[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 40 (Thursday, February 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13675-13677]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04488]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[OMB Control No. 9000-0129; Docket 2012-0076; Sequence 56]
Federal Acquisition Regulation; Submission for OMB Review; Cost
Accounting Standards Administration
AGENCY: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice of request for comments regarding an extension to an
existing OMB clearance.
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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the
Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a
previously approved information collection requirement concerning cost
accounting standards administration. A notice was published in the
Federal Register at 77 FR 69441, on November 19, 2012. Two respondents
submitted comments.
DATES: Submit comments on or before April 1, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 9000-
0129, Cost Accounting Standards Administration by any of the following
methods:
Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov. Submit
comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching the OMB
control number. Select the link ``Submit a Comment'' that corresponds
with ``Information Collection 9000-0129, Cost Accounting Standards
Administration''. Follow the instructions provided at the ``Submit a
Comment'' screen. Please include your name, company name (if any), and
``Information Collection 9000-0129, Cost Accounting Standards
Administration'' on your attached document.
Fax: 202-501-4067.
Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory
Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20417. ATTN:
Hada Flowers/IC 9000-0129, Cost Accounting Standards Administration.
Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information
Collection 9000-0129, Cost Accounting Standards Administration, in all
correspondence
[[Page 13676]]
related to this collection. All comments received will be posted
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal
and/or business confidential information provided.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Edward N. Chambers, Procurement
Analyst, Office of Acquisition Policy, GSA, (202) 501-3221 or email a
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Purpose
FAR Subpart 30.6 and the provision at 52.230-6 include pertinent
rules and regulations related to the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS)
along with necessary administrative policies and procedures. These
administrative policies require certain contractors to submit cost
impact estimates and descriptions in cost accounting practices and also
to provide information on CAS-covered subcontractors. Specifically, FAR
52.230-6 requires contractors to submit to the cognizant Contracting
Officer a description of any cost accounting practice change, the total
potential impact of the change on contracts containing a CAS provision,
a general dollar magnitude or detailed cost-impact proposal of the
change which identifies the potential shift of costs between CAS-
covered contracts by contract type (i.e., firm fixed-price, incentive
cost-plus-fixed-fee, etc.) and other contractor business activity.
B. Discussion and Analysis
Two respondents submitted public comments on the extension of the
previously approved information collection. The analysis of the public
comments is summarized as follows:
Respondent One: Respondent one offered a single comment.
Comment: The purpose of this standard is to require that each type
of cost is allocated only once and on only one basis to any contract or
other cost objective. Provide measures of cost effectiveness within the
activity. This may be accomplished by relating performance costs to
standard costs or cost estimates by established cost centers and by
end-product with development of appropriate analyses of cost variances.
Response: This comment concerned the purpose of the cost accounting
principles and not the burden of reporting on the application of these
standards.
Respondent Two: Respondent two offered the following comments:
Comment: The respondent commented that the extension of the
information collection would violate the fundamental purposes of the
Paperwork Reduction Act because of the burden it puts on the entity
submitting the information and the agency collecting the information.
Response: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA),
agencies can request OMB approval of an existing information
collection. The PRA requires that agencies use the Federal Register
notice and comment process, to extend OMB's approval, at least every
three years. This extension, to a previously approved information
collection, pertains to FAR clause 52.230-6. This clause requires
certain contractors to submit cost impact estimates and descriptions in
cost accounting practices and also to provide information on CAS-
covered subcontractors when making changes to their cost accounting
practices. Without this information, the Government would be unable to
approve changes to contractors cost accounting practices, resulting in
the disallowance of contractor charges to contracts. This clause has
existed substantially the same since the inception of the FAR.
Comment: The respondent commented that the agency did not
accurately estimate the public burden challenging that the agency's
methodology for calculating it is insufficient and inadequate and does
not reflect the total burden. The respondent questioned the basis for
the estimated number of responses per respondent of 2.27. The
respondent also stated that the estimate of 175 hours per response per
respondent is understated, and that the actual burden is at least 12
times that, but more likely 24 to 48 times this estimate. For this
reason, the respondent provided that the agency should reassess the
estimated total burden hours and revise the estimate upwards to be more
accurate, as was done in FAR Case 2007-006. The same respondent also
provided that the burden of compliance with the information collection
requirement outweighs any potential utility of the extension.
Response: Serious consideration is given, during the open comment
period, to all comments received and adjustments are made to the
paperwork burden estimate based on reasonable considerations provided
by the public. This is evidenced, as the respondent notes, in FAR Case
2007-006 where an adjustment was made from the total preparation hours
from three to 60. This change was made considering particularly the
hours that would be required for review within the company, prior to
release to the Government.
The burden is prepared taking into consideration the necessary
criteria in OMB guidance for estimating the paperwork burden put on the
entity submitting the information. For example, consideration is given
to an entity reviewing instructions; using technology to collect,
process, and disclose information; adjusting existing practices to
comply with requirements; searching data sources; completing and
reviewing the response; and transmitting or disclosing information. The
estimated burden hours for a collection are based on an average between
the hours that a simple disclosure by a very small business might
require and the much higher numbers that might be required for a very
complex disclosure by a major corporation. Also, the estimated burden
hours should only include projected hours for those actions which a
company would not undertake in the normal course of business. Careful
consideration went into assessing the estimated burden hours for this
collection, and although, the respondent provided estimates of
responses and burden hours, the estimates cannot be confirmed with any
degree of certainty to totally rely on the information.
Based on consultation with a Government subject matter expert (SME)
the estimated burden of 175 hours per response is consider a reasonable
average for all submissions associated with the requirements of this
collection. The Government SME also confirmed that the 2.27 responses
per respondent reflects a reasonable average over the course of a year,
as some contractors may not have any cost accounting practice changes
while others could have up to four or five.
The estimated annual reporting burden is increased from that
published in the Federal Register at 75 FR 3236, on January 20, 2010.
Based on data from the Federal Procurement Data System for fiscal year
2011, an upward adjustment is made to the estimated annual reporting
burden, which reflected an increase in the number of respondents.
However, the estimated number of hours per response and the estimated
number of responses per respondent remains unchanged based on
consultation with the Government SME. At any point, members of the
public may submit comments for further consideration, and are
encouraged to provide data to support their request for an adjustment.
C. Annual Reporting Burden
Number of Respondents: 1,288.
Responses per Respondent: 2.27.
Total Responses: 2,924.
[[Page 13677]]
Average Burden Hours per Response: 175.00.
Total Burden Hours: 511,700.
Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the
information collection documents from the General Services
Administration, Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20417, telephone (202) 501-4755. Please cite OMB Control
Number 9000-0129, Cost Accounting Standards Administration, in all
correspondence.
Dated: February 21, 2013.
William Clark,
Acting Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of
Governmentwide Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office
of Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-04488 Filed 2-27-13; 8:45 am]
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