By John W. Chierichella and W. Bruce Shirk
Under our system of laws, legal liability has customarily been based on certain showings, e.g., that an act or omission actually
Continue Reading Let’s Just Eliminate All Pretense Of Balance
DCAA
DCAA’s Promises Of A “New Mode of Operation” Leading To “Mutually Beneficial Relationships” Evaporate Within Less Than Three Months
By Sheppard Mullin on
Posted in DCAA
By W. Bruce Shirk and John W. Chierichella
Just three months ago, newly appointed DCAA Director Patrick Fitzgerald told contractors and acquisition agencies that his agency’s new mode of operations would aim at developing “mutually beneficial relationships” with both contractors and DOD acquisition agencies. DCAA would spring “no surprises” on contractors; it would conduct “more frequent communication with” them; DCAA would assure the provision of “responsive and timely services to agency stakeholders”; and – in a marked sea change from its traditional attitude, DCAA would abide by DOD direction that, while “the contracting officer and auditor work together… it is the contracting officer’s ultimate responsibility to determine fair and reasonable contract values.” (DCAA, Director’s Message, CODSIA Operating & Policy Committees Meeting, March 10, 2010, ppt slide 12; Memorandum, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Subject: Resolving Contract Audit Recommendations, December 4, 2009).
DCAA Implements Federal Circuit Decision Requiring Interest Compounded Daily On Adjustments For CAS Noncompliances
By Sheppard Mullin on
Albert Einstein supposedly said that “the most powerful force in the world is compound interest.” Whether or not the great man actually said that, DCAA is now prepared to show contractors just how powerful compounding can be.
…
DoD Acts To Rein In DCAA (Again)
By Sheppard Mullin on
On January 15, 2010, the Department of Defense announced plans to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (“DFARS”) to allow contracting officers to withhold payments from companies with “deficient” business systems in an effort to prevent “unallowable and unreasonable costs on government contracts.” 75 Fed. Reg. 2457. Contracting officers would have the authority to withhold payments on cost reimbursement, incentive, time-and-materials, and labor-hour contracts.
…