-
Posts
3,125 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Events
Store
Breaking News
Everything posted by here_2_help
-
Your CO is unreasonable but what can you do? Nothing. Just keep following your procedures, trying to do the "right thing". Document your CO's direction. Then move on. Yes, this situation is pretty much exactly what contractors complain about: COs who are so risk-averse they reject consent over $4.00, causing the contractor to spend hundreds more dollars redoing the package. Or COs who claim victory when they save the taxpayers $4.00 while causing hundreds of dollars of extra spend. So what? The game is rigged against you but you have still chosen to play. Keep on playing, especially if your product or service helps the country in a significant way.
-
1. Maybe not. If the prime contract does not include 52.216-7 then there is nothing to flow down. If the subcontractor doesn't have any other government contracts that require submission of final billing rates, then I would argue it doesn't have to do so. 2. The requirements of 52.216-7 apply to the "M" part of the T&M contract; it does not apply to the "T" part, which remains fixed-price per labor hour. 3. If you have a FFP prime contract then subcontractor adjustments, if any, are absorbed by the prime. Credits are not passed on to the government, absent an allegation of defective pricing or fraud. 4. The prime is obligated to flow down all applicable clauses in its prime contract. Nothing more. Hope this helps.
-
Forcing one party to accept a contract seems an awful lot like unilateral formation to me. But I'm admittedly not an attorney
- 39 replies
-
- dpas rating
- dpas
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
That's interesting. I didn't realize that a contract could be formed unilaterally. Back to the OP, I noticed 15 CFR 700.75, which states: That would seem to be the appropriate course of action here.
- 39 replies
-
- dpas rating
- dpas
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
The contractor had a choice whether to accept the DX-rated subcontract, correct? It could have refused, arguing that it lacked capacity to meet the schedule. It chose to accept. The rest, it seems, is on the contractor.
- 39 replies
-
- dpas rating
- dpas
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Amazing news! How can we help?
-
As the CO, you would seem to have discretion.
-
Support for Legal Costs?
here_2_help replied to Gold and Marooned's topic in Contract Pricing Including CAS & Allowable Costs
In my experience, lawyers think most everything is privileged. Ask them to re-review their redactions to minimize what has to be protected while maximizing what can be provided. You have $$ riding in this. -
What clauses are in your subcontract? Do you see 52.216-7 ("Allowable Cost and Payment") or equivalent? What billing instructions are in your subcontract? Assuming your subcontracts are already awarded, what relevant clauses, if any, did you put in them? Did you award cost-type subcontracts? What billing instructions did you give your suppliers? It's hard to give advice without more specifics.
-
DD - Form 250 - Final Invoice question
here_2_help replied to 504CPA's topic in Contract Administration
Do you have contractual correspondence where the government has asserted deficiencies and associated payment withholds? If not, how do you know you will have any? If yes, can't you use the correspondence as the basis for your at-completion analysis? -
Vern gave you a great reference. Others I have read include: Contracting with the Federal Government (Worthington/Goldsman) and Pricing and Cost Accounting: A Handbook for Government Contractors (Oyer). Both are unfortunately out of print but may be available for purchase online if you look hard enough. The absolute classic, Treuger's Accounting Guide for Government Contractors, ended publication after four decades with the 10th Edition. Still highly relevant in terms of strategy, though things have changed a bit since 1991.
-
Sad news, indeed. Bob made a deep impression on me. I will be ever grateful for the site he created and maintained.
-
Thanks Vern. What Jamaal said
-
Okay. Perhaps you're speaking broadly. But my reading of 2 CFR 200 tells me that the FAR Part 31 cost principles definitely do apply. A price that is not reasonable is not allowable. I see nothing objectionable about searching the FAR and DFARS for available techniques for determining price reasonableness. I would assert that if a technique is acceptable for a DoD contracting officer to use, that same technique ought to be acceptable for a contractor's buyer to use. In any case, GovKor asked for suggestions and I provided some. If none of my suggestions work then ... shrug. I've done what I can do. Perhaps someone else has better ideas.
-
Emphasis added to the above. With respect to price analysis, there are several available techniques that may be used before one needs to use cost analysis. Only one technique requires competition. In summary, if you want to avoid cost analysis but don't have competition, the regulations say you may be able to do so. The onus is on you to choose the right technique to show why the proposed subrecipient price is fair & reasonable. One way may be to have the subrecipient show prices paid by other entities for the same or similar services. I realize that this is all proposal evaluation 101; but in my experience some people forget that competition and comparison of proposed prices is not the only price analysis technique available. Hope this helps.
-
I'm interested in the bolded words, above. What is a "defect in the services"? (I think Vern may have been thinking a similar question.) How is a "defect" defined or measured? In my consulting relationships, the quality of service to be provided is defined in the agreements. Often, a reference is made to the AICPA consulting standards. Even more often, I agree to provide services "with due care and in conformity with a reasonable level of care generally associated with professionals in our business." (Vague, I know. But that's what my attorney recommended and it seems to be working so far.) Unless "a defect in the Services" is defined, I don't see how a reasonable person would accept the agreement as drafted. EDITED TO ADD: I always limit damages to fees paid or, less frequently, to a multiple of fees paid. Accepting the possibility of damages without limit seems ... reckless.
-
Are you sure your dates are correct because Feb 2024 is well within the Period of Performance you specified (29 Sept 2023 to 29 Sept 2024). Second, it's nearly impossible for anyone here to assist you without access to the contract and all the facts. In my opinion, you should hire an experienced government contracts attorney.
-
Incentivize Timely Proposal Submission
here_2_help replied to CDEBGA's topic in Contract Award Process
I don't have any of the facts but I wonder whether there is a subcontractor who is difficult for the prime to deal with. Perhaps a subcontractor who is being asked to submit certified cost or pricing data but is not well-versed in TINA requirements and compliance? Shrug. Just a wild guess. Most every contractor I work with takes great pride in submitting solid proposals on time without needing to ask for extensions. But then again, those contractors have robust and adequate estimating systems. -
Two. With some thought, you can follow what's going on. But you need to look at what's there and THINK about what the CO is trying to do. For most small businesses, they won't have the time and/or will be overwhelmed. Either they'll submit an offer without being certain what they are bidding on, or else they will pass.