- For contractors other than educational institutions and nonprofit organizations, the “cognizant” Federal agency normally will be the agency with the largest dollar amount of contracts, including options. FAR 42.003(a).
- Normally for contractors, other than educational institutions and nonprofit organizations, the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”) is the responsible audit agency. FAR 42.101(b).
- As a general rule, contracting officers may not accept a proposal for final indirect cost rates or make agreements to establish such rates until the costs have been certified by the contractor. FAR 42.703-2(a). However, under certain circumstances and utilizing strict guidelines, the contracting officer may unilaterally establish final indirect cost rates. FAR 42.703-2(c).
- Even after the execution of a Novation Agreement with the Government, the contractor transferring its contracts to another contractor is still responsible for performance of those contracts until they are completed or terminated. Sometimes this is accomplished by a performance modification. See FAR 42.1204(i) (standard Novation Agreement, Article (b)(8)).
- As a general rule, Government stop work orders should not last more than 90 days. FAR 52.242-15.
- As a general rule, contracting officers are the only Government employees that have the authority to change the terms of a contract. FAR 43.202.
- A contractor’s ability to obtain monetary or schedule relief from a Government change order is controlled by the Changes clause in their Government contract. See FAR 52.243-1 through 52.243-5.
Litany of Sustains at the GAO
It’s rare but it does happen, that the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) sustains five separate violations of the procurement regulations in a single protest. See Deloitte Consulting, LLP; Softrams, LLC, B-421801 et al, Jan. 30, 2024. All of the violations...