Small Government Contracting Gone Bad

May 15, 2013

If you are a small government contractor, or moving that direction, there is one newly published Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) that you should read:  http://www.asbca.mil/Decisions/2013/56581_58038%20PHI%20Applied%20Physical%20Sciences%20Inc.%204.30.13%20PUBLISHED.pdf.

Basically the contractor is trying to recover 300k in costs that they assert were spent in working with DCAA, and others, on their accounting system.

DCAA states the contractor never had an accounting system and they pulled out after approximately ten hours of work.

The contractor also criticizes the government for awarding the contractor a CPFF contract without an approved accounting system.

Read it and form your own opinion, but I am pretty comfortable with DCAA’s take on the issue. Regardless, it is a tale of everything that can go wrong.