Description

A focused course, tailored for you

Expense Report Auditing Under FAR 31 and DCAA Standards

Master the allowability calls, documentation standards, and disallowed cost recovery that define a government contractor expense audit.

Every expense report audit in a government contracting environment requires a FAR 31 allowability judgment. The documentation standard is specific, the DCAA scrutiny is real, and the indirect cost rate consequences of getting it wrong travel far beyond the individual voucher.

$199 one-time

Tailored to your situation. Access within 24 hours. 30-day money-back.

Includes a hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access, generated for your specific situation.

Why this course

Expense report auditors at government contractors operate at the intersection of FAR Part 31 cost principles, DCAA audit guidance, and the contractor's own T&E policy. The allowability call on a borderline receipt is not a subjective read: it has to be defensible against FAR 31.205 subparts, supported by adequate documentation, and consistent with prior audit decisions. When volume is high, sampling methodology matters. When disallowed costs are identified, the recovery path from audit finding to contractor credit or rate adjustment requires its own documentation chain. Auditors who can move through that process confidently, without escalating every edge case, are a material asset to the finance and compliance function.

What you walk away with

Apply the FAR 31.205 cost principles most frequently encountered in T&E audits with confidence in borderline cases.
Evaluate supporting documentation against DCAA audit guidance and contractor policy requirements in a single review pass.
Design and execute a defensible sampling plan for high-volume expense report populations.
Document disallowed cost findings in a format that supports contractor credit requests and rate adjustments.
Distinguish unallowable costs that require rate impact analysis from those that can be resolved at the voucher level.
Build a consistent audit trail that withstands both DCAA floor checks and post-award audits.

The 12 modules

Module 1. FAR Part 31 Cost Principles: The T&E Subset That Matters

FAR 31.205 contains 50+ selected cost categories. This module isolates the dozen that appear most frequently in expense report audits: travel (31.205-46), meals and entertainment (31.205-14), alcoholic beverages (31.205-51), and the general criteria at 31.201-2 that govern allowability when no specific subpart applies. Each principle is mapped to the type of receipt or supporting document that satisfies it.

Module 2. Adequate Documentation: What DCAA Actually Looks For

DCAA's Contract Audit Manual defines adequacy for cost reimbursement. This module translates that definition into a documentation checklist for expense reports: business purpose specificity, attendee identification for meals, approval chain requirements, and the difference between documentation gaps that trigger disallowance and those that trigger an inquiry. You will draft a documentation standard for your own audit program.

Module 3. The Allowability Decision: A Structured Framework

Borderline allowability calls require a reproducible decision process. This module builds a four-question framework: Is the cost specifically referenced in FAR 31.205? If not, does it meet the general criteria at 31.201-2 (reasonable, allocable, consistently treated, compliant with CAS)? Does the contractor's disclosed practice address it? Is there a prior audit decision that binds the current call? Working through the framework produces a defensible audit note, not a judgment call.

Module 4. T&E Policy Alignment: Contractor Rules vs FAR Requirements

Contractor T&E policies frequently set limits stricter than FAR requires. This module covers how to apply contractor policy limits (per-diem caps, receipt thresholds, pre-approval rules) alongside FAR allowability criteria, and what happens when contractor policy and FAR diverge. You will map your contractor's T&E policy against FAR 31 and identify the provisions that create audit risk when employees treat policy limits as floors rather than ceilings.

Module 5. Sampling Methodology for High-Volume Voucher Populations

Statistical sampling allows expense report auditors to provide reasonable assurance over large populations without reviewing every receipt. This module covers attribute sampling design for T&E: defining the attribute, setting the expected error rate, calculating sample size, selecting the sample, and projecting findings to the population. You will build a reusable sampling template for quarterly T&E audit cycles.

Module 6. Identifying and Classifying Unallowable Costs

Not all disallowed costs have the same consequence. This module distinguishes expressly unallowable costs (which trigger penalties under FAR 42.709 if billed) from costs that are unallowable under the contractor's disclosed practice, and costs that are allocable but exceed the FAR limit. Each category has a different recovery path. You will classify a set of sample findings and determine the correct treatment for each.

Module 7. Documenting Findings: The Audit Working Paper That Holds Up

An expense audit finding is only as strong as the working paper behind it. This module covers the structure of a T&E audit finding: condition (what was found), criteria (the FAR subpart or contractor policy provision), cause (why it occurred), effect (cost impact and rate implication), and recommendation. You will draft two complete working papers using this structure and review them against DCAA criteria for finding quality.

Module 8. The Disallowed Cost Recovery Process

Once an unallowable cost is identified and documented, it moves into a recovery process. This module covers contractor credit requests, the mechanics of excluding unallowable costs from indirect cost rate submissions, and coordination with the contracting officer and DCAA when a finding has rate-level implications. You will trace a single disallowed cost from audit finding through rate settlement and document the steps required at each handoff.

Module 9. Indirect Cost Rate Implications of T&E Findings

T&E disallowances do not always stay at the voucher level. When unallowable costs are embedded in indirect cost pools, the impact propagates to the rate structure. This module explains how T&E auditors should flag findings that may have indirect rate implications, how to estimate rate impact for materiality assessment, and how to communicate rate-level findings to the cost accounting function without overstepping the T&E audit scope.

Module 10. DCAA Floor Check Preparation and Response

DCAA conducts floor checks to verify that labor and expense charges to government contracts are legitimate and adequately supported. This module prepares expense report auditors to support DCAA floor check activity: what DCAA looks for in T&E documentation, how to respond to DCAA requests for expense backup, and how prior internal audit findings affect DCAA's assessment of internal control strength. You will build a floor-check-readiness checklist for your audit function.

Module 11. Repeat Findings and Systemic Deficiency Identification

A T&E audit that surfaces the same findings quarter after quarter is not adding value; it is documenting a systemic control failure. This module covers how to distinguish isolated instances from systemic deficiencies, how to escalate a repeat finding to a corrective action request, and how to track corrective action implementation through to closure. You will design a tracking template that distinguishes resolved findings from those pending corrective action.

Module 12. Building a Defensible T&E Audit Program

The final module assembles the course components into a complete T&E audit program: scope and objectives, risk assessment, sampling plan, allowability decision framework, working paper standards, finding classification matrix, recovery coordination process, and corrective action tracking. You will complete your own program document, calibrated to your contractor's size, contract mix, and current DCAA audit status, and ready to use in the next audit cycle.

How this addresses your situation

Specific modules that map to what you said you are dealing with.

FAR 31 allowability call on a borderline receipt -> Modules 1, 3

Documentation gap identified during voucher review -> Module 2, 7

High-volume quarter-end expense population to audit -> Module 5

Disallowed cost finding with potential indirect rate impact -> Modules 6, 8, 9

What you get with this course

Twelve written modules covering FAR 31 T&E cost principles, DCAA documentation standards, sampling methodology, disallowed cost recovery, and audit program design
Downloadable allowability decision framework (the four-question structure from Module 3)
Sampling template for attribute sampling of expense report populations
Working paper template with condition/criteria/cause/effect/recommendation structure
Disallowed cost classification matrix (expressly unallowable vs. practice-limited vs. limit-exceeded)
T&E audit program template, fully structured and ready to calibrate to your contractor environment
Hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access, tailored to the expense report auditor role in a government contracting context

What you will have in hand by Day 1, Week 1, Month 1

Access to the learning environment and the hand-built implementation playbook are both provisioned within 24 hours of purchase.

Before and after

Before

Allowability calls on borderline T&E items require escalation or rely on informal precedent. Sampling is ad hoc. Disallowed cost findings are documented inconsistently and the recovery process stalls at handoff points.

After

Every allowability call follows a documented four-question framework traceable to FAR 31. Sampling plans are defensible. Findings move through a structured recovery process with clear rate-level escalation criteria. DCAA floor checks surface no surprises.

What happens if you do not address this

Inconsistent allowability decisions create audit findings that are reversed or upheld unpredictably, undermining the credibility of the internal audit function and increasing the risk of DCAA-identified unallowable costs in indirect rate submissions, which carry penalty exposure under FAR 42.709.

Who it is for

Expense report auditors and T&E compliance reviewers at defense and civilian government contractors who want to sharpen their FAR 31 allowability judgment, tighten their documentation standards, and manage disallowed cost findings through to resolution without unnecessary escalation.

Who this is NOT for. Commercial-sector internal auditors with no government contracting exposure, and auditors focused exclusively on financial statement or IT controls rather than cost-reimbursement contract compliance.

How it arrives

Text-based course in the Art of Service learning environment, plus downloadable templates and worked examples for every module, plus the hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access.

Time investment. Each module is designed for a focused 45-60 minute session. The full course is completable in two to three working weeks alongside a normal audit workload.

Why $199 is the right number

DCAA training and FAR workshops cover the regulatory layer but do not translate it into an audit methodology. Internal onboarding covers contractor policy but not the FAR 31 principles underneath it. This course fills the gap between knowing the rules exist and knowing how to apply them in a live voucher review.

FAQ

Does this course cover CAS (Cost Accounting Standards) as well as FAR?

The course focuses on FAR Part 31 cost principles and DCAA audit methodology, which are the primary framework for expense report allowability. CAS applicability and disclosure statement requirements are covered where they intersect with T&E cost treatment, but the course is not a comprehensive CAS course.

Is this course relevant for both cost-reimbursement and fixed-price contract environments?

The FAR 31 allowability framework applies directly to cost-reimbursement contracts. The documentation and sampling methodology in the course is also useful for fixed-price contractors who audit employee expense compliance against internal policy, but the rate impact and recovery modules are specific to cost-reimbursement environments.

How current is the regulatory content?

The course is built on FAR Part 31 as currently codified and DCAA's Contract Audit Manual guidance. FAR Part 31 is updated periodically; the allowability decision framework in Module 3 is designed to remain valid across regulatory updates because it applies the general criteria at FAR 31.201-2 rather than relying on a static reading of any specific subpart.

30-day money-back guarantee. If after a week of working through the materials this is not what you needed, reply to the receipt email and a full refund is processed. No questions, no forms.

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.