New government companies with cost compensation contracts or those who receive progressive payments must meet certain accounting program specifications – as defined in SF 1408 – to be able to begin the process of a Pre-award Accounting System Adequacy audit.
Prepare your organization and secure against the potential problems with Standard Form 1408 Guidelines for Pre-Award Accounting System Audit Success. The finished checklist is then used by DCAA auditors in the efficiency of a Pre-award Accounting System Study to gain an understanding of how the company's system is designed to meet the criteria.
Before you can even make a bid, you’ll have to warrant your accounting program as DCAA certified. To accomplish that, you’ll finish the Preaward Survey (SF 1408 Criteria) type.
For this survey, you’ll need to make a story of your present accounting systems and describe any inadequacies. Then you’ll finish the checklist in the second area. In addition to following Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), keeping sufficient and efficient data in documentation and providing support for demands for improvement payment, the checklist includes several more specifications. The not so efficient information is that it seems long; what's promising is that once you've met all of the needs, the rest is a piece of cake.
Regardless of whether the review is carried out pre- or post-award, your accounting program needs to be modified and performing at optimum efficiency. For more information on the review procedure, DCAA offers several resources for small business. Your first contract is patiently waiting. Get out there and win your award!
