Section 820 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (“NDAA”) establishes a new Defense Cost Accounting Standards Board (“D-CASB”) to oversee the application of the Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) to defense contracts. The amendments made by Section 820 shall take effect on October 1, 2018.
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DCAA
OIG Investigations (Without Subpoena Bells and Whistles) Coming to a Program Near You
By Scott Roybal & Joseph Barton on
The Inspector General Act of 1978 aimed to “consolidate existing auditing and investigative resources to more effectively combat fraud, abuse, waste and mismanagement in the programs and operations of [the executive branch].” To fulfill this mandate, the Act created the Offices of Inspector General (“OIG”) in various executive departments and agencies, including the Department of Defense (“DOD”), and authorized them to conduct and supervise audits and investigations to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse. The DOD OIG’s primary investigative weapon has been the subpoena. More recently, however, the DOD OIG has subtly expanded its investigative arsenal by calling upon the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”) to step up its fraud inquiries and by conducting more “Quality Assessments” and “Audits” without sounding the warning shot of the subpoena.
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What Does 2013 Have In Store for Government Contractors and Their Lawyers?
By Sheppard Mullin on
Posted in Bid Protest, Compliance Programs, Data Rights, DCAA, Ethics, FCA, Mergers and Acquisitions, Software, Technical Data
By Louis Victorino and Jonathan Aronie (originally published in the San Diego Business Journal)
It has been noted, the more things change, the more they stay the same. In the world of Government Contracts Law, however, the more things change, the more the phone rings. And while we’re only a few weeks into 2013, the phone has been ringing off the hook. Here are a few of the reasons why.…
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Smash & Grab Redux – Congress Seems to Give DCAA Permission But Forgets to Give It Authority
By Sheppard Mullin on
Last month we wrote about a provision in the proposed 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) that would have given the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”) statutory authority to demand a company’s internal audit reports in order to audit the efficacy of a company’s internal business systems. Surprisingly, the authorization, as originally proposed, was modified in the final legislation. While Congress directed DCAA to issue new guidance regarding auditor access to internal audit reports, Congress stopped short of giving DCAA actual authority to demand such reports. As such, contractors will remain at loggerheads with DCAA auditors who try to exceed their statutory authority.…
Smash & Grab – DCAA Poised to Gain Access to Contractor Internal Audit Reports
By Sheppard Mullin on
The Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”) has long sought access to contractors’ internal audit reports in connection with the routine audit of contractors’ business systems. Contractors have, in most cases, successfully resisted requests for such access on the grounds that DCAA has no statutory authority to request such documents. But that may soon change. Section 843 of the Senate version of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3254) would grant DCAA broad access to contractor internal audit information.…
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Final Rule for IR&D Reports Fails to Address Most Serious Questions
By David S. Gallacher and Kerry O’Neill
Last April, we wrote about proposed changes to Department of Defense ("DoD") reporting requirements for independent research and development ("IR&D"), raising concerns about how the proposed change would tie recoverability of IR&D costs to new reporting and disclosure requirements. Recently, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement ("DFARS") 231.205-18(c) was finalized, with changes. See 77 Fed. Reg. 4632 (Jan. 30, 2012). This final rule is a mixed bag that got some things right, but also leaves some of the most serious issues unresolved.…
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The Times They Are A Changin’ – Independent Research and Development May Not Be So “Independent” Any More
Those familiar with Government contracting know at least a little bit about the elusive and fickle regulatory requirements for Independent Research and Development (“IR&D” or “IRAD”) costs. IR&D is a means by which the U.S. Government supports a Contractor’s independent R&D efforts. By reimbursing a Contractor’s independent R&D costs, the Government long has hoped to advance the state of the art without stifling a contractor’s innovation under the weight of a federal bureaucracy, while simultaneously banking on the fact that the U.S. Government also will benefit from the technology advancements. But two recent developments may change the essential nature of IR&D, making it less “independent” and more “dependent” on Government rights and oversight. To quote Bob Dylan – “the times they are a changin’.”
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DCMA Updates Forward Pricing Rate Recommendation Policy
By Sheppard Mullin on
By John W. Chierichella and Ryan E. Roberts
On January 11, 2011, Ronald Youngs, Acting Executive Director, Contracts, Defense Contract Management Agency (“DCMA”), issued Information Memorandum No. 11-108 regarding Forward Pricing Rate Recommendations (“FPRR”). This memorandum implemented a mandate included in the September 14, 2010 memorandum of Ashton B. Carter, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics, entitled “Better Buying Power: Guidance for Obtaining Greater Efficiency and Productivity in Defense Spending.” In an attempt to reduce the overlap between DCMA and the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”), Mr. Carter directed that “where DCAA has completed an audit of a particular contractor’s [Forward Pricing Rate Proposal (“FPRP”)], DCMA shall adopt the DCAA recommended rates as the Department’s position regarding those rates.”
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Rush To Judgment – FAR Councils Propose Daily Compounding Of Interest For TINA Violations
By Sheppard Mullin on
By: John W. Chierichella and W. Bruce Shirk
We previously noted DCAA’s hasty implementation of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s (“CAFC’s”) decision in Gates v. Raytheon Co., 584 F.3d 1062 (Fed. Cir. 2009), requiring daily compounding of interest on adjustments made to rectify Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) noncompliances. DCAA Implements Federal Circuit Decision Requiring Interest Compounded Daily on Adjustments for CAS Noncompliances (June 14, 2010). We say “hasty” because – while noting that its holding was required by Canadian Fur Trappers v. United States, 884 F.2d 563 (Fed. Cir. 1989) – the panel expressed reservations regarding that decision’s validity, commenting that appellee’s (Raytheon’s) arguments “may support the proposition that Canadian Fur Trappers was erroneously decided.” Not surprisingly, Raytheon accepted this implicit invitation to petition for rehearing en banc, and that petition is currently pending. Nonetheless, the FAR Councils are now rushing to mimic DCAA by proposing in equally hasty fashion to extend the holding to overpayments under the Truth in Negotiations Act (“TINA”). 75 Fed. Reg. 57719-57721 (Sept. 22, 2010).
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Let’s Just Eliminate All Pretense Of Balance
By Sheppard Mullin on
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…
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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).