Redstone Government Consulting Blog (2)

Two new Executive Orders signal increased federal action around quantum innovation and post-quantum cryptography. For government contractors and new entrants, participation in these initiatives will require careful attention to funding structures, FAR changes, NIST requirements, and compliance expectations.

Topics: Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DFARS Business Systems, Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR), Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Cybersecurity, Commercial Determination, Manufacturing Operations Consulting

Buy American Act compliance now requires closer review of component origin, domestic content thresholds, and contract-specific exceptions. For government contractors, the increased domestic content requirements and differences between FAR and DFARS make sourcing, supplier certifications, and documentation critical to supporting accurate compliance certifications.

Topics: Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DFARS Business Systems, Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR), Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Material Management & Accounting System (MMAS), Commercial Determination, Manufacturing Operations Consulting

The Department of Defense (DoD) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on July 2, 2026, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Modifications to Printed Circuit Board Acquisition Restrictions (DFARS Case 2022-D-011) on prohibiting the acquisition of printed circuit boards (PCBs) from certain countries. DoD is requesting input from experts and industry to assist in the development and revision of DFARS. Comments are due August 31, 2026.

Topics: Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DFARS Business Systems, Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR), Government Regulations, Export & Import, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Material Management & Accounting System (MMAS), Estimating System Compliance, Commercial Determination, Manufacturing Operations Consulting

QuickBooks is often one of the first accounting systems used by small and growing government contractors. It is accessible, familiar, and capable of supporting many core accounting needs. But the way QuickBooks is set up matters. Early decisions about accounts, projects, payroll, cost pools, and reporting may not seem significant at the time, but those choices can create problems later when the government contractor needs to support contract billing, indirect rate analysis, incurred cost preparation, or questions from a government customer or auditor.

Topics: Accounting System Compliance, Small Business Compliance, DCAA Audit Support, Quickbooks

The FY 2026 NDAA changed how fixed price contracts are treated in Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) cost impacts, but timing remains critical. Government contractors with CAS covered awards issued before implementation may still face current clause requirements, making award dates and clause language important compliance considerations.

Topics: Accounting System Compliance, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, Government Regulations, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Project health depends on more than customer satisfaction and technical performance. Government contractors also need healthy margins, efficient reporting, reliable billing support, and clear contract closeout documentation. Strong alignment between the project structure and the Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) structure improves reporting, visibility into key metrics such as remaining funding, billing support, and contract closeout effectiveness. These elements help support audit readiness and more efficient project management processes.

Topics: Accounting System Compliance, Small Business Compliance, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, Unanet, Organizational Change Management Consulting, Program Management & Project Cost Control

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed that the 2 CFR 200 revisions would convert Uniform Guidance into government-wide grant regulation, with comments due July 13, 2026, and a proposed effective date of October 1, 2026. Government contractors, recipients, and subrecipients should assess how the changes may affect funding terms, subawards, procurement, payments, and cost principles.

Topics: Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR), System Award Management (SAM), Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Grants & Cooperative Agreements (2 CFR 200), Commercial Determination

A successful Deltek Costpoint manufacturing implementation requires more than system configuration. Cross functional involvement, early data planning, thorough testing, and continuous training help government contractors build internal capability, reduce rework, and establish processes that can support the business well beyond go-live.

Topics: Deltek Costpoint, Material Management & Accounting System (MMAS), Organizational Change Management Consulting, Manufacturing Operations Consulting

Reporting of Independent Research and Development (IR&D) projects on the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) portal is normally due no later than three months after the contractor’s fiscal year-end, both annually and upon project completion. However, the DTIC portal was offline from November 2025 until approximately April 20, 2026, due to cyber vulnerabilities. Despite the nearly six‑month outage, Defense Pricing, Contracting and Acquisition Policy (DPCAP) has provided contractors just over 30 days, until May 31, 2026, to enter all required IR&D information, including new projects, annual updates, and closed projects. This accelerated timeline contrasts with the DFARS allowance of up to three months after the fiscal year-end for reporting.

Topics: Accounting System Compliance, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DFARS Business Systems, Defense Procurement & Acquisition Policy (DPAP), Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Incurred cost submission preparation often exposes problems that never surfaced during regular monthly accounting. A contractor can have a full year of QuickBooks data, a complete set of financial statements, and detailed job cost records, and still find that the information is not organized or consistent enough to support the annual submission process cleanly.

This is not an uncommon situation, and it matters most for contractors performing cost reimbursable work. The assumption that recorded data equals ready data is a costly misunderstanding in government contractor accounting.

Topics: Accounting System Compliance, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), Small Business Compliance, Quickbooks