Redstone Government Consulting Blog (6)

Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, has left many unsure as to what you can, cannot, should, or should not do. You are not alone! There are many unanswered questions, so we do not and could not claim to have all the answers, but we do have some thoughts and suggestions to consider at this stage.

Topics: Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, Human Resources, Government Regulations, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

It may be an understatement to say defense contractors are currently living in changing times. Change has happened in our government administration resulting in some changes in priorities in federal government programs. This can translate into federal government contracts being changed, suspended, stopped, or even terminated. Although contract terminations seem complex, you can navigate through the complexities by reading and understanding your contract clauses, the acquisition rules, working with your contracting officer, and knowing your cost reporting system and how it can comply with contracting regulations.

Topics: Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), REAs, Claims & Terminations

Managing HR functions while ensuring compliance can be challenging, especially during busy times of the year. Between tracking accruals, managing time records, verifying new hire documentation, and ensuring HR systems function correctly, small inefficiencies can quickly add up. Addressing these issues early allows organizations to maintain accurate records, generate reliable reports, and streamline compliance processes, reducing stress during critical reporting periods.

Topics: DCAA Audit Support, Human Resources, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Service Contract Act, UKG Ready HR Software Consulting

On April 24, 2024, the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania issued a decision on the Defendant’s request to dismiss a False Claims Act brought by a relator alleging violations and retaliation by Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation (Foundation), University of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital under the False Claims Act. The decision identified the areas of the False Claims Act that pertained to the case as follows:

• Knowingly present, or cause to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval
• Knowingly make, use, or cause to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim
• Conspire to commit a violation
• Knowingly make, use, or cause to be made or used, a false record or statement material to an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the Government, or knowingly conceal or decrease an obligation to pay or transmit money.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Litigation Consulting Support, Government Regulations

How much do you know about DCAA and its oversight of your incurred cost proposals (ICP) and indirect cost rates? Would it help to understand what is done and why? Knowing what initiates a DCAA audit of an incurred cost proposal and maintaining a good system of internal controls can potentially keep you from audit.

Topics: Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Job costing involves tracking all expenses related to a specific job or project, including materials, labor, subcontractors, travel, and various other costs. For government contractors, this is especially crucial. In the context of payroll, job costing means taking each labor dollar and accurately allocating it to the appropriate cost pool and project. So, theoretically, all you need to do is set up a few projects, establish a DCAA-compliant chart of accounts, ensure you're following FAR Part 31 cost principles, and you’re ready to go, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), Small Business Compliance, Quickbooks, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

The now infamous NIH Guidance (NOT-OD-25-068) and Executive Order 14222 started us thinking. Is the Department of Defense (DoD) possibly the next domino to fall? After all, the DoD has a very large contract spend of $431.4 billion based on the Defense Spending by State, FY 2023 — Executive Summary. We looked to see if we could find data on how much of that spend is going to indirect costs (i.e., overhead). Surprisingly, the only data we could find is very dated. The data comes from the DoD Indirect-Cost Management Guide from October 2001 posted on the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) website. The guide states, “estimates made by the Defense Contract Management Command (DCMA), in conjunction with discussions with defense contractor top management on their DCMA Overhead Initiative, indicate[s] that indirect costs constitute approximately $90 billion of the $170 billion total DoD work in process at all defense contractor[s].” While not clear, our assumption is that this represents the 2000 or 2001 timeframe. Based on this, DoD is spending 53% of its appropriated funding on indirect costs. This means the average defense contractor has an approximate 100% indirect cost rate, covering overhead and general & administrative (G&A) costs. Based on recent experiences with our clients, we believe this is still a reasonable estimate of indirect cost on DoD contracts, if not a little higher.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Proposal Cost Volume Development & Pricing, DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Costpoint Business Intelligence (BI) is a powerful reporting tool for extracting, analyzing, and formatting your data. Built on IBM’s Cognos Analytics with Watson platform, Cognos BI can be used to develop reports and dashboards, prepare visual data presentations, and explore the underlying data in your Costpoint system.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, DCAA Audit Support, Deltek Costpoint

Did you know that Unanet can be configured to help manage your Service Contract Act (SCA) contracts? With the correct setup, Unanet offers features that support compliance with SCA requirements—helping ensure accurate wage calculations and benefit allocations.

Here’s a quick overview of implementing SCA functionality in Unanet to make sure you’re getting it right from the start.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, DCAA Audit Support, Human Resources, Unanet, Government Regulations, Service Contract Act

If you only have FAR-based contracts, you only have one set of regulations to follow – Federal Acquisition Regulations. But what happens if you have both FAR-based contracts and grants? Grants are covered under a whole different set of requirements in 2 CFR 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. Let’s walk through some of the differences.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Grants & Cooperative Agreements (2 CFR 200)