Section 809 Panel - Recommendation #29 - Designate the Cost Accounting Standards Board as an Independent Federal Organization within the Executive Branch

Abstract

The Cost Accounting Standards Board's (CASB) current configuration within the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) is ineffective at providing oversight for application of the cost accounting standards (CAS) to federal government contracts. CASB has only rarely met in recent years, and member positions often go unfilled for long periods. Meanwhile, changes to government contracting require ongoing updates to the standards and resolution of questions about CAS applicability. Because CASB has not been responsive to these changes, contractors are overly burdened by the need for added layers of compliance to many rules that have not kept pace with new business models. CASB needs to be reinvigorated as an independent organization and removed from OFPP.