Working Capital & Liabilities

Working capital is the difference between a company’s current assets and its current liabilities.  Current assets include cash, inventory, receivables, and other assets which are expected to be turned into cash within one (1) year. Current liabilities include accounts payable, loans…

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Indirect Costs and Billing Rates

Indirect Costs and Billing Rates For government contractors there is a considerable amount of emphasis on indirect costs. The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) provides the parameters for grouping these costs. Per FAR 31.203(c), “logical cost groupings” are for indirect costs….

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FAR Compliance in QB

How to Maintain FAR Compliance in QB One of the areas of concern to government contractors is meeting the requirements for bookkeeping under Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). While the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) does NOT approve or recommend any…

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FAR: Government Contracting Mystery

Government Contracting Mystery The world of government contracting is often a mystery for those looking in from the civilian world. Many wonder what DCAA and FAR are. To clear up some of the mystery, here are answers to some common…

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Are Software Costs Expensed or Capitalized?

Should Internally Developed Software Costs be Expensed or Capitalized? This appears to be a simple question, however, the answer is more complicated than one would expect.  There are many factors that affect how internally developed software costs should be treated. …

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Preaward Survey Failures– Part 2

Top 5 failures in a Preaward Survey Part 2 of 2-part series In part 1 of this series, we identified the top 5 epic fails of the preaward survey as involving the labor distribution, policies and procedures, generally accepted accounting…

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Incurred Cost Submission

Common Problems for the Incurred Cost Submission Besides of failing to submit an incurred cost submission (ICS) when required by the contract (“Who needs an Incurred Cost Submission?”), some of the most common ICS problems are found within the recording…

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Preaward Survey Failures– Part 1

Top 5 failures in a Preaward Survey Part 1 of 2-part series The preaward accounting system survey or audit (better known as preaward survey) is an evaluation on the prospective contractor’s accounting system.  It is documented on SF 1408.  This evaluation…

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Unallowable Cost Events

Unallowable Cost Events Unallowable events can seem harmless enough, but are they really? What is the real impact of unallowable events for government contractors?  Before delving into the impact, let’s take a quick review of what is meant by the…

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Overhead versus G&A Indirect Costs

Overhead versus G&A Indirect Costs Is there an important difference between a general and administrative (G&A) expense and an overhead (OH) expense?  Do these indirect costs really matter?  The answer is yes if you want to remain a government contractor…

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