Title 48

SECTION 9905.505-60

9905.505-60 Illustrations.

(a) An auditor recommends disallowance of certain direct labor and direct material costs, for which a billing has been submitted under a contract, on the basis that these particular costs were not required for performance and were not authorized by the contract. The contracting officer issues a written decision which supports the auditor's position that the questioned costs are unallowable. Following receipt of the contracting officer's decision, the educational institution must clearly identify the disallowed direct labor and direct material costs in the institution's accounting records and reports covering any subsequent submission which includes such costs. Also, if the educational institution's base for allocation of any indirect cost pool relevant to the subject contract consists of direct labor, direct material, total prime cost, total cost input, etc., the institution must include the disallowed direct labor and material costs in its allocation base for such pool. Had the contracting officer's decision been against the auditor, the educational institution would not, of course, have been required to account separately for the costs questioned by the auditor.

(b) An educational institution incurs, and separately identifies, as a part of a service center or expense pool, certain costs which are expressly unallowable under the existing and currently effective regulations. If the costs of the service center or indirect expense pool are regularly a part of the educational institution's base for allocation of other indirect expenses, the educational institution must allocate the other indirect expenses to contracts and other final cost objectives by means of a base which includes the identified unallowable indirect costs.

(c) An auditor recommends disallowance of certain indirect costs. The educational institution claims that the costs in question are allowable under the provisions of Office Of Management and Budget Circular A-21, Cost Principles For Educational Institutions; the auditor disagrees. The issue is referred to the contracting officer for resolution pursuant to the contract disputes clause. The contracting officer issues a written decision supporting the auditor's position that the total costs questioned are unallowable under the Circular. Following receipt of the contracting officer's decision, the educational institution must identify the disallowed costs and specific other costs incurred for the same purpose in like circumstances in any subsequent estimating, cost accumulation or reporting for Government contracts, in which such costs are included. If the contracting officer's decision had supported the educational institution's contention, the costs questioned by the auditor would have been allowable and the educational institution would not have been required to provide special identification.

(d) An educational institution incurred certain unallowable costs that were charged indirectly as general administration and general expenses (GA&GE). In the educational institution's proposals for final indirect cost rates to be applied in determining allowable contract costs, the educational institution identified and excluded the expressly unallowable GA&GE costs form the applicable indirect cost pools. In addition, during the course of negotiation of indirect cost rates to be used for bidding and billing purposes, the educational institution agreed to classify as unallowable cost, various directly associated costs of the identifiable unallowable costs. On the basis of negotiations and agreements between the educational institution and the contracting officer's authorized representatives, indirect cost rates were established, based on the net balance of allowable GA&GE. Application of the rates negotiated to proposals, and to billings, for covered contracts constitutes compliance with the Standard.

(e) An employee, whose salary, travel, and subsistence expenses are charged regularly to the general administration and general expenses (GA&GE), an indirect cost category, takes several business associates on what is clearly a business entertainment trip. The entertainment costs of such trips is expressly unallowable because it constitutes entertainment expense prohibited by OMB Circular A-21, and is separately identified by the educational institution. In these circumstances, the employee's travel and subsistence expenses would be directly associated costs for identification with the unallowable entertainment expense. However, unless this type of activity constituted a significant part of the employee's regular duties and responsibilities on which his salary was based, no part of the employee's salary would be required to be identified as a directly associated cost of the unallowable entertainment expense.