On September 14, 2026, Deputy Secretary of War Stephen Feinberg issued a memorandum and an accompanying appendix focused on strengthening the defense industrial base by reforming acquisition requirements related to a wide range of issues, including accounting standards, efficiency, government oversight, procedural requirements, audits, pricing, and more.  Building on prior policymaking, including Executive Order 14402 (April 30, 2026), this memorandum directs agency actions aimed at making defense acquisition more commercially oriented and less dependent on government-unique accounting and oversight regimes. 

Among other things, the memorandum directs the Department of War (“DoW”) to shift away from the Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) and increase its reliance on the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), including by advancing CAS coverage reform at the CAS Board.  The memorandum further directs a number of other reforms related to accelerating acquisition transformation, scaling advance market commitments, improving efficiency, reducing administrative burden, limiting audits, streamlining business system reviews, and increasing the use of commercial contracting and other transaction authority (“OTA”) agreements.