Redstone Government Consulting Blog | DCAA Audit Support

A little background – On April 15, 2025, Executive Order 14275, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, was issued. The intent of this order was to make revolutionary changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) to make the federal acquisition process more efficient and cost-effective. Section 2 states, “It is the policy of the United States to create the most agile, effective, and efficient procurement system possible. Removing undue barriers, such as unnecessary regulations, while simultaneously allowing for the expansion of the national and defense industrial bases is paramount. Accordingly, the FAR should contain only provisions required by statute or essential to sound procurement, and any FAR provisions that do not advance these objectives should be removed.”

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Proposal Cost Volume Development & Pricing, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DFARS Business Systems, DCAA Audit Support, Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR), Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Commercial Item Determination

Revenue recognition is a very critical and highly scrutinized aspect of accounting for government contractors. Whether you're working on cost-plus contracts, time and materials, or firm fixed price agreements, how and when you recognize revenue can significantly impact your financial reporting and compliance with government regulations.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

The Good

Ok, finding some good is going to be a challenge. Let's start with the fact that the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) receives approximately 3,500 incurred cost proposals annually, but only audits around 500 of them. And even though DCAA is still auditing about 75% of the dollars submitted ($193B), only .3% is questioned ($760M), and only 31% of that is likely to be sustained by contracting officers. This comes from the DCAA Report to Congress for 2024.

See, we did find some good.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

I believe most prudent businesspeople would consider providing water and coffee to their employees and customers a reasonable business expense and consider it an allowable cost. Well, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) auditors are not most people and, in most cases, have little to no business experience, so they believe providing water and coffee is an unallowable cost.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Project status report (PSR), job status report, project summary, many names for the same thing…a report that gives the user a summary of the information associated with a project. The project status report in Deltek’s Costpoint is a snapshot of a project's current status at any given time. It contains data from many different sources and is useful to Accounting, Project Management, and Leadership to assess the current position of a project or contract. This report has a range of options to provide users with the specific information related to the project they would like to review.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Government Compliance Training, DCAA Audit Support, Deltek Costpoint

Government contracts can be a great opportunity. They often come with stability, a steady income, and the chance to scale your business. But they also come with strings attached: a detailed set of rules and expectations, especially when it comes to your accounting. Unfortunately, many government contractors learn about those rules the hard way, which is after they’ve already made a mistake. In this article, we’ll walk through some of the most common accounting mistakes that can derail even experienced contractors, cost you money, or worse, jeopardize your contracts.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), Small Business Compliance, DCAA Audit Support, Quickbooks, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Government contracting can be volatile at times, with programs being at risk, under a stop-work order, or even canceled. This can create challenges to the back-office maintenance of the contracts in your Deltek Costpoint environment. In this article, we will discuss how to navigate these challenges properly. We’ll also explore key tools and best practices in Deltek Costpoint to help streamline your contract close-out process. Our goal is to help you mitigate potential risk and maintain project control in your system.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DCAA Audit Support, Deltek Costpoint, REAs, Claims & Terminations

While selecting the right HRIS system is a major process in itself, configuring it is a whole other piece of the puzzle. From the recruitment-to-hire process to timekeeping and payroll, it’s essential to set up the system optimally from the start to support compliance and ensure the most success as your business grows. When you add in the government contract compliance piece, the “puzzle” is even further complicated.

Topics: DCAA Audit Support, Human Resources, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Service Contract Act, UKG Ready HR Software Consulting

Accurate timekeeping is important to most businesses, but for federal government contractors, it is crucial to compliance and continued success. While timekeeping may seem like a straightforward and simple task, it can be daunting for those responsible for developing and implementing appropriate processes, systems, and audit trails. Improper procedures can quickly lead to reporting inaccuracies and audit nightmares! A well-designed process, accompanied by an accurately designed system and a well-documented and communicated policy, is critical.

Topics: DCAA Audit Support, Human Resources, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Service Contract Act, UKG Ready HR Software Consulting

Income, earnings, and proceeds are various synonyms for the term “revenue,” but regardless of the terminology, the revenue recognized and reported is a strong indicator of business performance and stability. In this article, we will discuss Deltek Costpoint’s Revenue Worksheet and the benefits of utilizing it in recognizing revenue, calculating accurate bills, and identifying project discrepancies.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DCAA Audit Support, Deltek Costpoint