Perfect Storm: Congress Extends CR, Government Shutdown Avoided
Lacking the brinkmanship that citizens have become accustom to, Congress voted to extend the continuing resolution (CR) a full 6 days before the current CR was set to expire. President Obama signed the bill over the weekend. The Government is now funded through September 30, 2013 at the levels mandated by sequestration. Congress did make several minor adjustments to the sequestration mandated cuts. For instance, funding was moved to the Department’s of Agriculture’s food inspection service and DoD’s tuition reimbursement program. Continue reading »
And Then They Were Gone…The Department of Defense Slows Payments to Contractors
In August 2012 Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP) issued Class Deviation 2012-O0014 which implemented accelerated payments to prime contractors, who were in turn, to accelerate payments to their subcontractors. On February 21, 2013, Richard Ginman, Director, DPAP, issued a letter which rescinded Class Deviation 2012-O0014. This is only the beginning of the effects of sequestration.
The payment acceleration policy was implemented to assist with the cash flow of all small-business contractors, whether they are prime contractors or subcontractors to non-small-businesses. While the policy of accelerating payments has been rescinded the DoD will continue with the policy Continue reading »
DOD ECA Digital Certificates Now Allow Access to GSA eOffer/eMod System
GSA’s eOffer/eMod application for online contract management has expanded the types of Digital Certificates accepted for system access and contract signature to include Department of Defense (DOD) External Certificate Authority (ECA) certificates. Previously only ACES Business Representative Certificates were acceptable. Digital certificates create an electronic identity that ties the certificate-holder to the company they work for. As noted on the GSA eOffer/eMod webpage: Continue reading »
Aronson Webinars – Gov Prop/Mat Mgmt Systems and GSA Schedule Compliance
Please join Aronson for two upcoming, free government contracting webinars this month:
September 19, 2012 – Are your Government Property and Material Management Systems Making the Grade? Failure to maintain acceptable government property and material management systems could spell trouble for government contractors, especially if they contract with DoD where the financial impact of an inadequate system can be severe. The new Business Systems Rule, finalized in February 2012, authorizes the Contracting Officer to withhold up to 5% of the contractor’s payments in the event a required business system is deemed to be unacceptable. Continue reading »
ACT I Expands DoD Acquisition Management with Best-in-Class FMS Support
Arlington, Virginia and Ottawa, Canada — Advanced Concepts and Technologies International, L.L.C. (ACT I) and Calian Technologies Ltd. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which ACT I has acquired Calian Technology (US) Ltd., a leading provider of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) engineering, logistics and financial management services, for an undisclosed amount. Calian Technology (US) Ltd. will join ACT I as the Calian Division, led by current Calian Technology (US) Ltd. President Patricia Donnelly, and the team will report to ACT I CEO Michael Niggel. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.
UPDATED 9.12.12! Trying to Update CCR or ORCA? Forget About It!
UPDATE 9.12.12
Per a Department of Defense memo dated 8.21.12, a Class Deviation has been granted exempting contractors and contracting officers from specific CCR and ORCA [now SAM] requirements until further notice and resolution of SAM performance issues. Click here to read the full DoD memo which provides guidance on when CCR (SAM) registration is not required, when CCR (SAM) registration will not be checked, and when an expired ORCA (SAM) record will be acceptable. Also of note, GSA has reestablished the EPLS website (www.epls.gov) to provide contracting officers the ability to ensure a prospective contractor is not actively excluded from procurement actions.
If you have tried to update your company’s CCR or ORCA information lately, you’re probably ready to pull your hair out. The problem is SAM (System for Award Management) is all hosed up. SAM intended to consolidate eight acquisition databases, including the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), the Online Representations & Certifications Application (ORCA), the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) and five others launched July 30th, then went offline for maintenance until August 6th. SAM went back up Aug. 7, but with continued slow performance and other issues.
Prodded by complaints from the Chief Acquisition Officer’s Council, on August 7th GSA issued IBM an official Notice of Concern telling the company to develop a plan of action and milestones for how they will make SAM work more smoothly
UPDATE – Federal Acquisition Regulations Updated with Cost Accounting Standards Applicability Threshold Increase
On December 30, 2011, we communicated that the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Board increased the CAS threshold from $650,000 to $700,000. On May 10, 2012, the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The rule was posted in the Federal Register on May 10, 2012. Note that this is a change from Continue reading »
DoD Contractors Perform Inherently Governmental Work
Almost everyone agrees that contractors should not be performing inherently governmental work (IGW). Disagreements about the definition of IGW aside, almost everyone also agrees that contractors are, in some cases, performing IGW. The problem is that DoD does not have a complete “inventory” of the services that have been outsourced. To rectify this, in 2008 Congress directed DoD to compile an annual inventory of services being performed by contractors. The initial government fiscal year 2009 inventory identified over 2,000 examples of contractors
Cost-Conscious Contractors Needed at DoD
As reported in the Federal Times, Austin, Texas — DoD Contractors will be asked to provide more information about costs when bidding on contracts as the Defense Department looks for more “cost-conscious” contractors, said Shay Assad, the department’s pricing policy chief.
Contracting officers are being told to analyze more thoroughly the costs companies propose and to justify the contract decisions they make, Shay Assad told about 250 federal and private-sector contract managers at the National Contract Management Association aerospace and defense conference here. Continue reading »
DoD Revises Procedures for Approving Interim Invoices
The Department of Defense (DoD) is proposing to amend the DFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement) to document the current practice of using statistical sampling to approve interim invoices. The rule clarifies that interim invoices not chosen as part of the sample to be reviewed will be considered provisionally approved for payment subject, of course to any later audit of the actual costs incurred. Continue reading »
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- A Marriage of Inconvenience: GSA Schedule Contracts & The Contractor Code of Business Ethics & Conduct Clause
- Emerging Small Businesses: To Grow Your Business, You Must Plan For Growth
- Government Contracting: Look Before You Leap!
- GSA Schedules – Strategies for Success
- New Employee vs. Independent Contractor Considerations
- Pay on Display – Understanding the Executive Compensation and Subcontractor Data Reporting Requirements & Ramifications
- The GSA Schedule: Your Ticket to the Federal Market (May 2010)
- The New FAR Codes of Conduct and Compliance Program Provisions
- The Seven Deadly Sins (of contract compliance)