Despite its name, and primary mission, the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) is not very good at auditing defense contracts. An investigation by the Pentagon’s inspector general concluded that the working environment at the DCAA is “not conducive to performing quality audits.” For example, the IG discovered that one agency regional manager allowed Boeing to keep $271 million under the Delta IV rocket program and then ordered a subordinate to cover up the overpayment.

Other instances of malfeasance included spending 530 hours auditing a nonexistent billing system and not performing detailed tests because “the contractor would not appreciate it.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are getting fed up with the nightmares they keep hearing about the DCAA’s work, which was also criticized in a report by the Government Accountability Office. “It’s atrocious,” said Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK). “Several of those people ought to be fired.”
                                                                                                                                                       -Noel Brinkerhoff

Pentagon May Have Overpaid Boeing, Report Says (CQ Politics)
Oversight Reports Slam Dysfunction At Defense Contract Audit Agency (by Justin Elliott, TPM)
Defense Contract Audit Agency Audit Work Deficiencies and Abusive Work Environment Identified by the Government Accountability Office (Inspector General, Department of Defense) (PDF)