Preparing for DCAA Requirements in Your Accounting System
Government Contracting is arguably one of the most regimented and regulated industries in the US. It would make sense that being regulated in such a way would cause the delineation between departments we often see in Government Contract holding companies. The one constant topic of discussion in GovCon, and our most favorite subject, is DCAA Compliant accounting systems. Companies often can’t find one out of the gate that meets their needs, and they definitely can’t run a compliant business without them. While a variety of options exist in the marketplace, very few are able to bridge the gap between transparency and access in contract needs and how they pertain to compliance in accounting.
WrkPlan has a specific solution for contract-holding businesses in the government-industry. Whether you’re working with cost pools, government invoices, indirect rate calculations, incurred cost submissions, and more, WrkPlan can provide the reporting and information from anywhere at any time.
At WrkPlan we hear the following worry most often:
“I’m not an expert in government contracting accounting, so I have to outsource but I’m unable to see all of the information I need at a glance.”
This worry can be eased post-implementation as WrkPlan provides the tools necessary to help you properly operate under the appropriate policies, procedures, and internal controls to successfully prepare for and pass a DCAA audit. While the DCAA does not endorse any specific accounting software; auditors have regularly assessed and approved contractors using the WrkPlan accounting system.
If you are seeking any Cost Type contract award, such as Cost-Plus or Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee you’ll need to complete the Pre-Award Survey of Prospective Contractor Accounting System. This survey will assess whether your accounting system is equipped to manage costs under a government contract. Luckily there is an evaluation checklist available for you to self-check how your current system stacks up.
WrkPlan’s features guide your DCAA Compliance through:
- Proper segregation of direct costs from indirect costs.
- Identification and accumulation of direct costs by contract.
- A logical and consistent method for the allocation of indirect costs to intermediate and final cost objectives. (A contract is final cost objective.)
- Accumulation of costs under general ledger control
- A timekeeping system that identifies employees’ labor by intermediate or final cost objectives.
- A labor distribution system that charges direct and indirect labor to the appropriate cost objectives.
- Interim (at least monthly) determination of costs charged to a contract through routine posting of books of account.
- Exclusion from costs charged to government contracts of amounts that are not allowable in terms of FAR 31, Contract Cost Principles and Procedures, or other contract provisions.
- Identification of costs by contract line item and by units (as if each unit or line item were a separate contract) if required by the proposed contract.
- Segregation of preproduction costs from production costs
You can learn more about how WrkPlan specifically mitigates these requirements here. If you’d like to take the burden of reporting and DCAA compliance requirements out of Quickbooks and off of your teams, schedule a WrkPlan demo today. We’d be thrilled to help you design a solution that works for your business.