"He who has nothing to hide, hides nothing." - Dr. Phil The recent National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2013 (NDAA) has me scratching my head. As a former DCAA auditor, I can many times remember getting a little pushback from contractors on what it was that I was "allowed" to ask … [Read more...]
FAR 31 Series (Part 3, Direct and Indirect Costs)
As we close in on the specific examples of allowable and unallowable costs in FAR 31.205, I wanted to discuss FAR 31.202 and FAR 31.203 dealing with Direct and Indirect costs. Direct Costs With direct costs, the regulation goes with an indirect approach: “FAR 31.202(a) No final cost objective … [Read more...]
FAR Cost Principles Series (Part 2, Allowability, Reasonableness, and Allocability)
Posted on February 7, 2013 by Marty Herbert As a former DCAA auditor, it was a primary goal for my position to find and report unallowable costs. Recently, I have been hearing a lot more from the community in terms of making FAR 31.2 easier to understand. This is pat 2 in the series. Part 1 on … [Read more...]
FAR Cost Principles Series (Part 1, Total Cost)
Blog post by Marty Herbert - Government Contracts Blog As a former DCAA auditor, it was a primary goal for my position to find and report unallowable costs. Recently, I have been hearing a lot more from the community in terms of making FAR 31.2 easier to understand. So, a series is … [Read more...]
Certifying Your Indirect Rates, no Easy Task
Hard Bid Contractors – Don’t leave money on the table! In June of 2011, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.216-7 Allowable Cost and Payment was issued, formalizing requirements of an adequate final indirect rate proposal. This clause establishes the basis for preparation of indirect rates, … [Read more...]
DCAA is Coming After Your Internal Audit Reports – AGAIN!
Based on a GAO Prompt, DCAA solidifies process to gain access of Contractor Internal Audit Reports In December 2011, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report, whereby GAO determined “that the number of DCAA requests for internal audit reports was relatively small when compared … [Read more...]
Compensation Compliance for Federal Contractors: The Rules Have Changed!
As challenging as it sometimes might be, federal contractors must stay abreast of all new rules and regulations and take them seriously. Failure to do so could result in fines, interest, and penalties going back several years. The government can also suspend existing contracts and prohibit you from … [Read more...]
How to Make Your QuickBooks System DCAA Compliant
So, you won a government contract! Congratulations! However, you may find yourself wondering what comes next? After winning the contract, it is highly likely that a torrent of thoughts will flood your mind. Hopefully, while preparing your proposal, you did some pre-planning so you could act quickly … [Read more...]