Increase of Monetary Thresholds and Other Matters Related to Cost Accounting Standards Program Requirements
Key claim: Federal contractors will only have to follow special government cost-accounting rules on larger contracts than before, agencies can more easily waive those rules, and the same dollar cutoffs now clearly apply to indefinite-delivery contracts.
Abstract
(Rule · Management and Budget Office, Federal Procurement Policy Office) The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Cost Accounting Standards Board (Board), is publishing a final rule to increase the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) thresholds and agency waiver authority, and issue clarifications on application of the CAS thresholds and exemptions to indefinite delivery contracts (IDCs).
Why this matters
CAS coverage imposes significant compliance costs on federal contractors, so raising the monetary thresholds and easing waiver authority shrinks the population of contracts subject to specialized government cost-accounting rules and reduces contractor overhead. Clarifying that the thresholds apply to indefinite-delivery vehicles closes a longstanding ambiguity that had exposed contractors to disputed coverage determinations. The practical effect is narrower but deeper CAS enforcement focused on the largest defense and civilian contracts.