Verified Document

Federal Contracting: Benefits And Drawbacks Of Cost Essay

Related Topics:

Federal Contracting: Benefits and Drawbacks of Cost Reimbursement Contracts The objective of this study is to examine the pros and cons of cost-reimbursement contracts from the view of the federal contractor and to discuss which elements of cost-reimbursement contracts tend to produce the biggest troubles for contractors and explain why.

Cost-Reimbursement Compared to Fixed-Price Contract

Cost-reimbursement or cost-plus is reported as a contract "where a contractor is paid for all of its allowed expenses to a set limit plus additional payment to allow for a profit." (GovWin, 2010, p.1) Cost-reimbursement contracts can be contrasted with fixed-price contracts, which are reported to be such that the contractors "are paid a negotiated amount regardless of incurred expenses." (GovWin, 2010, p.1) Fixed-price contracts make provision of payment of the allowable costs that are incurred in performance of a contract "to the extent prescribed in the contract." (GovWin, 2010, p.1)

In the fixed-price contracts, "an estimate of the total cost is established so that the government can obligate funds." (GovWin, 2010, p.1) This estimate is used as well in establishment of a ceiling or limit on the amount of costs that may be incurred by the contractor "without the contracting officer approval and that the contractor exceeds (at his own risk)." (GovWin, 2010, p.1) Cost-reimbursement contracts are such that may only be used when "uncertainties involved in contract performance do not permit costs to be estimate with sufficient accuracy to use any type of fixed-price contract." (GovWin, 2010, p.1)

The cost-reimbursement contract involves the contractor agreeing to make provision of its "best effort...

(GovWin, 2010, p.1) The cost-reimbursement contract represented the "largest subgroup of cost-plus contracting in the U.S. defense sector" between the years 1995 and 2001.
II. Agencies that Use Cost-Reimbursement Contracts

Agencies that use cost-reimbursement contracts are reported to include those stated as follows:

(1) Federal Transit Administration;

(2) National Weather Service (NWS);

(3) U.S. Department of Defense (DOD); and (4) Other federal agencies. (GovWin, 2010, p.1)

III. Advantages of Cost-Reimbursement Contracts

There are certain advantages to the use of cost-reimbursement contracts. For example, when compared to fixed-price contracts a cost-plus contract "has little incentives to cut corners." (GovWin, 2010, p.1) As well, a cost-plus contract is used many times when "long-term quality is a much higher concern than cost, such as in the United States space program." (GovWin, 2010, p.1) Stated third as an advantage to the use of cost-reimbursement contracts is that the "final cost may be less than a fixed price contract because…

Sources used in this document:
Bibliography

Cost-Reimbursement Contracts (2011) GovWin.com. 18 Oct 2010. Retrieved from: http://govwin.com/knowledge/cost-reimbursement

Philpott, D. And Cook, SP (2010) Managing Cost Reimbursable Contracts. Government Training, Inc. Retrieved from: http://governmenttraininginc.com/pdfs/Cost-Reimbursable-TOC-Excerpt.pdf

Title 48: Federal Acquisition Regulations System. Part 1516 -- Types of Contracts. Subpart 1516.3 -- Cost-Reimbursement Contracts. (2012) e-CFR Data 7 Sept 2012. Retrieved from: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div6&view=text&node=48:6.0.1.3.13.1&idno=48
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Federal Contracts There Are Several Kinds of
Words: 1781 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Federal Contracts There are several kinds of contracts that are commonly used at the federal level, including fixed-price and cost-reimbursement contracts. In order to understand them more clearly, and in order to compare them with other contracts, it is important to discuss them thoroughly. Fixed-price contracts are exactly what their name implies. They are set up based on a fixed and agreed-upon price, and that price cannot be changed (Barnett, 2003).

Government Contracts Federal Contractors Are
Words: 1181 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

8). The federal government's recent decision to shift to fixed-price contracts is intended to protect the government from overcharging by contractors and from assuming the potentially enormous losses that are involved when projects, especially high-tech defense initiatives, fail. As Erwin points out, though, "The policy ignores history. This is a shortsighted move that only creates incentives for contractors to bid low and after winning, try to maximize changes in

Privatization of the Federal Government
Words: 2567 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Privatization is the use of the private sector in government management and delivery of public services. Contracting out services predates the Constitution. In fact, in the early nineteenth century, some "inherently" governmental functions such as tax collection, mail delivery, and spying were performed by private contractors. Throughout the twentieth century, the government has continued to rely on contractors. The Clinton administration, under the 1998 Federal Activities Reform Act, required federal agencies

Contracts Over the Last Several
Words: 1235 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

These different elements are important, because they make it difficult for the federal government to adjustment to large scale projects. This is problematic, because it means that inevitable cost overruns and delays will occur (despite using these agreements to deal with these issues). (Carr, 2004) Discuss which element(s) of cost-reimbursement contracts tend to produce the biggest troubles for contractors and why. The biggest elements that are giving contractors the largest challenges

Privatization of American Prisons the
Words: 4789 Length: 17 Document Type: Thesis

This gave the immediate need to contract the prison facilities. Literature review Extant literature has been dedicated to the topic of privatization of the rather publicly run correctional facilities in America. These literatures have been mixed and contain mixed views of proponent for privatization and its opponents alike. The literatures therefore have expressed favors of the system as well as critical of it. There also exists another category expressing pure criticism.

Public Sector Unions
Words: 7432 Length: 20 Document Type: Research Paper

Public Sector Unions Public-Sector Unions in United States HISTORY OF PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS COSTS OF PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS OVER THEIR BENEFITS DEMOGRAPHICS OF LABOR IN AMERICA EDGE OF PUBLIC-SECTOR UNIONS OVER PRIVATE ONES THE HIDDEN COSTS OF PUBLIC UNIONS THE DISTORTION OF DEMOCRATIC POLITICS STATE UNIONS VS. FEDERAL UNIONS THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONIZATION HISTORY OF PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS Labor unions are seen as the representatives of the labor employed in our industries and are known as the advocates of

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now