Thursday 20 June 2019

Guidelines On DCAA Compliant Accounting Procedures

By Catherine Mitchell


Government contracting is different from general contracting because of the stringent procedures followed before getting compliance. The biggest challenge which people face when getting into business with the government is the inability to get DCAA compliance. You cannot be allowed to contract for the government if your accounting books are not DCAA compliant. When you are compliant, it means that all your operations are according to the book and that you will reduce the time spent dealing with legal complications. Below are a few tips to guide you along the process.

The DCAA the arm of the government charged with the responsibility of auditing all contracts connected to the department of defense. There are times when the DOD contract Audit Agency can be brought in to assist the government with other audit-related services. The DCAA audits billions of dollars annually to make sure that taxpayers are getting what they are paying for.

When accounting procedures are said to be Defense Contract Audit Agency compliant, it means that they have been carried out according to the guidelines and the recommendations offered by the audit agency. For instance, the DCAA recommends that your accounting system have the ability to track costs separately, including direct as well as indirect costs. They also want a timekeeping system to be integrated with the accounting system to keep track of all transactions in real time.

The most crucial thing to do when dealing with government contracting is to understand what their audit entails. Many differences exist between the procedures followed by business auditing agencies and the audit agency. The government puts a lot of emphasis on aspects such as allowable costs, unallowable cost pools, the indirect costs, and other related issues. When preparing for a Defense Contract Audit Agency audit, these are the parameters to look into.

Another thing that people fail to understand is that there are different types of DCAA audits. The most common audit types include forward pricing audits, pre-award audits, incurred cost audits, and CPSR reviews. At times, contracting agencies will request for special audits, which are known as special audits. Knowing which audit type you are about to get into helps you prepare properly for it.

Before getting a government contract, the agency may perform what is known as a pre-award survey. The survey is meant to establish whether your business can perform all the tasks specified by the contract. The survey will look at your business financial ability, whether the accounting system is acceptable and can keep track of costs.

Next, it is good to know that there are resources allocated to help people interested in getting into government contracting to understand the process and prepare for it. There are government websites that contain a lot of reliable information about preparation for the audit, links, and checklists that help you get ready for the process. These offer the guidance needed before getting compliance.

These are just a few of the important things to understand about Defense Contract Audit Agency compliant accounting. The most important bit is to always get an expert to handle the auditing preparation process. They will tell you what you need to do to achieve compliance and help you do everything according to the books.




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