January 30, 2014
DOD is establishing a Financial Management Certification program for most DOD employees working in financial areas, to include DCAA. Here is a link to a briefing on the program:
November 23, 2015 — This link no longer works but this one does:
As with any new beginning, there are many questions.
The program seems to focus only a few hours on course work that directly relates to DCAA’s work with contractors (Accounting, Auditing, Acquisition/Contracts, and Ethics).
Also DCAA Auditors typically focus on two areas of GAAP – FASB and GASB. Federal accounting standards differ from those for commercial/nonprofit (FASB and local government (GASB. The certification program seems to focus mainly on federal accounting. This is due to the general requirement for the majority of DOD finance employees who need is in the area of federal accounting.
Finally, I always remind clients before a DCAA audit about the practical audit gap between themselves and even the best DCAA auditors. Few DCAA auditors have ever done a payroll, or an invoice, or an impairment decision. It does not appear that a Federal Financial Management certification holder will enjoy any of this critical practical knowledge.
But, it is a start, and the rest can come.