cost and price analysis | The Contracting Education Academy

May 16, 2014 By AMK

OFPP, FAI launch new acquisition training and certification

The Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting has not been updated since 2008, but that’s about to change — and the revised FAC-C will include specialized training for IT procurement.

A May 7, 2014 memo from the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) outlined the new certification, and OFPP Associate Administrator Joanie Newhart and Tony Grayson, acquisition program executive at the Federal Acquisition Institute, detailed the curriculum and the thinking behind it during a May 13 presentation at FOSE.

“Nobody’s happier than I am that this certification has been issued,” Newhart said. The old FAC-C is general and lacks a specific course on Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) fundamentals — whereas the Defense Department’s Defense Acquisition University (DAU) has long offered such training, along with a wide range of advanced coursework.

Keep reading this article at: http://fcw.com/Articles/2014/05/14/OFPP-FAI-new-acquisition-training.aspx?p=1

May 14, 2014 By AMK

Learn all about government contract cost-price analysis in June

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech is offering a course focusing on the Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis in government contracting in June.

To see details or to register, click here.

The Academy’s comprehensive, two-week course begins with an in-depth review of the market research process, and provides instruction to help students understand and analyze contractor pricing strategies.

Attendees learn to accomplish cost-volume-profit analysis, calculate contribution margin estimates, and develop cost estimating relationships in order to accomplish an effective price analysis pursuant to FAR Subpart 15.4.

After learning the basic elements of price and cost analysis, students will build and defend a pre-negotiation objective, including a minimum and maximum pricing objective with a weighted guidelines assessment.

Cost and price analysis is part of a plan of total market surveillance designed to understand the relationship of market forces on the acquisition of technology, products and services.

This course is ideal for new hires in the contracting career field. In addition, for government contractors, this course provides invaluable insights into the government contracting decision-making process. Student performance is assessed by graded exams on math fundamentals and applied course material as well as an exercise for student participation and completion of negotiations.

CON 170 – Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis is Defense Acquisition University-equivalent training that satisfies the FAC-C and DAWIA certification programs. For more information or to register, please visit: http://www.pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-170-fundamentals-cost-and-price-analysis

December 5, 2013 By AMK

DoD official pushes back against contracting ‘myths’

Pentagon procurement official Shay Assad sought to dispel what he said were myths that the Defense Department’s contracting workforce is untrained and unprepared.

“Our workforce today is healthier and stronger than it has been in the last 10 years or so,” said Assad, who oversees pricing for the department.

Some of the myths he addressed included:

■ Reports the contracting workforce is shrinking. Assad said it has grown by nearly 24,000 people over the last five years through a combination of additional hiring by the services and through in-sourcing.

■ Reports DoD is not hiring enough experienced contracting officers. He said that DoD has focused on having 35 percent of its contracting workforce have industry and business experience — that number is about 34 percent today.

■ Rumors the Defense Department is moving toward lowest-price, technically acceptable contracts. Assad said that only one major program falls under that category and that LPTA is less than 2 percent of DoD purchasing and that he is not pushing to increase that number.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20131118/DEPARTMENTS01/311180004/DoD-official-pushes-back-against-contracting-myths-

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