Cost and price auditing: effectiveness in the procurement of defense services in Spain

A auditoria de custos e preços: eficácia nos serviços contratantes de defesa na Espanha

La auditoría de costes y precios: eficacia en los servicios de contratación de defensa en España

Abstract

Contract auditing, or cost and price auditing, has been applied in Spain as a means of determining prices in non-competitive defense contracts since 1989. Factors such as Spain's participation in international defense organizations, the characteristics of the defense market and the contractual legal framework for the procurement of defense goods and services help underscore the need for the Spanish Ministry of Defense to implement cost and price auditing. With the evolution of cost and price auditing in Spain in mind, this paper analyses the entire process, describes the audit procedures that are most commonly used today and assesses the main results achieved, in terms of financial savings. The results obtained show that cost and price auditing does indeed contribute to a more efficient use of public resources.

Keywords:
defense acquisitions; contract auditing; non-competitive contracts; Ministry of Defense; Spain