What the GAO Says About Us

In 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) surveyed the largest U.S. defense firms, to gauge the quality of their ethics programs. The firms, almost all DII members, excelled. GAO found that the DII member companies had stringent ethics programs in place years before required to do so under the Federal Acquisition Regulations, or FAR.

Key Facts

• 55 of 57 major US defense firms surveyed by GAO already have written codes of business ethics
• 55 of 57 firms have internal reporting mechanisms, such as employee hotlines
• 54 of 57 firms have a policy for employees to report violations confidentially
• 52 of 57 firms have internal reviews or audits to test the reliability of ethics program

“Today’s report validates the dedicated work that DII companies have done to put robust ethics programs in place, even before required to do so by the federal government,” said Richard J. Bednar, the DII Coordinator.