Ok, finding some good is going to be a challenge. Let's start with the fact that the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) receives approximately 3,500 incurred cost proposals annually, but only audits around 500 of them. And even though DCAA is still auditing about 75% of the dollars submitted ($193B), only .3% is questioned ($760M), and only 31% of that is likely to be sustained by contracting officers. This comes from the DCAA Report to Congress for 2024.
See, we did find some good.
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
If only the Government made this an easy answer. There are some representations and certifications that you need to get from your subcontractors. However, many in both industry and the Government think the requirement for “Reps and Certs” flows down in all cases.
Topics: Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DFARS Business Systems, DCAA Audit Support, Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR), Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
Project status report (PSR), job status report, project summary, many names for the same thing…a report that gives the user a summary of the information associated with a project. The project status report in Deltek’s Costpoint is a snapshot of a project's current status at any given time. It contains data from many different sources and is useful to Accounting, Project Management, and Leadership to assess the current position of a project or contract. This report has a range of options to provide users with the specific information related to the project they would like to review.
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Government Compliance Training, DCAA Audit Support, Deltek Costpoint
I believe most prudent businesspeople would consider providing water and coffee to their employees and customers a reasonable business expense and consider it an allowable cost. Well, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) auditors are not most people and, in most cases, have little to no business experience, so they believe providing water and coffee is an unallowable cost.
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
Government contracts can be a great opportunity. They often come with stability, a steady income, and the chance to scale your business. But they also come with strings attached: a detailed set of rules and expectations, especially when it comes to your accounting. Unfortunately, many government contractors learn about those rules the hard way, which is after they’ve already made a mistake. In this article, we’ll walk through some of the most common accounting mistakes that can derail even experienced contractors, cost you money, or worse, jeopardize your contracts.
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), Small Business Compliance, DCAA Audit Support, Quickbooks, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
Are you taking full advantage of all the features that Deltek Costpoint’s Procurement modules can provide to your Manufacturing business? We regularly work with clients to assess their current utilization of the procurement modules and make recommendations on how they can better utilize this powerful capability. In this multi-part article series, we will discuss some of the many Costpoint Procurement features that we want to ensure you are aware of, to help your manufacturing procurement processes run even better. Many of these apply even if you are not a manufacturing business and are just procuring goods & services.
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, DFARS Business Systems, Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR), Government Property Management, Deltek Costpoint, Material Management & Accounting System (MMAS), Manufacturing Operations Consulting
Labor relations is not just an HR function; it truly is a core leadership responsibility. Suppose your team is a current union organization or considering unionization. In that case, your frontline managers have to be trained to interact with unions not just legally, but also strategically and respectfully. Having untrained managers can quickly escalate potential issues without realizing it. Here is a comprehensive guide to train managers on effective union interactions.
Topics: Human Resources, Government Regulations, Organizational Change Management Consulting, Manufacturing Operations Consulting, Employers & Unions
A while back, I wrote an article addressing the risk associated with submitting “other than certified cost or pricing data.” Nothing has changed. When you are requested to submit “data other than certified cost or pricing data,” it must be current, accurate, and complete as of the date of submission. However, you have no requirement to update the contracting officer after submission.
Topics: Proposal Cost Volume Development & Pricing, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Commercial Item Determination
Government contracting can be volatile at times, with programs being at risk, under a stop-work order, or even canceled. This can create challenges to the back-office maintenance of the contracts in your Deltek Costpoint environment. In this article, we will discuss how to navigate these challenges properly. We’ll also explore key tools and best practices in Deltek Costpoint to help streamline your contract close-out process. Our goal is to help you mitigate potential risk and maintain project control in your system.
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DCAA Audit Support, Deltek Costpoint, REAs, Claims & Terminations
While selecting the right HRIS system is a major process in itself, configuring it is a whole other piece of the puzzle. From the recruitment-to-hire process to timekeeping and payroll, it’s essential to set up the system optimally from the start to support compliance and ensure the most success as your business grows. When you add in the government contract compliance piece, the “puzzle” is even further complicated.
Topics: DCAA Audit Support, Human Resources, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Service Contract Act, UKG Ready HR Software Consulting