Defense Trade: Weaknesses Exist in DOD Foreign Subcontract Data
NSIAD-99-8
Published: Nov 13, 1998. Publicly Released: Nov 13, 1998.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) foreign procurement data, focusing on DOD's: (1) reported trends on contracts performed outside the United States; and (2) use of foreign subcontract information and the completeness and accuracy of how DOD collects and manages its data.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology to review the existing subcontract reporting requirement and amend it, as needed, to ensure that data collected satisfy the common information needs of the offices working on defense trade and industrial base issues, thus also avoiding duplicative data collection efforts within DOD. As part of this effort, DOD should provide additional guidance containing clear criteria and definitions for reporting foreign subcontracts. |
DOD states that it has already instituted regulations and procedures that govern the collection of data needed to address defense trade and industrial base issues. The Office of Foreign Contracting provides the data it collects to other DOD components and has no need to redefine its data collection requirements. DOD officials believe the regulations provide clear instructions to defense contractors to respond to reporting requirements.
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| Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics | The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology should direct the Director, Office of Defense Procurement, to develop and implement controls and procedures for periodically verifying compliance with the foreign subcontract reporting requirement and specify how to transmit the information to the Office of Foreign Contracting as a means of improving the completeness and consistency of its data. |
DOD states that the cost to develop and implement controls and procedures for periodically verifying compliance with the reporting requirement may outweigh the benefit of verification. Officials believe they have the most complete database on foreign subcontracts.
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| Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics | The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology should direct the Director, Office of Defense Procurement, to develop and implement procedures for entering data, verifying critical fields, documenting database programs, and querying the database to improve the Office's database management practices. |
DOD reviewed and redesigned the foreign subcontractor database for fiscal year 1999 and eliminated several unnecessary data fields.
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Topics
Contract performanceData collectionData integrityDefense procurementDepartment of Defense contractorsInternational tradeReporting requirementsSubcontractsDatabasesDatabase management systems