Redstone Government Consulting Blog | DFARS Business Systems (3)

Current and accurate timekeeping is one of the most important responsibilities of a contractor and its employees when they have Government cost reimbursement and time and material/labor hour contracts. Direct labor is one of the significant elements of cost incurred and billed on Government contracts. FAR 16.301-3(a)(3) requires contracting officers to ensure a contractor has an adequate accounting system, which includes a timekeeping system, before award of a cost reimbursable contract. While there is no specific reference to an adequate timekeeping system for T&M/Labor hour contracts, FAR 52.232-7 requires the contractor to be able to support the hours and labor qualifications of the employees charged to the contract. Auditors will request documentation to support employee qualifications and labor hours on T&M/Labor hour contracts. An adequate timekeeping system includes having a written timekeeping policy and procedure to ensure the accuracy and integrity of direct labor costs charged and billed to Government contracts.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Government Compliance Training, DFARS Business Systems, DCAA Audit Support

The FAR Council issued an interim rule, effective December 4, 2023, which implements the requirements of the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act (FASCSA). This included three new FAR clauses which prohibit the delivery or use of “covered articles” subject to a FASCSA order in the performance of a government contract.

Topics: Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DFARS Business Systems, Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR), Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Manufacturing Operations Consulting

If this were only a simple question. The most straightforward answer is that it is a good idea for any company to have policies and procedures. If that company is going to do business with the US Government those policies and procedures are going to have to be expanded as each contract may present additional requirements. To help you understand the complex level of requirements we will address the major business systems and other key areas.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DFARS Business Systems, Human Resources, Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR), Government Regulations, Government Property Management, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Material Management & Accounting System (MMAS), Estimating System Compliance

Since the Department of Justice (DOJ) started promoting its initiative on Cyber Security reporting there have been several settlements related to cyber security noncompliance, four of which involve defense contractors.

Topics: DFARS Business Systems, Cybersecurity

The FAR Council submitted a proposed rule amending FAR subparts, provisions, and clauses on October 3, 2023, to implement an Executive order on cyber threats, incident reporting, and information sharing for Federal contracts. This revision is being made to strengthen and standardize contractual requirements for cybersecurity across Federal agencies. The proposed rule also implements OMB Memorandum M-21-07 Completing the Transition to internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), dated November 19, 2020.

Topics: DFARS Business Systems, Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR), Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Cybersecurity

The FAR Council published an interim rule effective June 2, 2023, that bans TikTok on contractor and contractor employee electronic devices that are used in the performance of federal contracts.

Topics: DFARS Business Systems

If you have an upcoming Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) estimating system audit, you need to plan for it, and the sooner, the better. Don't wait until the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) begins sending you its requests for information. But how do you prepare? Perhaps a place to start is first understanding what this audit entails and knowing what DCAA may cite as common findings.

Topics: DFARS Business Systems, DCAA Audit Support, Estimating System Compliance

We have discussed recently how DoD has an increased interest in government property, especially the property that contractor’s control and maintain. RGCI has helped clients with government property issues more in the past four years than the previous ten years combined.

Topics: Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DFARS Business Systems, Government Property Management

Many things can hamper the successful implementation of a new accounting and ERP system. Although our team specializes in Deltek Costpoint implementations, we believe the following six mistakes can create significant pitfalls for the implementation of any system.

Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, DFARS Business Systems, Deltek Costpoint

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 and 2023 permanently authorized the Department of Defense (DoD) “to acquire innovative commercial products and commercial services through a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a general solicitation, known as a commercial solutions opening (CSO).” On August 17, 2023, the final rule was published in the Federal Register under DFARS Case 2022-D005 changing several parts of the DFARS – with most of the changes within DFARS part 212.

Topics: Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DFARS Business Systems, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)