Wishing You a Joyous Holiday Season

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Topics: Redstone GCI

Elusive Answer: Contracting Officer Actions to Disposition DCAA Audits

It seems like there are a lot of agencies being audited on what they are doing with DCAA audit findings. In September, the DoD-IG announced an audit of 26 contracts issued from FY 2014-2017 by Navy, DLA, Army and Air Force contracting officers. It’s stated objective is “to determine whether contracting officer actions during contract negotiations complied with acquisition regulations when contractor proposals were deemed inadequate by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA).”  At the same time, they announced an audit of DCMA with an audit objective “to determine the appropriateness of contracting officer actions to resolve and disposition compensation costs that the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) has questioned in audits of DoD contractor incurred cost claims submitted to the Government.

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Topics: Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DCAA Audit Support

Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) for Government Contractors

Organizational Conflicts of interest have increasingly gained attention from the Government and Government contractors.  Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) are discussed in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 9.5.  OCI rules are meant to prevent conflicting roles or unfair competitive advantage in government contracting.  Assessment of OCI is very fact specific, and mitigations should be sculpted to fit your contracts and situation. 

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Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration

Why Thanksgiving 2017 is More Meaningful Than Ever

Every year I write a Thanksgiving blog, reflecting on the growth of our firm, how awesome our employees and customers are, and the privilege we have every day to be able to serve and truly make a difference in the lives of our clients. As founder and CEO, I have been solely focused and driven to meet our targets, budgets, goals and have worked as hard as ever. 

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Topics: Redstone GCI

Employee Stock Ownership Plans, Cost Allowability and DCAA Audit Risks (Part II)

We have received a number of inquiries from clients related to cost allowability for Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). In this Part II, we focus on the cost allowability rules and regulations for government contractors (Part I provided a more general description of ESOPs).

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Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Employee & Contractor Compensation, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) and Government Contracting (Part I)

Updated May 19, 2025

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Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Employee & Contractor Compensation, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Seminar, Government Employees and Gratuities

As we (Redstone Government Consulting, Inc.) began to plan our September 21, 2017 Redstone Edge, we sought out speakers and potential attendees from government agencies, including those from DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency) and DCMA (Defense Contract Management Agency). In both cases, their potential speakers had a list of questions which seemed to be unnecessary, but related to OGE (Office of Government Ethics) regulations and interpretations, to identify and otherwise prohibit anything which might be an illegal (or at least unethical) gratuity. Although we might not be a “government contractor”, for those who are, there is another regulation in play; FAR 52.203-3 prohibits government contractors from offering gratuities to government employees.

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Topics: Redstone GCI, Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Proposal Cost Volume Development & Pricing, Small Business Compliance, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DCAA Audit Support

Training Costs on Government Contracts

Companies that incur significant costs for training and education of their workforce should have formal policies and procedures in place to ensure reimbursement on their government contracts and subcontracts.  As with all types of costs, there are three major components to consider: allowability, allocability and reasonableness.

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Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DCAA Audit Support, Human Resources

Possible Recoveries from a WD (Wage Determination) Increase/Decrease

Wage Determination Fact Finding

In ASBCA Case No. 61040, 61101, Sonoran Technology appeals their claim for an equitable adjustment due to an increase in the Service Contract Act Wage Determination after contract award.  The solicitation that controlled this contract award included a SCA wage determination and a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The bidders were required to use the current SCA wage determination (at the time of the bid) in the formulation of their proposals submitted to the Government.  For future increases in SCA wages and/or benefits, the FAR and the contract have provisions/clauses which cover a contract price change for a wage determination for a multi-year contract.  The issue here whether a new wage determination, incorporated into the contract, prompted a responsibility for the government to adjust the contract price to compensate Sonoran for a corollary increase in its state gross receipts taxes.

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Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DCAA Audit Support, Human Resources

What to Expect from a DCAA Floor Check

The objectives of a timekeeping system are to ensure that labor costs are accurately and timely identified as either direct or indirect in the accounting system.  For certain contract types (e.g. cost-type), these accumulated labor costs are reported and billed to the customer.  It is the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that the labor costs posted in the timekeeping system are proper and reliable. 

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Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, Government Compliance Training, DCAA Audit Support, Human Resources