Contracting with the U.S. Government
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
A great paper by Rod Marvin, Esq., of Cohen and Mohr, on all aspects of doing business with the Federal government and how best to be successful in this market. While it is a long paper, it is a great resource to keep in your files for a reference tool on the many requirements of doing business with the government.
Click here for a copy of the White Paper
DFARS 252.242-7005 Contractor Business Systems Interim Rule
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
This proposed DFARS is out for a third set of comments. While the attached Federal register summarizing the previous
comments on this propose rule is long, it gives some great insight into the position DoD COs will take when determining adequacy of a particular business system and what if any monies will be withheld due to identified inadequacies.
Under this rule:
A) DoD is defining contractor business systems as accounting systems, estimating systems, purchasing systems, earned value management systems (EVMS), material management and accounting systems (MMAS), and property management systems.
B) DoD is implementing compliance enforcement mechanisms in the form of a business systems clause which includes payment withholding that allows contracting officers to withhold a percentage of payments, under certain conditions, when a contractor’s business system contains significant deficiencies. Payments could be withheld on—
- Interim payments under—
Cost–reimbursement contracts;
Incentive type contracts;
Time-and-materials contracts;
Labor-hour contracts;
Progress payments; and
Performance-based payments.
The Discussion and Analysis section of this Federal Register contains a insight into DoD position as it relates to the business systems listed above, the process of determining adequacy, contractor appeals, DCAA audits and follow up audits.
While this is out for comment until July 18th, CO payment withholding due to system inadequacies is part of the future.
Understanding what that means and how to ensure your systems are not caught up in this process are important to the financial wellbeing of your company.
Tim
Click here for a copy of the Federal Register
Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-50 – Ten Interim and Final FAR rules that impact most contractors
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
Attached is a copy of the Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-50 publishing interim and final rules effecting everyone.
The first rule of concern is “Proper Use and Management of Cost-Reimbursement Contracts (Interim)” significantly increases the threshold for COs to justify the use of Cost-Reimbursement contracts over fixed priced contracts. Expect to see contracts that would in the past be issued and Cost-Reimbursement to be issued as fixed price. This will significantly increase the risk on contractors.
The second rule of concern is “Requirements for Acquisition Pursuant to Multiple-Award Contracts (interim)” – Raises the bar on competitive requirements for the issuance of such contracts.
The third is “Disclosure and Consistency of Cost Accounting Practices for Contracts Awarded to Foreign Concerns” This final rule brings the FAR into compliance with the CAS on disclosure requirements for foreign concerns that did not exist before. Foreign concerns with CAS covered contracts must now be compliant with CAS 401 and this requirement is no included in FAR 52.230-4
I have highlighted sections of the FAC that may be of interest to you
Tim
Click here for a copy of the FAC 2005-50
