Last year, we wrote about the Department of Defense (DoD) proposing a change to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) that would possibly simplify Government property clauses by consolidating four clauses into a single management clause. This became a reality in December 2023 when the DoD issued a final rule consolidating the four clauses into DFARS 252.245-7005, Management and Reporting of Government Property. The new clause had an effective date of January 22, 2024.
Topics: DFARS Business Systems, DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Government Property Management, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
On January 10, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its highly anticipated “final rule” on independent contractor classifications.[1] As expected, they adopted the “totality of the circumstances” test which means that many more workers will be found to be w-2 employees as opposed to 1099 independent contractors. This rule takes effect on March 11, 2024, and is anticipated to have a significant impact across many industries that rely on contract workers, including government contractors. Under the new rule, many independent contractors will likely be reclassified as employees, which will financially impact employers by way of potential entitlement to company benefits, additional tax implications, and possible exposure to employment-based lawsuits, etc. Furthermore, if a worker is misclassified as an independent contractor but is later determined to be your employee, there is an additional risk of back wages that could be assessed for unpaid overtime, particularly in light of the changes DOL has in store regarding the salary basis for exempt employees. Those proposed changes will be discussed at the end of this article.
Topics: Small Business Compliance, Human Resources, Government Regulations
If you have Government contracts, you probably heard of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, or FAR, but how much do you know of its parts? Why is it important to know? How could it possibly impact me?
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
Our friendly DCAA auditors have taken up the government requirement to calculate and publish annually the new compensation cap as provided for in Section 702 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (BBA; Pub. L. 113-67), dated December 26, 2013. The 2024 cap amount is $646,000. Below, we have provided the compensation caps going back to 2016.
Topics: Employee & Contractor Compensation, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
How does the Government define construction? We need to consider some of the definitions in FAR part 2:
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Proposal Cost Volume Development & Pricing, Government Regulations, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Commercial Item Determination, Federal Construction Contracting
So, you have a contract with the clause FAR 52.230-2 Cost Accounting Standards, subject to full CAS coverage. If you receive allocations from a home office, the home office must comply with CAS 403, Allocation of home office expenses to segments. A home office has the responsibility for directing or managing two or more segments of an organization and includes intermediate home offices or a corporate office.
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Proposal Cost Volume Development & Pricing, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS)
Contractors need to understand the laws for applying state sales and use taxes to purchased goods and services on government contracts. It can be a costly mistake that eats away at your profit.
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Incurred Cost Proposal Submission (ICP/ICE), Small Business Compliance, Contracts & Subcontracts Administration, DFARS Business Systems, Government Regulations, Government Property Management, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
Do you have employees in Alabama? There are some changes to the overtime rules you need to be aware of for employers in Alabama.
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Government Regulations, Deltek Costpoint
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
Mandatory Annual Audit Requirements (MAARs) 6 (labor) and 13 (material purchases) are two of DCAA’s mandatory annual audit requirements performed for incurred cost audits. These MAARs, established decades ago, have customarily been performed on a “real-time” basis within the year in which the costs were incurred. However, DCAA has recently revised their audit guidance in a Memorandum for Regional Directors (MRD) titled “Revised Procedures for Real-Time Audits of Labor and Purchase Existence and Consumption.”
Topics: Compliant Accounting Infrastructure, Small Business Compliance, Government Compliance Training, DCAA Audit Support, Government Regulations