Redstone Government Consulting Blog (40)

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Topic 842, Leases, in February 2016 effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. The change was “to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements.” For the past 40 years or so, operating leases were only required to be presented in the disclosure and were off-balance sheet transactions. Other than the new asset (Right to Use asset) and a related liability on the balance sheet, the impact on the income statement (a single line item for lease expense) and cash flow are unchanged, at least under GAAP. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) now requires all leases be treated similar to capital leases (Topic 842 calls these finance leases). So, under IFRS there will be more unallowable interest to properly account for on Government proposals and contracts incorporating FAR Part 31.

This article is under review as a result of EO 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, signed by President Trump on January 21, 2025. As we await further information from OFCCP and the courts, please reference this article for current status and action items.

Under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts valued at $150,000 or more are required to file an annual VETS-4212 report disclosing the number of veterans in their workforce. All contractors and subcontractors who meet the contract threshold amount are required to file a VETS-4212 report, regardless of their total number of employees. Data reported through form VETS-4212 is used by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to conduct compliance evaluations. The annual filing period for form VETS-4212 is August 1 through September 30. The 2020 filing deadline is September 30, 2020.

If your business pipeline is growing and you are issuing more subcontracts of higher values, Contractors should be aware that your organization has a duty under 48 CFR §22.805 to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

Apportioning the Costs of Buildings

The SBA and Treasury have made it clear that if you own or lease a building that you sublet to another company, the portion of the lease or mortgage expense that can be used as nonpayroll costs for PPP loan forgiveness is limited to the share of the expense applied to the business who’s PPP loan is being forgiven. The simple example is, you lease an office building for $10,000 per month and sublease part of the space to another company for $2,500 per month. Only $7,500 would be used toward your nonpayroll cost for loan forgiveness. This proration applies to utility and other shared costs of the tenants.

Watch as Jamie M. Brabston and Linda Scalf face off in this episodes Bean Boozled Challenge. Who will be delighted with the yummy original and who will be dismayed with the yucky alternative?

As we wrap up another hectic year of working with contractors to prepare, review and submit their Incurred Cost Proposals, it had us questioning…“Why do so many contractors wait until the last minute of their deadline to submit? Is there an advantage to submitting at the last minute or is submitting at the last minute actually a disadvantage?”

A Government Property Management System Analysis (PMSA) can be a contractor’s first experience with Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). This video and article explain what to expect for a Government contractor’s initial PMSA – commonly known as a Government property audit. Join Jonas Clem as he discusses the essential aspects of a contractor’s first PMSA.

On August 17, 2020; Acting Principal Director for Defense Pricing and Contracting issued two memos providing guidance in support of DFARS Class Deviation 2020-O0013 and 2020-O0021 – CARES Act Section 3610 Implementation. There is also a memo providing contracting officers with a template for a Memorandum for Record to document the file for the issuance of the Section 3610 related contract modification.

We Lifted the Vail

A few months back we submitted a request to DCAA under Freedom of Information Act. Based on the DPC guidance referencing both DCAA and DCMA as playing a key role in support of the rest of the DoD Acquisition Community, we expected DCAA would have a significant number of documents disclosing this key role. Turns out, not so much. All we got was a single document listing 13 frequently asked questions (FAQs) DCAA has been fielding from their auditors, dated July 31, 2020.