[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 166 (Friday, August 26, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53377-53378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-21897]


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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

Office of Federal Procurement Policy

48 CFR Part 9904


Cost Accounting Standards; Allocation of Home Office Expenses to 
Segments

AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Federal 
Procurement Policy (OFPP), Cost Accounting Standards Board (Board).

ACTION: Notice of Discontinuation of Rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), Cost 
Accounting Standards (CAS) Board, is providing public notification of 
the decision to discontinue the rulemaking in the review of the CAS 403 
thresholds at 48 CFR 9904.403-40(c)(2) that require use of the three 
factor formula described at 48 CFR 9904.403-50(c)(1) for allocating 
residual home office expenses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raymond J.M. Wong, Director, Cost 
Accounting Standards Board (telephone: 202-395-6805; e-mail: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Regulatory Process

    Rules, Regulations and Standards issued by the Cost Accounting 
Standards (Board) are codified at 48 CFR chapter 99. The Office of 
Federal Procurement Policy Act, at 41 U.S.C. 1502(c) [formerly, 41 
U.S.C. 422(g)], requires the Board, prior to the establishment of any 
new or revised Cost Accounting Standard, to complete a prescribed 
rulemaking process. The process generally consists of four steps.
    The CAS Board has completed step one of the statutory rulemaking 
process, which required the Board to consult with interested persons 
concerning the advantages, disadvantages, and improvements anticipated 
in the pricing and administration of Government contracts as a result 
of the adoption of a proposed Standard. This notice announces the 
discontinuation of the rulemaking after completing step one of the 
four-step process in accordance with the requirements at 41 U.S.C. 
1502(c).

B. Background and Summary

    The CAS Board opened a review of the CAS 403 operating revenue 
thresholds at the urging of interested parties, an industry group and a 
Federal agency. They recommended revisions to the CAS operating revenue 
thresholds for determining whether a contractor is

[[Page 53378]]

required to use the three factor formula to allocate residual home 
office expenses to the segments. To update the thresholds to reflect 
the changed economic and business environment since they were initially 
established, the parties took different approaches to revising the 
thresholds. One party advocated that the operating revenue thresholds 
be raised by 400 percent to reflect the changes in the consumer price 
index (CPI) from 1973 to 2003. The other party urged the Board to 
conduct a Staff Study, similar to that performed by the Board to 
establish the current thresholds. On February 13, 2008, the CAS Board 
published a Staff Discussion Paper (SDP) on the Allocation of Home 
Office Expenses to Segments as the first step in its review to 
determine whether the current CAS 403 thresholds should be revised (73 
FR 8260).

C. Public Comments

    Three respondents submitted comments in response to the SDP. Two 
respondents supported a comprehensive study to determine the 
appropriate operating revenue thresholds at 48 CFR 9904.403-40(c)(2) 
for the application of the three factor formula described at 48 CFR 
9904.403-50(c)(1), while another respondent supported adjusting the 
current thresholds by the change in the CPI. The arguments for the 
comprehensive study included the development of objective data to 
understand the impact of adjusting the operating revenue thresholds 
upon contractors subject to the three factor formula, and the 
possibility to measure the relationship of residual expenses to 
operating revenue for a representative contractor population. An 
impediment to conducting the comprehensive study is the time and effort 
required to compile and evaluate the data. In support of adjusting the 
current operating revenue thresholds by the change in the CPI, a 
respondent argued that the CPI is readily available and an independent, 
objective measure, while the Staff Study will require significant time 
and effort to accomplish without any certainty that the results would 
materially differ or be demonstrably superior to a CPI indexing 
approach. The other respondents noted that increasing the current 
thresholds by the change in the CPI was arbitrary and would risk 
exposing the acquisition community to the same underlying conditions 
which caused the CAS Board to promulgate CAS 403 originally.
    Response: The CAS Board noted the arguments provided by the 
respondents.

D. Conclusion

    After reviewing the comments and regulatory history of CAS 403, the 
CAS Board believes that it would be prudent to discontinue the review 
of the CAS 403 three factor formula operating revenue thresholds at 
this time. No evidence has been presented to the Board that the current 
thresholds are creating an inequity, or that adjusting the thresholds 
would substantially change the outcome, i.e., the pool of contractors 
required to use the three factor formula to allocate residual home 
office expenses to the segments would not change significantly. The 
Board will revisit the issue in the future if circumstances warrant 
doing so.

Daniel I. Gordon,
Chair, Cost Accounting Standards Board.
[FR Doc. 2011-21897 Filed 8-25-11; 8:45 am]
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