Acquisition Management - Workforce Reductions and Contractor Oversight: Nsiad-98-127 (Paperback)

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO: (1) compared the workforce reductions taken in the Department of Defense's (DOD) acquisition organizations from fiscal year (FY) 1993 through FY 1997 with the reductions taken in DOD's overall workforce during that timeframe; and (2) identified initiatives the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and the Defense Contract Management Command (DCMC) have taken in their contract oversight responsibilities to compensate for the reduction in their staff. GAO noted that: (1) DOD's acquisition workforce is decreasing slightly faster than DOD's overall workforce; (2) from FY 1993 through FY 1997, the number of personnel in DOD's overall workforce decreased by 17.5 percent; (3) during the same timeframe, civilian personnel in DOD's acquisition workforce decreased by 24 percent, while the military personnel in the acquisition workforce decreased by 28 percent; (4) throughout this 5-year period, DOD's civilian acquisition workforce remained at roughly 30 percent of DOD's overall civilian workforce; (5) since 1993, the two organizations directly associated with contractor oversight, DCAA and DCMC, have had personnel reductions of roughly 19 and 27 percent, respectively; and (6) according to DCAA and DCMC officials, the organizations have implemented a variety of risk-based initiatives and reengineering programs during this timeframe as their respective workforces have been reduced.