The main objective of traditional financial statement audits conducted by independent CPA firms is to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement. This feels more like a “trust but verify” exercise, however a government audit or investigation is rigorously focused on rooting out non-compliances and irregularities where “materiality” is viewed through a very narrow lens. Government audits can occur at any time during the contract lifecycle, and often many times. Investigations can be triggered by a suspicion, an audit referral, or a whistle-blower. Government audits and investigations often make contractors feel as if they are guilty until proven innocent. We know that investigations and audits can be stressful, time-consuming and distracting, monopolizing the time of key personnel needed to run our clients’ businesses. To minimize this disruption, many of our clients have sought our services for internal compliance audits or to intervene early during agency audits or inspections. Our early involvement enables our clients and us to respond to audits and investigations more quickly and efficiently. We help contractors to:
Understand the audit
Identify risk areas
Manage the audit process
Respond to and resolve audit issues
Support investigations by the Government
Conduct internal forensic accounting and special investigations
