High Risk Series: Defense Contract Management: HR-95-3

GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) contract management, focusing on the significant risks it faces as a result of defective pricing and weak controls over unallowable overhead costs and contractor payments.

GAO found that: (1) although defective pricing has been reduced by 86 percent to 125.5 million in fiscal year 1993, significant financial risks remain; (2) DOD contractors' performance in correcting significant cost-estimating system deficiencies has been mixed; (3) recently DOD contractors identified and returned $75 million in apparent overpayments to the government; (4) DOD financial control weaknesses in identifying and excluding unallowable contractor overhead costs result in large, frequent, and numerous erroneous and fraudulent payments to defense contractors; (5) DOD needs to correct its long-standing contractor cost-estimating problems and address very serious weaknesses in its financial controls so that it can reduce contractor overpayments and fraudulent activities; (6) DOD contractors need to improve their procedures for identifying and excluding unallowable costs from overhead submissions; and (7) acquisition reform and streamlining legislation are positive steps toward strengthening DOD acquisition and contracting processes and properly protecting the government's and taxpayers' interests.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1289051615
• ISBN13: 9781289051617
• Release Date: June 2013
• Publisher: Bibliogov
• Length: 38 Pages
• Weight: 0.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 7.4" x 9.7"