In February 2024, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) published 26 decisions, five of which were sustained. There was also one denial of costs and one denied request for reconsideration. Below is a summary of...more
Welcome back to the Cost Corner, where we provide practical insight into the complex cost and pricing requirements that apply to Government contractors. The current topic is Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Cost...more
Welcome back to the Cost Corner, where we provide practical insight into the complex cost and pricing requirements that apply to Government Contractors. We just completed two articles on the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA)...more
Welcome back to the Cost Corner, where we provide practical insight into the complex cost and pricing compliance issues facing Government contractors. This is the second installment of a two-part article on Defense Contract...more
8/2/2023
/ Accounting ,
Audits ,
Books & Records ,
DCAA ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Planning ,
Internal Audit Functions ,
Pricing ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Reporting Requirements
It’s starting to feel like summer in Washington, DC and like most Washingtonians, the GSA and SBA are thinking about pools. So throw on some flip flops, grab a cold beverage, and let’s dive in to the 8(a) Multiple Award...more
Summer is here and we’re back with another edition of the Cost Corner, where we provide practical insight into the complex cost and pricing requirements that apply to Government contractors. We just completed a two-part...more
On April 4, 2023, the Defense Contract Management Agency’s (“DCMA”) Commercial Item Group held an industry day at Fort Lee in Virginia. The DCMA Commercial Item Group assists DOD purchasers in determining whether items...more
In a recent bid protest decision from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), the GAO clarified that, in evaluating the experience of a mentor-protégé joint venture for a small business set-aside procurement, when...more
Buying a small business government contractor may not be as simple as a standard acquisition. This is particularly true if the small business wants to continue to qualify for federal small business set-aside and sole-source...more
Effective January 1, 2023, certification of veteran-owned small businesses (“VOSBs”) and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (“SDVOSBs”) moved from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (“VA”) Center for...more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) recently released its annual Procurement Scorecard, demonstrating the federal government’s continued prioritization of small business contracting and subcontracting. In 2021, the...more
The Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) Office of Hearing and Appeals (“OHA”) rejected a small business government contractor’s 8(a) participation determination appeal as untimely, notwithstanding the contractor’s claim...more
As we head into the new year, it seems like a good time to check-in on the adjusted small business set-aside thresholds for 2022. As you may recall, the threshold are tied both to the micro-purchase threshold and the...more
Federal contractors and subcontractors across the country were forced to rethink their COVID-safety efforts when, on December 7, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia enjoined enforcement of Executive...more
12/9/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
Injunctions ,
Masks ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
Social Distancing ,
State and Local Government ,
Stays ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
On September 9, 2021, the President issued Executive Order 14042, which applies new rules – including vaccination mandates – to Federal contractors and subcontractors. EO 14042 does not include a weekly testing option and is...more
11/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Employees ,
OSHA ,
Subcontractors ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) recently released a new report finding that Army and Navy contracting officials were unaware of their oversight responsibilities regarding combating trafficking in persons....more
9/30/2021
/ Compliance ,
Construction Contracts ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
Human Trafficking ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) recently announced that, yet again, the federal government exceeded its small business contracting goal by awarding $145.7 billion dollars in federal prime contracts – 26.01% of...more
Beginning October 15, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”), implementing the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”), will begin requiring women-owned small businesses (“WOSBs”) and economically...more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) recently announced that the federal government exceeded its small business contracting goal by awarding $132.9 billion dollars in federal contracts – 26.5% of the government’s...more
On October 9, 2019, the President issued two executive orders that require agencies to formally provide official guidance before enforcing any new jurisdiction or legal standards. In other words, agencies cannot take novel...more
10/31/2019
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Fairness Standard ,
New Guidance ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Standard of Conduct ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently affirmed a May 2017 Court of Federal Claims decision requiring the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) to give veteran-owned small businesses first priority...more
On January 25, 2018, Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand issued a memorandum (the “Brand Memo”) limiting the use of agency guidance documents in affirmative civil enforcement cases. The memorandum builds on Attorney...more
On November 13, U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) published its Annual Report to Congress (B-158766, November 13, 2017), which contains the statistics for bid protests filed at GAO in FY 2017.
Here are the...more
On August 2, 2016, the Department of Defense (“DOD”) rolled out new requirements for defense contractors that provide electronic parts and assemblies containing electronic parts. The new rules impose significant risks on DOD...more
9/22/2016
/ Counterfeit Parts ,
Defense Contracts ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Electronics ,
Federal Contractors ,
Material Suppliers ,
NDAA ,
Original Source ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Subcontractors ,
Supply Chain
The Department of Defense (“DoD”) recently proposed to make specified costs allowable that are associated with discovering and correcting counterfeit or suspect counterfeit electronic parts. DoD’s proposed rule would amend...more
4/26/2016
/ Comment Period ,
Counterfeit Parts ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Electronics ,
Federal Contractors ,
NDAA ,
Notice Requirements ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Subcontractors