Redstone Government Consulting Blog (21)

DoD issued a final rule on April 26, 2022, amending the FAR to support the Small Business Administration regulation of including overseas contracts in agency small business contracting goals. The final rule is effective May 26, 2022.

In the ASCBA Case 61691 Doubleshot, Inc. July 19, 2022 Decision, the Board supported what we believe is the correct reading of the records retention requirement under the FAR related to Cost-Reimbursable contracts. FAR 52.215-2, Audit and Records, requires contractors to make available until 3 years after final payment or any shorter period specified in Subpart 4.7.[1] FAR 4.705-2(b) limits the required retention period to 2 years from the end of fiscal year for pay related records (e.g., timesheet or cards).[2] So provided you submit your Incurred Cost Submission (required by FAR 52.216-7, Allowable Cost and Payment Clause) on time, you only need to maintain any of the records listed in FAR Subpart 4.7 for the time period set forth in that section of the FAR.

Intuit is constantly developing and improving QuickBooks, particularly the online version. And while it’s still not nearly as robust as some of the more complex accounting software solutions that are geared specifically toward government contractors (nor should we expect it to be with the price point difference), it will still get the job done, particularly for small to mid-size contractors that don’t have a bunch of overly complex contracts.

Did You Know that Over 60,000 Charges of Workplace Discrimination Were Filed in the Fiscal Year 2021?

When an employer receives an EEOC Charge of Discrimination, they need to take it very seriously and thoughtfully consider how to prepare a response, which is referred to as a Position Statement. Businesses of all sizes need to understand the ramifications of an EEOC Charge, and to establish policies and procedures to respond to charges and to reduce the likelihood of being charged with discrimination, harassment or retaliation. There are a variety of laws enforced by the EEOC, including:

Schedule I is the most important part of the Incurred Cost Submission and is the single area of great interest for the Government and its auditors. This VLOG will briefly explain the Incurred Cost Submission, the importance of Schedule I, and how to resolve potential issues.

DoD issued a final rule under DFARS Case 2020-D033, effective April 28, 2022, that allows Contracting Officers to rely on a contract issued under FAR Part 12 procedures to serve as a prior commercial item determination on future buys. It only makes sense, that Contracting Officers rely on prior FAR 12 contracts instead of recreating the wheel each time a contractor submits a commercial product/service and making the contractor continually support a product/service already determined commercial.

CMMC was put on hold until recently – but is rolling forward again at a high speed. DOD held a CMMC Day Conference in May 2022 stating its goal of submitting a proposed rule in July 2022 ( no proposed rule to date) and issuing two interim final rules by March 2023. If DoD is able to stay on track (which does not appear to be the case) and issue the final interim rule by March 2023, contractors could start seeing CMMC requirements in solicitations soon after.

Contractor compliance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 is back in the news. The Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting (DPC), issued a memorandum dated June 16, 2022, to the Department of Defense Departments, Subject: Contractual Remedies to Ensure Contractor Compliance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Clause 252.204-7012, for contracts and orders not subject to Clause 252.204-7020; and Additional Considerations Regarding National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-171 Department of Defense Assessments.

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Yes, they are! Did your company make it through its year-end and closing of last year’s books? If so, hooray! But is it really over for those that have Government cost-type contract billings? Not really. OK, as the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 42.704, Billing rates, allows interim payments through contract performance with the intent of making the contracting officer or contract auditor approved provisional billings rates as close as possible to the expected final indirect rates. This allows you to bill your costs throughout the year of your cost-type Government contract billings. Now that you know what the year-end indirect rates really are, there is one more thing to do: adjust the provisional indirect billing rates to actual rates in a Public Voucher (Standard Form 1034). Those year-end indirect rates should be net of any unallowable costs in FAR Part 31, Contract Cost Principles and Procedures. Sounds easy. It really should not be that difficult.