[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 166 (Monday, August 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51804-51805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20742]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 9000-0026; Docket 2012-0076; Sequence 18]


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Information Collection; Change 
Order Accounting

AGENCY: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration 
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of request for public comments regarding an extension to 
an existing OMB clearance.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a 
previously approved information collection requirement concerning 
change order accounting.
    Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
functions of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), and whether it 
will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden 
of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid 
assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and ways in which we can 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, through the use of appropriate technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES: Submit comments on or before October 26, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection 9000-
0026, Change Order Accounting by any of the following methods:
     Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov.
    Submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by inputting 
``Information Collection 9000-0026, Change Order Accounting'' under the 
heading ``Enter Keyword or ID'' and selecting ``Search''. Select the 
link ``Submit a Comment'' that corresponds with ``Information 9000-
0026, Change Order Accounting''. Follow the instructions provided at 
the ``Submit a Comment'' screen. Please include your name, company name 
(if any), and ``Information Collection 9000-0026, Change Order 
Accounting'' on your attached document.
     Fax: 202-501-4067.
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20417. ATTN: 
Hada Flowers/IC 9000-0026, Change Order Accounting.

    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information 
Collection 9000-0026, Change Order Accounting, in all correspondence 
related to this collection. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
and/or business confidential information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael O. Jackson, Procurement 
Analyst, Office of Governmentwide Acquisition Policy, GSA, (202) 208-
4949, or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Purpose

    FAR 43.205 allows a contracting officer, whenever the estimated 
cost of a change or series of related changes under a contract exceeds 
$100,000, to assert the right in the clause at FAR 52.243-6, Change 
Order Accounting, to require the contractor to maintain separate 
accounts for each change or series of related changes. Each account 
shall record all incurred segregable, direct costs (less allocable 
credits) of work, changed and unchanged, allocable to the change. These 
accounts are to be maintained until the parties agree to an equitable 
adjustment for the changes or until the matter is conclusively disposed 
of under the Disputes clause. This requirement is necessary in order to 
be able to account properly for costs associated with

[[Page 51805]]

changes in supply and research and development contracts that are 
technically complex and incur numerous changes.

B. Annual Reporting Burden

    The estimated annual reporting burden has decreased from what was 
published in the Federal Register at 74 FR 18718, on April 24, 2009. 
The estimated number of respondents has decreased from 8,750 to 200, 
based on information received from Government organizations most likely 
to use change order accounting. In addition, the reduction in the 
number of respondents is made possible because of the improvement in 
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the use of FAR cost 
principles (FAR subpart 31.2), and expanded use of Cost Accounting 
Standards (CAS). These procedures, in most cases, enable the Government 
to account for the cost of changes without having to resort to change 
order accounting. The responses per respondent decreased from 18 to 12, 
based on an estimated monthly submission to the Government, or 12 times 
a year. The estimated hours per response time of .084 increased to .5, 
or 30 minutes. This change is based on a reassessment of the estimated 
time required to gather and report the accounting information in the 
format specific to this information collection.
    Respondents: 200.
    Responses per Respondent: 12.
    Annual Responses: 2,400.
    Hours per Response: 0.5.
    Total Burden Hours: 1,200.
    Obtaining Copies of Proposals: Requesters may obtain a copy of the 
information collection documents from the General Services 
Administration, Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20417, telephone (202) 501-4755. Please cite OMB Control 
No. 9000-0026, Change Order Accounting, in all correspondence.

    Dated: August 14, 2012.
William Clark,
Acting Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2012-20742 Filed 8-24-12; 8:45 am]
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