Government Contract Accounting - Fundamentals, Indirect Rates, Cost & Price Proposal, CAS (Updated 2020) 8 Credits 8 Credits

Compliant accounting systems that provide meaningful information require solid foundations built on principles, regulations, and industry best practices. The ten principles of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) provide basic guidance for accounting transactions in organizations of all sizes. This 8 hour CPE webinar is divided into 5 sessions and will cover Government Contract Accounting, Fundamental of Indirect Rates, Advanced Indirect Rates, Costing and Price Proposal and Cost Accounting Standards (2020).

Session 1 - Lay the Foundation of Government Contract Accounting

Accounting in Government contracting has its own unique and specialized rules, regulations, standards, problems, hurdles. Compliant accounting systems that provides meaningful information require solid foundations built on principles, regulations, and industry best practices. Government contractors are subject to a wide range of unique accounting regulations, entering into contracts for which negotiation, performance, termination, and more require following specific accounting principles and standards. And, dealing with the Federal Government can be difficult and complex. Unless a proper accounting system is in place, then a contractor can be faced with enormous difficulties, not the least of which is lost profits, lost contracts.

Major Topics Covered In Session 1 : 

• 10 principles of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
• Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)
• Cost Accounting Standards (CAS)
• This webinar includes not only general accounting concepts as they relate to government contracting, but the specifics of cost principles, cost accounting standards, accounting for claims, special accounting problems, and profit. 

Session 2 - Fundamentals of Indirect Rates

The key to contract profitability is cost recovery. Companies fail to recover costs primarily because of incorrect indirect rates resulting from the improper composition of cost pools, misaligned cost pools and bases, and mathematical errors.  Higher margins and improved profitability are a direct result of the proper calculation of indirect rates and the maximum recovery of all costs incurred. Classification of costs, the identification of correct and allowable allocation methods, and accurate mathematical formulas are critical in the proper calculation of indirect rates. This session will focus on the most common cost pools utilized by government contractors and a single rate approach to indirect rates. This webinar includes :

Major Topics Covered In Session 2 : 

• Composition of each cost pool
• Explanation of the acceptable allocation bases
• Indirect rate calculation examples
• Access to an online indirect rate calculator and downloadable tool.
• Register for this webinar to learn proper indirect rate calculations.

Session 3 - Advanced Indirect Rates

Business owners often complain about price competitiveness and profitability: a product or service is overpriced in comparison to the market and/or they’re losing money and don’t know why. Complex organizations, those with more than one product or service offering, require advanced indirect rates to align related costs with their appropriate drivers. Creating advanced indirect rates requires a significant amount of planning and implementation. In this webinar, we’ll discuss the common reasons for, and the mechanics of, creating multiple rates. This webinar will help you to gain a basic understanding of governmental accounting and financial reporting by reviewing auditing and internal controls, as well as governmental fund accounting and budgeting. 

Major Topics Covered In Session 3 : 

• Preferred rate types
• When is the de minimis 10% rate right for you
• Differing direct cost base options
• Best ways to pool indirect costs
• Seeking and negotiating a federal rate 
• How to navigate your unallowable costs.

Session 4 - Developing Your First Cost & Price Proposal

Complex FAR regulations can be overwhelming, especially when submitting cost and price proposals to the government. Contracts subject to the submission of cost or pricing data, (flexibly-priced contracts), require an acceptable basis of estimate including hours and dollars by line item, time-phased to match the project schedule, and sufficient detail to support the effort proposed. 

Major Topics Covered In Session 4 : 

• How to maximize profit?
• Ensuring regulatory compliance by preparing an adequate basis of estimate for every contract, regardless of type, when developing your cost and price proposal.
• Overview of the types of contracts impacted by these regulations.
• Review what's necessary when preparing a comprehensive cost and price proposal.

Session 5 - Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) - Updated 2020

Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) is one of the most complex, and punitive, laws for contractors to contend with, whether it be for new or established contractors of the U.S. government. These are a unique set of requirements designed to achieve uniformity and consistency in the cost accounting principles followed by defense contractors and subcontractors. CAS is only applicable to federal government contractors and subcontractors, and only to a subset of all contracts awarded. The standards require them to disclose in writing their cost accounting practices, to follow the disclosed practices consistently, and to comply with promulgated cost accounting standards.

Major Topics Covered In Session 5 : 

• CAS, how it affects your accounting system policies and procedures and
• The importance of incorporating the standards regardless if a contract is CAS-covered
• While many contracts are exempt from CAS, the standards are an excellent industry best practice to incorporate into your policies and procedures. In fact, many auditors rely on and will refer to CAS during audits, even if a contract is not CAS-covered. Because Cost Accounting Standard is complex and hard to read, let alone understand, careful attention has been paid to the substantive content and instructional technique of this course.

If you (or your clients) are a government contractor or subcontractor, this 8-hour webinar would be an excellent refresher Government Contract Accounting & Cost Accounting Standards. At the end of the webinar you will also receive a free chart of accounts designed specifically for government contractors.