Help Wanted: Bounty Hunters

In a memorandum dated March 10, 2010, President Obama directed the heads of all executive departments and agencies to expand their use of recovery audits, now called “Payment Recapture Audits,” in order to identify and reclaim from contractors the funds associated with improper payments (e.g., duplicate payments, payments for services not rendered, overpayments, and payments to fictitious vendors) and has also directed OMB to develop guidance within 90 days for carrying out the requirements of the memorandum. He points approvingly to use of professional and specialized auditors whose compensation is tied to their findings of such overpayments.