Do cost accounting standards apply to a competitive procurement, i.e., the FAR clauses would not be included in the contract?

Also, if the answer to the above question is they do not apply to a competitive procurement and the clauses would not appear in the resultant contract, is the offeror required to complete and submit the certification required by FAR 52.230-1 -- Cost Accounting Standards Notices and Certification.

Here is the rule about CAS applicability, 48 CFR 9903.201-1. The rule is stated by identifying contracts to which CAS do not apply:

( The following categories of contracts and subcontracts are exempt from all CAS requirements:

(1) Sealed bid contracts.

(2) Negotiated contracts and subcontracts not in excess of $650,000. For purposes of this paragraph ((2) an order issued by one segment to another segment shall be treated as a subcontract.

(3) Contracts and subcontracts with small businesses.

(4) Contracts and subcontracts with foreign governments or their agents or instrumentalities or, insofar as the requirements of CAS other than 9904.401 and 9904.402 are concerned, any contract or subcontract awarded to a foreign concern.

(5) Contracts and subcontracts in which the price is set by law or regulation.

(6) Firm fixed-priced, fixed-priced with economic price adjustment (provided that price adjustment is not based on actual costs incurred), time-and-materials, and labor-hour contracts and subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial items.

(7) Contracts or subcontracts of less than $7.5 million, provided that, at the time of award, the business unit of the contractor or subcontractor is not currently performing any CAS-covered contracts or subcontracts valued at $7.5 million or greater.

(8)?(12) [Reserved]

(13) Subcontractors under the NATO PHM Ship program to be performed outside the United States by a foreign concern.

(14) Contracts and subcontracts to be executed and performed entirely outside the United States, its territories, and possessions.

(15) Firm-fixed-price contracts or subcontracts awarded on the basis of adequate price competition without submission of cost or pricing data.

Note that the rule does not speak in terms of "competitive procurement," but "adequate price competition," which is a special kind of competition. See FAR 15.403-1. See FAR 30.201-3 and 52.230-1 Note for the applicability of the certification

Here is the rule about CAS applicability, 48 CFR 9903.201-1. The rule is stated by identifying contracts to which CAS do not apply:

Note that the rule does not speak in terms of "competitive procurement," but "adequate price competition," which is a special kind of competition. See FAR 15.403-1. See FAR 30.201-3 and 52.230-1 Note for the applicability of the certification

Just a little update. By law, the CAS and TINA thresholds must be the same. The FAR Councils raised the TINA threshold to $700K last Fall. However, because the CAS regulations are written by the CAS Board, the FAR change for TINA did not automatically kick in for the CAS. Fortunately, the CAS Board has recently brought the CAS threshold into line with the TINA threshold so that the CAS do not apply to contracts below $700K.

Do cost accounting standards apply to a competitive procurement, i.e., the FAR clauses would not be included in the contract?

Also, if the answer to the above question is they do not apply to a competitive procurement and the clauses would not appear in the resultant contract, is the offeror required to complete and submit the certification required by FAR 52.230-1 -- Cost Accounting Standards Notices and Certification.

Researching,

Contracts are subject to CAS unless they are exempt. Vern has posted the exemptions. If the contract you are bidding on is not exempt, it is covered.

If the 230-1 Cert is in your Section K then I would expect that the Government would expect you to execute the Cert and submit it.

Hope this helps.

Do cost accounting standards apply to a competitive procurement, i.e., the FAR clauses would not be included in the contract?

Also, if the answer to the above question is they do not apply to a competitive procurement and the clauses would not appear in the resultant contract, is the offeror required to complete and submit the certification required by FAR 52.230-1 -- Cost Accounting Standards Notices and Certification.

I could use a little advice along these same lines. We are doing a source selection for non-commercial, fixed price services > than $50 Million. In the past, CAS was not included/required, but I'm thinking it might have been an oversight. Looking for a good answer one way or another. Email chain from this morning follows (mine is the response).

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Hi JT,

I was talking to ___________ and had asked her about why she did not include CAS in the current contract. She said that CAS applies more for cost type contracts and she also looked up the CFR reference. So under item (15), CAS is exempt.

Hi G,

Thanks! However, price and cost data was submitted (not "Certified" but price/cost was still a required proposal volume). Also, price/cost was evaluated as significantly less important than technical and past performance when those factors were combined. Because of this, I find it a little difficult to see how we can say the award was made on the "basis of adequate price competition." Really the award was based on a trade-off between cost and non-cost factors with price/cost being the least important of all the factors. Based on this, I think that CAS does apply to the contract. One thing that would sway me on this would be if someone could show me that the phrase "submission of Cost and pricing data" in the reference you mentioned actually refers to the old days before we switched to making a clear distinction between certified and non-certified cost and pricing data. In other words if (15) read: "Firm-fixed-price contracts or subcontracts awarded on the basis of adequate price competition without submission of CERTIFIED cost or pricing data" then CAS clearly would not apply....but "certified" is not included in the sentence. It's possible that it's implied....but I wouldn't know how to make that determination based on the information available. I guess I probably need to check the GAO website for precedent.

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Any thoughts on above thread would be appreciated!

9903.201-1 CAS applicability

Exemptions:

(15) Firm-fixed-price contracts or subcontracts awarded on the basis of adequate price competition without submission of cost or pricing data.

What is your question?

Question: Does CAS apply to an acquistion over the applicable thresholds when "cost and pricing data" is required, but not "certified cost and pricing data"?

Question: Does CAS apply to an acquistion over the applicable thresholds when "cost and pricing data" is required, but not "certified cost and pricing data"?

Hi JTSurfah,

The CAS rules were written well before the recent (2010) changes to the definition of "cost or pricing data". They have not been updated to reflect the FAR definitional changes.

Hope this helps.

Hi JTSurfah,

The CAS rules were written well before the recent (2010) changes to the definition of "cost or pricing data". They have not been updated to reflect the FAR definitional changes.

Hope this helps.

Just to add a little more to this, originally, the exception applied to firm fixed price contracts awarded on the basis of adequate price competiton without the submission of cost data. That still made some contracts that were awarded competitively without the submission of cost or pricing data subject to the CAS. The CASB later amended the exception so that FFP contracts awarded on the basis of adequate price competiton and not subject to TINA would also be exempt from the CAS.

So, even though it is an FFP contract, since we are requiring "cost data" with the proposal but not "certified cost data" CAS DOES apply. Correct?

**no other exceptions to CAS apply**

So, even though it is an FFP contract, since we are requiring "cost data" with the proposal but not "certified cost data" CAS DOES apply. Correct?

**no other exceptions to CAS apply**

No. The intent is to exempt contracts from CAS if they are exempt from TINA. In other words, if a TINA excpetion (not a waiver) applies to the submission of cost or pricing data, CAS will not apply to that contract or subcontract.

By the way, the recodification of title 41 brought the statutory language up to date as it now reads " a firm, fixed-price contract or subcontract awarded

on the basis of adequate price competition without submission of certified cost or pricing data."

So, even though it is an FFP contract, since we are requiring "cost data" with the proposal but not "certified cost data" CAS DOES apply. Correct?

**no other exceptions to CAS apply**

Hi JTSurfah,

Here are some questions for your consideration.

1. Is the contract type FFP?

2. Was adequate competition, as defined in 15.403-1©(1), achieved?

I would assert that, if the answer to question 2 is "yes," then the contractor should not have submitted "certified" cost or pricing data, per the prohibition at 15.403-1(. I would further assert that, for purposes of CAS applicability, read the phrase "cost or pricing data" as "certified cost or pricing data".

Based on the foregoing, I would say that if the answers to questions 1 and 2 are both yes, then the contract should be considered to be exempt from CAS.

Hopet this helps.

Hi JTSurfah,

Here are some questions for your consideration.

1. Is the contract type FFP?

2. Was adequate competition, as defined in 15.403-1?(1), achieved?

I would assert that, if the answer to question 2 is "yes," then the contractor should not have submitted "certified" cost or pricing data, per the prohibition at 15.403-1(. I would further assert that, for purposes of CAS applicability, read the phrase "cost or pricing data" as "certified cost or pricing data".

Based on the foregoing, I would say that if the answers to questions 1 and 2 are both yes, then the contract should be considered to be exempt from CAS.

Hopet this helps.

Thanks! The contract is FFP, but it is for non-commercial services (>50M). That rules out exception (6).

You stated: "I would further assert that, for purposes of CAS applicability, read the phrase "cost or pricing data" as "certified cost or pricing data" in reference to 9903.201-1, CAS applicability, (15) Firm-fixed-price contracts or subcontracts awarded on the basis of adequate price competition without submission of cost or pricing data.

This is exactly the determination I was hoping someone would help me make, but I'm still left wondering how you came to your conclusion. It seems to me that since I am requiring in depth cost and pricing data...just not certified cost and pricing data....that CAS might be appropriate (if not actually required). Do you have anything that speaks to reading the phrase "cost or pricing data" as "certified cost or pricing data"?

Ooops...read the posts out of order. I just got retreadfed's post: "recodification of title 41 brought the statutory language up to date."

Is it weird/appropriate to place a Wifcon thread in a contract file?

Thanks for all your help!!

Aloha...