Surviving a DCAA. Audit. Nicole Mitchell, CPA Director Aronson LLC. March 29, 2011

Transcription

1 Surviving a DCAA Incurred Cost Submission Audit Nicole Mitchell, CPA Director Aronson LLC March 29, All Rights Reserved 805 King Farm Boulevard Suite 300 Rockville, Maryland P F

2 About Aronson LLC Founded in Professionals located in Rockville, MD One of the largest CPA firms in the DC Metro Area 60 multi disciplined i li d Professionals ddi dedicated tdto supporting Government Contractors Audit, Assurance & Tax Deltek Systems and Outsourcing Financial and Contract Compliance GSA schedules News and Trends for Today s Savvy Government Contractor 2

3 Nicole Mitchell, CPA Director Nicole M. Mitchell serves as a Director in the Government Contract Services Group. She specializes in accounting and financial issues impacting government contractors. She hasaa broadbased based background in generally accepted accounting principles and cost principles related to government contractors including the Federal Acquisition Regulations and Cost Accounting Standards. Nicole is a frequent guest speaker on various financial and government contracting topics for such organizations as the AICPA, MACPA, Deltek Insight Conference, Howard County Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, National Contract Management Association, as well as a featured speaker for Aronson LLC. She co authored a Thompson RIA reference manual for controllers Doing Business with the Federal Government. She received a Bachelor of Science majoring in accounting from Frostburg State University and a Masters in Business Administration from Mount Saint Mary s College. She received an award from the state of Maryland for one of the highest scores on the CPA exam. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Maryland. 3

4 Agenda Background Requirements Resources to prepare an Incurred Cost Submission Recommendations for surviving a DCAA audit Ramifications of non compliance with requirement Rally to the finish line close out out 4

5 Background Thebacklog of incurred cost audits has quadrupled over the last ten years The amount of cost reimbursable contracts awarded government wide in FY 2010 was approximately $162 billion DCAA and DCMA recently realigned work to reduce overlap DCAA has an additional 500 auditors on staff, a 14% increase in workforce in the last two years 5

6 Background Patrick Fitzgerald met with the Government Affairs Subcommittee on Contract Oversight on February 1, 2011 the message was clear the backlog of incurred cost audits is center stage for the subcommittee, however DCAA still has several other audits taking priority. Pre award proposal audits Business System Reviews and follow up Incurred cost DCAA released an update to the CAM on February 24, 2011 updating the audit guidelines for Incurred Cost Submission. 6

7 Background Pressure to clear audit backlog + Pressure to conduct quality audits + Pressure to avoid overlap of work + Pressure to train new staff = A new audit environment New Governance New Risk Assessments New expectations New Work plans New Timeline 7

8 Requirements In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations the contracting officer shall insert the clause: , Allowable Cost and Payment, in solicitations and contracts when a costreimbursement contract or a time and materials contract (other than a contract for a commercial item) is contemplated. 8

9 Requirements Final indirect cost rates shall be established in accordance with Subpart 42.7 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). An indirect cost rate proposal is REQUIRED for the determination of a final indirect cost rate 9

10 Requirements The Contractor shall submit an adequate final indirect cost rate proposal to the Contracting ti Officer (or cognizant tfederal agency official) and auditor within the 6 month period following the expiration of each of its fiscal years. Reasonable extensions, for exceptional circumstances only, may be requested in writing by the Contractor and granted in writing by the Contracting ti Officer. 10

11 Resources DCAA resources Publications Incurred Cost Electronically Contract Audit Manual Chapter 6 Incurred Cost Audit Procedures (updated March 2011) Information for Contractors Chapter 6 (updated January 2005) FAR Cost Principles Guide (updated April 2010) 11

12 Resources DCAA resources StandardAudit Work programs Activity Code Non Major (updated August 2010) Activity Code Major (updated November 2010) Cost of Money Rate Located in links to other sites 12

13 DCAA resources Resources Standard Audit Work programs Activity Code Non Major (updated August 2010) Labor Audit Steps Verify claimed total labor costs have been incurred and paid by testing the contractor s reconciliation of IRS Form 941 payroll totals with totals in related labor cost distribution records. Based on the results of the risk ikassessment, select a sample of labor transactions for testing. If a floor check has not been performed during the year(s) under audit and labor is considered significant, transaction testing of labor should be performed. If the submission includes significant T&M or Labor Hour contracts, based on the risk assessment, select a sample of contracts and test to determine if the claimed hours, rates, and employee qualifications comply with the contract provisions. 13

14 Recommendations The goals of the recommendations Ease the audit process by being well prepared Identify and remediate risk areas prior to audit Reduce audit time needed 14

15 Recommendations Save supporting data Organizational Data Financial Data Contract Data Execute a certificate of indirect costs Review common pitfalls and questioned costs prior to audit 15

16 Recommendations Have support data available and accessible. The audit of the incurred cost submission will likely occur at a later date (often much later). The individual who prepared the submission or support data may not be accessible or even working for your organization 16

17 Recommendations Audit Guidance on Denial of Access to Records due to contractor dl delays (December 2008) documentation ti supporting the contractor s t assertion (e.g., the contractor s t proposal or other submission) should be readily available. Therefore, unless the request requires analysis by the contractor or there are extenuating circumstances (e.g., the request is for a voluminous amount of data or for data stored at an off site location), the contractor should provide the documentation upon request. Costs that the auditor is not able to evaluate due to denial of access to records/data should be questioned in the audit report. 17

18 Recommendations Save the following organizational documents in a folder with ihthe incurred cost submission i so that the items are readily available for audit. Organizational Chart Policy for Segregation of Unallowable costs Direct versus indirect cost Bonus Policy Labor & Timekeeping Policy Travel Policy Board of Director Meeting Minutes Description of the Accounting System Leases 18

19 Recommendations Save the following financial documents in a folder with the incurred cost submission so that the items are readily available for audit. Back up of the general ledger in excel format Reconciliation of the total costs claimed on the submission to cost in the general ledger proof of mathematical accuracy Reconciliation of the total labor to the payroll records (IRS form 941 if applicable) dollar value and hours Tax Returns Federal, State(s) and Benefit Plan filing form 5500 Financial Statements Support for Executive Compensation reasonableness List of all Journal Entries List of all Labor Reclassifications and Journal Entries, BE SURE YOU HAVE ADEQUATE SUPPORT SAVED AS WELL 19

20 Recommendations Save the following contract documents in a folder with ihthe incurred cost submission i so that the items are readily available for audit. List of contract cost ceilings Contract Briefs Should always be available and updated regularly, follow the key items listed on the Schedule S as a sample of the items that should be included on the contract briefs Booked to billed Analysis 20

21 Recommendations Execute a Certificate of Indirect Cost at the time the submission is filed AKA Schedule N Certificate of Final Indirect Costs This is to certify that I have reviewed this proposal to establish final indirect cost rates and to the best of my knowledge and belief: 1. All costs included in this proposal (identify proposal and date) to establish final indirect cost rates for (identify period covered by rate) are allowable in accordance with the cost principles of the Federal Acquisition iti Regulation (FAR) and its supplements applicable to the contracts t to which the final indirect cost rates will apply; and 2. This proposal does not include any costs which are expressly unallowable under applicable cost principles of the FAR or its supplements. Firm: Signature: Name of Certifying Official: Title: Date ofexecution: 21

22 Common pitfalls to avoid Recommendations Lack of adequate documentation to support cost Lack of description of work provided by subcontractors Reclassification of time without proper support Out of period costs claimed Common questioned costs Business Meetings Employee Moral Executive Compensation Bonuses Credit Card Expenses Marketing Costs 22

23 Recommendations At the beginning of the Incurred Cost Audit Request a walkthrough of the Audit to be conducted Establish guidelines for information transfers and requests Set realistic timelines for the fieldwork and conclusion of the audit Monitor the progress of the audit 23

24 Ramifications of non-compliance Failure to provide an incurred cost submission Disqualify your organization from direct billing Compromise the status of your accounting system Failure to provide an incurred cost submission will result in the contracting officer unilaterally establishing the indirect rates. Rates established unilaterally will be Based on audited historical data or other available data as long as unallowable costs are excluded; and Set low enough to ensure that unallowable costs will not be reimbursed. 24

25 Ramifications of non-compliance Penalties for claiming unallowable costs. Ifthe indirect cost isexpressly unallowable under a cost principle in the FAR, the penalty is equal to First Offense The amount of the disallowed costs allocated to contracts that are subject to this section; plus Interest on the paid portion, if any. Second Offense Two times the amount of the disallowed costs allocated to contracts that are subject to this section ; plus Interest on the paid portion, if any. These penalties are in addition to other administrative, i ti civil, iil and criminal penalties provided by law. 25

26 Rally to the Finish Line The Contractor and the appropriate Government representative shall hllexecute a written understanding di setting forth the final indirect cost rates. The understanding shall specify (i) () the agreed upon final annual indirect cost rates, (ii) the bases to which the rates apply, (iii) the periods for which the rates apply 26

27 Rally to the Finish Line Within 120 days after settlement of the final annual indirect cost rates for all years of a physically complete contract, the contractor must submit a completion invoice or voucher reflecting the settled amounts and rates. 27

28 Conclusion The goals of today s program is to Survive a DCAA Audit, however we hope to: Ease the audit process by being well prepared Identify and remediate risk areas prior to audit Reduce audit time needed 28

29 Contact Information Nicole Mitchell Director Aronson LLC 805 King Farm Boulevard, Suite 300 Rockville, MD (301) Hope Lane Lead Partner, Government Consulting Aronson LLC 805 King Farm Boulevard, Suite 300 Rockville, MD (301)