of contract audits will be a mere shell of its former self, and many would argue that has already come to pass. Pay freezes, furloughs, changes in retirement benefits, and overall lack of leadership have had devastating effects on the DCAA auditor rolls and contractors are now seeing the impact of this “Brain Drain.” These actions, coupled with the Agency’s overreaction to recent GAO and DoD-IG criticism, have resulted in at best inappropriate interpretations and at worst inaccurate uses of government regulations and internal DCAA guidance by auditors with very little experience or direction that in past years was provided by more senior people.
