Audit faults KBR costs in Iraq...details problems with fuel, food and lodging expenses

[elehhhhna]

The new audit was performed at the request of the U.S. Embassy in Iraq to "determine whether the U.S. government is receiving the services paid for" under the contract and whether the support provided is "reasonable, efficient and cost effective," Bowen wrote.

It examines just one portion — worth about $1.3 billion — of the sprawling contract, he said.

Problems raised with KBR's fuel system centered on a database that did not adequately track which vehicles were authorized to fill up, the audit said. The system led to "a high risk of a potential improper use of fuel," and made the Houston firm's fuel system accounting unreliable, the audit said.

The review also said KBR surpassed its food service budget by $4.5 million, in part by ordering higher-end food items than what the government menu allowed.

The audit questioned how government overseers could have allowed the orders to go through.

The same lax oversight was to blame for letting KBR make errors in lodging assignments, which resulted in a "less than optimal use of available trailers," the report said. For example, KBR gave 90 percent of its employees their own trailers when many troops were sharing trailers, the audit said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4919855.html