Redstone Government Consulting Blog (47)

Accounting for Bid and Proposal (B&P) Explained

Bid and Proposal is a topic that comes up with our contractor clients on a regular basis. Most questions surrounding this topic involve: whom at the contractor should be charging B&P, especially, contractor personnel that typically charge overhead or G&A. We understand why this is confusing. It is our opinion that the guidance per FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations) and CAS (Cost Accounting Standards) regarding this topic is unclear and leaves contractors scratching their heads trying to be compliant.

While the government promotes full and open competition, and competition is the preferred method of subcontracting, there are situations where the contractor uses a “sole source” or a “single source” when awarding a subcontract/Purchase Order (PO). There is a difference between a sole source and a single source award.

DCAA’s Auditing More than ICS & Proposals?

Over the last few years, we have often written on the changing landscape of contractor business system audits.  Specifically, the fact that the DCAA has invested considerable resources into the audit of incurred cost proposals and proposals for most of the past decade, which has led to an inability to routinely audit contractor business systems, conduct routine post-award (TINA) defective pricing audits and other audits that should be a routine part of doing business with the government in a flexibly-priced environment.  The change in audit focus has been apparent since the end of 2018, but we are just now starting to see the true impact of the Agency’s adaptation to an audit world without a large volume of incurred cost audits. 

Are you Ready for the July 1^st Implementation Date?

The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) goes into effect on July 1, 2020. Are you ready?

Discover the critical aspects of mergers and acquisitions, especially for government contractors, in our latest video and article. From major milestones to essential considerations, such as FAR 31.205-27 and DFARS 231.205-70 guidelines, we've got you covered. Watch now to learn more!

Unanet’s robust project management and budgeting features are primary reasons some of our clients choose Unanet as their accounting system of choice. One of our main goals during an Unanet implementation is to utilize as many of the project management features in the system as possible and train our clients on maintaining the correct information to manage their work properly. What are your project management and budgeting needs? The following options are available in Unanet:

Every month our team’s charity committee comes up with clever ideas centered around a truly important part of our organization: giving back to the community.

Previously, we discussed how a company ends up with CAS covered contracts.  This month we are going to talk about some of the further fun with CAS.  We recommended preparing a CAS Disclosure Statement soon after emerging from small business status,

FAR Subpart 2.1, Definitions, provides the meaning of two general groupings of cost not assignable directly to final cost objectives (i.e., not a direct contract cost):