DCAA APPROVED ACCOUNTING SYSTEM PROJECTS
Help client define what will be used as Jobs. Give examples of Independent Research and Development for their market. Explain capitalization and how to record depreciation.
Contrast Chart of Accounts against invoice/voucher format per contractual award. Explain grant Budget reallocation per Terms and Conditions. Discuss cost overrun and application as Cost Share. Draft letter on behalf of client to acknowledge Contracting Officer notice of non-compliance. Evaluate and provide feedback on current Accounting Policies and Procedures. Discuss (incurred costs on) Quarterly Reports with client; provide notes on specific recommendations to address client draft reports.
Make recommended changes (Employee, Vendors, CoA, etc.) to QuickBooks™ (QB) general ledger. Trace and note “Other Item” incorrectly used setup. Suggest changes toward a DCAA compliant Accounting System. Make recommended changes to QB general ledger Chart of Accounts (especially unallowables) and two vendor bills (to make them traceable). Write out (two options) step-by-step instructions to download data from the bank. Illustrate set up of Customer, Job, Vendor with a default (debit) account. Explain reason for direct versus indirect unallowable accounts and (accrual) importance of Equity versus Expense (Loan to Company versus Investment in Company versus Payroll). Tailor drafts (from Mahnke Consulting templates) of the Policies, Procedures, and related Forms of most use. Explain how procedures and supporting forms easily enrich a regulatory and DCAA compliant Accounting System. Write an email that includes step-by-step instructions for Actual versus Budget Reports from QB.
Note potential Government Furnished Property concerns for Tooling and Direct Material Other on a cost-reimbursable award. Discuss Government likelihood of transferring for use on another Government award. Give examples of (FAR Part 31.2) direct versus indirect “in like or similar circumstances.”
Policy & procedure drafts, tailored to your programs –
plus staff training to make sense of them –
precede implementation of compliant audit trails.
Explain the correlation between labor and payroll. Strengthen a DCAA compliant Accounting System. Show examples and explain accrual of separate labor-related liabilities (such as different payroll taxes, health insurance premiums, etc.). Calculate historical indirect rates and advise specific general ledger corrections needed to support accurate rates. Explore business development paths and differences among them – with a goal of more-profitable awards. Provide step-by-step instructions for creating monthly, by-Job budgets in QB. Reference indirect-rates workbook, already created for actual incurred costs, for use on new budgeted costs.
Provide examples of restructured client-QuickBooks’ Lists (Chart of Accounts, Customers, Jobs, Vendors, etc.) and discuss examples and recommendations. Explain the reorganization of the Chart of Accounts to accommodate unallowable or unbillable accounts. With examples, demonstrate recording a Job for each transaction row in the Profit and Loss section. Explain and provide optional solutions for concerns in the customer-contract language.
Suggest compliant methods of recording all hours worked and re-investment from CEO (as employee) into for-profit company (as owner). Discuss several cash-flow topics and solutions. Review and provide feedback for supportable monthly vouchers and matching general ledger records. Without affecting cash flow, restructure the process to a regulatory and DCAA compliant Accounting System.
Guide a client toward a DCAA-passable Accounting System. Evaluate general ledger support. Recommend revisions to the Chart of Accounts. Analyze current policies and procedures – primarily focusing on stronger Internal Controls – for limited, small business resources. Recommend specific additions and deletions with explanatory comments. Write a summary report of (separately) significant and notable review-findings. Using templates, tailor ten draft policies and procedures to address gaps. Explain Accounting System Review process and recommend a priority-order for addressing findings. Explain labor and labor-related month-end (accrual) adjustments and their timing. Discuss the methodology for calculating and allocating indirect rates. Conduct a virtual meeting with the client. Discuss the recommended wording changes to the policies and procedures, adequate documentation for travel expenses, and the mapping of indirect pools and bases.
Create “Empty Shell” General Ledger for compliant Chart of Accounts and Job Cost accounting. Include specifically unallowable accounts with FAR references in descriptions. Break out new P&L accounts among applicable sections, including direct versus indirect unallowable accounts. Enter Customer and Jobs for internal costs and for samples. Review and edit “Lists,” “Job Types,” and “Customer Types.” Verify rows and columns in P&L by Job report. Convert Enterprise G/L to Premier G/L, exporting and importing .iff files and verifying, editing, or deleting specific accounts, items, etc. Tailor template Forms and related Policies and Procedures to easily convert transactions into G/L records.
Guide client through Pre-award Survey, SF 1408. Provide feedback, especially DCAA “hot button” words that might lead to misunderstandings. Draft some re-writes, especially for the Cost Allocation Methodology. Discuss Bid and Proposal (B&P) and how it folds into the General and Administrative (G&A) pool; Paid Time Off (PTO) accruals, and the indirect rate structure. Set up a template workbook tailored to convert client QuickBooks (QB) Profit & Loss by Job report into indirect rates calculations and absorptions. Guide client on Policies and Procedures (P&P’s) and internal controls. Review P&P’s for gaps. Train client in support and General Ledger (G/L) recording transactions of all kinds, including employee reimbursements; “hard” close; and ICE Model. Sample transactions for a mock audit and provide feedback. Draft wording for a memo to DCAA. Review and provide feedback on the Organization Chart with Job Descriptions.