Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / This thesis examines the area of transportation bill auditing in the Federal Government. It reviews the history of transportation bill auditing, the mechanics of auditing freight transportation bills, and the various factors that impact on the causes and identification of overcharges. This thesis analyzes the current method of post-payment audits of all government transportation bills by GSA and reviews the ongoing initiatives by DOD to implement pre-payment auditing. It concludes that DOD is paying upwards of $48 million a year in freight overcharges alone and that pre-payment audits can significantly reduce this amount. / http://archive.org/details/auditinggovernme00karn / Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy