[jdwalton19]

Does/has anyone here work(ed) for the DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency)? They just announced an entry level auditor position close to my home, but I haven’t been able to find much current information regarding the agency. Anyone have any thoughts, opinions, experiences regarding the work?

FAR - MAY - 84
AUD - AUG - 88
REG - AUG - 92
BEC - Dec - 82

KY Licensed!

Yaeger

[mla1169]

There are a couple of DCAA folks here, try typing DCAA in the search bar above. I've been working for govt contractors for years and have dealt with them often. It's a good job from what I understand, usually only local travel and mostly 40 hours.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[mla1169]

There are a couple of DCAA folks here, try typing DCAA in the search bar above. I've been working for govt contractors for years and have dealt with them often. It's a good job from what I understand, usually only local travel and mostly 40 hours.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

Ex-DCAA auditor here. Since you are a licensed CPA, do NOT go into DCAA. I repeat do NOT… You will not be able to apply your CPA knowledge at all because DCAA does not do any financial audits or anything of that nature. DCAA only audits contracts for compliance (and to check off a box). You will hate yourself because you will not be able to utilize your CPA talents. The only reason why DCAA likes auditors with the CPA designation is to intimidate the contractors that they audit. I say move on and look elsewhere. DCAA is a bad career move for anyone who wants to put their hard-earned CPA to use. I had to quit on the spot in order to be available to be hired due to the cool-off period and working towards my CPA license in order to recover from the damage that my career suffered during my time at DCAA. It is only good for folks who like utter predictability and rubber stamping. I am sure I will catch hell from other DCAA folks, but I don't care. Opinions are like xxx and everyone has one.

[Anonymous]

Ex-DCAA auditor here. Since you are a licensed CPA, do NOT go into DCAA. I repeat do NOT… You will not be able to apply your CPA knowledge at all because DCAA does not do any financial audits or anything of that nature. DCAA only audits contracts for compliance (and to check off a box). You will hate yourself because you will not be able to utilize your CPA talents. The only reason why DCAA likes auditors with the CPA designation is to intimidate the contractors that they audit. I say move on and look elsewhere. DCAA is a bad career move for anyone who wants to put their hard-earned CPA to use. I had to quit on the spot in order to be available to be hired due to the cool-off period and working towards my CPA license in order to recover from the damage that my career suffered during my time at DCAA. It is only good for folks who like utter predictability and rubber stamping. I am sure I will catch hell from other DCAA folks, but I don't care. Opinions are like xxx and everyone has one.

[mla1169]

Bulldozer its true that you get pigeon holed but if you leave for industry eventually and head toward a Raytheon or Lockheed (someday, after sequestration is over! Not now for sure) you're much more desirable.

I hired a CPA with DCAA credentials as a consultant when we had a multi-million dollar contract under audit by the Prime contractors. He charged BIG BIG BUCKS for his services (close to $300/hr) and worth every single penny of it when we would win an award.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[mla1169]

Bulldozer its true that you get pigeon holed but if you leave for industry eventually and head toward a Raytheon or Lockheed (someday, after sequestration is over! Not now for sure) you're much more desirable.

I hired a CPA with DCAA credentials as a consultant when we had a multi-million dollar contract under audit by the Prime contractors. He charged BIG BIG BUCKS for his services (close to $300/hr) and worth every single penny of it when we would win an award.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[MDgolfCPA]

CPA plus DCAA experience can be a very promising carry path. As mla1169 said above, it does pigeon hole you a bit but the government contracting industry is huge. These large contractors have departments solely devoted to government compliance and handling DCAA auditors. Some of the larger contractors can have 100+ DCAA resident auditors at their office year round. Most of the government compliance people I have run into in the industry have DCAA background and accounting experience. Some had CPA some didn't.

In other words, I think there are plenty of opportunities in industry for someone with a CPA and DCAA background.

[MDgolfCPA]

CPA plus DCAA experience can be a very promising carry path. As mla1169 said above, it does pigeon hole you a bit but the government contracting industry is huge. These large contractors have departments solely devoted to government compliance and handling DCAA auditors. Some of the larger contractors can have 100+ DCAA resident auditors at their office year round. Most of the government compliance people I have run into in the industry have DCAA background and accounting experience. Some had CPA some didn't.

In other words, I think there are plenty of opportunities in industry for someone with a CPA and DCAA background.

[Anonymous]

I had an offer from DCAA upon graduation, but declined. The starting money was decent and I think you get automatically promoted every year up to GS-13 then it becomes competitive. I declined the offer because it was just not the right fit for me. I would compare the job to an internal auditor. The gov't gives billions of dollars to contractors. You are there to make sure these contractors are using the funds efficiently, effectively and not going on vacations with the money.

The exit opportunities are limited. If you choose to leave, you can work in a niche department of the BIG 4 that gov't contract review. Or maybe for the Fortune 1000 companies to oversea their gov't contracts.

A drawback was that once you reach management (I think GS-13 and above) you would have to sign a relocation agreement and get the special clearance (forgot the exact name). This involves taking a polygraph test. I got nothing to hide, but just the thought of a poly is already getting me anxious.

[Anonymous]

I had an offer from DCAA upon graduation, but declined. The starting money was decent and I think you get automatically promoted every year up to GS-13 then it becomes competitive. I declined the offer because it was just not the right fit for me. I would compare the job to an internal auditor. The gov't gives billions of dollars to contractors. You are there to make sure these contractors are using the funds efficiently, effectively and not going on vacations with the money.

The exit opportunities are limited. If you choose to leave, you can work in a niche department of the BIG 4 that gov't contract review. Or maybe for the Fortune 1000 companies to oversea their gov't contracts.

A drawback was that once you reach management (I think GS-13 and above) you would have to sign a relocation agreement and get the special clearance (forgot the exact name). This involves taking a polygraph test. I got nothing to hide, but just the thought of a poly is already getting me anxious.

[jydotcom]

@ Bulldozer – I too feel the same. I'm thinking of where to go without taking a huge paycut. I've been there 1.5 years and ready to leave. What options are available? I have only around 5 years audit experience including sales tax auditing, so I might be limited.

BEC - Passed!
AUD - ??
REG - ??
FAR - (July 2014)

Using Roger CPA Review, Wiley Test Bank, and NINJA Notes/Video/MCQ.

[jydotcom]

@ Bulldozer – I too feel the same. I'm thinking of where to go without taking a huge paycut. I've been there 1.5 years and ready to leave. What options are available? I have only around 5 years audit experience including sales tax auditing, so I might be limited.

BEC - Passed!
AUD - ??
REG - ??
FAR - (July 2014)

Using Roger CPA Review, Wiley Test Bank, and NINJA Notes/Video/MCQ.

[jdwalton19]

Thanks for all the replies!

I am currently a federal employee with a growing family, and honestly, value the work-life balance more than anything the public sector can offer (80 hr busy seasons). But….I still would like somewhat of a challenge as my current accounting position has stagnated in terms of difficulty.

FAR - MAY - 84
AUD - AUG - 88
REG - AUG - 92
BEC - Dec - 82

KY Licensed!

Yaeger

[jdwalton19]

Thanks for all the replies!

I am currently a federal employee with a growing family, and honestly, value the work-life balance more than anything the public sector can offer (80 hr busy seasons). But….I still would like somewhat of a challenge as my current accounting position has stagnated in terms of difficulty.

FAR - MAY - 84
AUD - AUG - 88
REG - AUG - 92
BEC - Dec - 82

KY Licensed!

Yaeger

[msgolds]

I'm ex-DCAA. I can go over some pros and cons with you.

Pros:

1) The training program is fantastic; one of the best I have ever seen. The agency sets out a general training plan for you, and also allows you to plan specific trainings that will help you along your chosen career path. The agency also opts for a sense of consistency; you will typically be in the same group for most of your trainings, so you wind up growing pretty close with those people.

2) The knowledge you will pick up in government contract accounting is extremely valuable, and can advance your career in a number of ways. People I have worked with have advanced up the DCAA ladder, taken contract administration jobs within the federal government and the private sector, moved on to Accounting roles at government contractors, and became government contract compliance consultants. In my case, I am currently in a consulting role where I implement new accounting systems for government contractors. My DCAA experience gave me a ton of hands-on knowledge, experience with many different accounting systems, and many of my clients have told me that it gives me credibility.

3) The work-life balance is fantastic. You will never find a place in the private sector that more-or-less guarantees you a 40-hour work-week year-round. There are options for flexible schedules, telework, etc.

4) The first several years, you move up the ladder quickly. You can hit a GS-12 within three years if you start as a GS-7.

Cons:

1) The agency is struggling right now to simultaneously meet the rigid quality standards put out by the GAO, and to put out timely audits. You can expect to do a lot of work that would be considered unnecessary or redundant by public accounting standards. It is not uncommon for your audits to sit in working paper limbo for months as they go through multiple levels of review. It is not unusual for a large audit to take one of two years.

2) The reason for this is many of the prior audits (especially pre-2009) were of an extremely poor quality. When performing Audits, you very often will need to start from scratch, because you cannot rely on prior Audits. There were times when I found some very blatant noncompliances which had been going on for years and never been caught before.

3) There is a ton of bureaucracy and resistance to change. For example, they have an online system where you can issue suggestions for process improvements. There is a certain Metric that is used very commonly in assessing Audit risk. I noticed that different offices were calculating this Metric differently, which led to inconsistencies in risk assessment. I placed a suggestion that standard guidance and a training was created that clearly explained across all offices how the calculation was to be done; which several supervisors agreed would have been helpful to have. It was six months before I received a response, and the woman immediately shot my suggestion down without even considering it.

4) Once you hit 12, you start to plateau. It becomes very competitive when applying for management / tech spec positions to advance your career. Also, many of the GS-12s have questionable competency.

All-in-all, you will be able to gain a ton of value for your career by working for DCAA.

BEC - 90 PASSED
FAR - 84 PASSED
AUD - 93 PASSED
REG - 84 PASSED

I DID IT!!!!

Using Becker Self-Study

"If we were put here to carry a great weight, then the very things we hate are here to build those muscles."

[Author]

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