[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 58 (Tuesday, March 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18342-18343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06919]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

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


Federal Acquisition Regulation; Submission for OMB Review; 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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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. A notice was published in the Federal Register 
at 77 FR 51804, on August 27, 2012. One comment was received.
    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 April 25, 2013.

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

[[Page 18343]]

B. Discussion and Analysis

    One respondent submitted public comments on the extension of the 
previously approved information collection. The analysis of the public 
comments is summarized as follows:
    Comment: The respondent commented that the extension of the 
information collection would violate the fundamental purposes of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act because of the burden it puts on the entity 
submitting the information and the agency collecting the information. 
The respondent opposes granting the extension of the information 
collection requirement.
    Response: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 
agencies can request an OMB approval of an existing information 
collection. The PRA requires that agencies use the Federal Register 
notice and comment process, to extend the OMB's approval, at least 
every three years. This extension, to a previously approved information 
collection, pertains to FAR 43.205 which 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 a 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. Not 
granting this extension would consequently eliminate FAR clauses that 
provide a benefit to the public and the agency collecting the 
information.
    Comment: The respondent commented that the agency did not 
accurately estimate the public burden challenging that the agency's 
methodology for calculating it is insufficient and inadequate and does 
not reflect the total burden. For this reason, the respondent provided 
that the agency should reassess the estimated total burden hours and 
revise the estimate upwards to be more accurate, as was done in FAR 
Case 2007-006. The same respondent also provided that the burden of 
compliance with the information collection requirement greatly exceeds 
the agency's estimate and outweighs any potential utility of the 
extension.
    Response: Serious consideration is given, during the open comment 
period, to all comments received and adjustments are made to the 
paperwork burden estimate based on reasonable considerations provided 
by the public. This is evidenced, as the respondent notes, in FAR Case 
2007-006 where an adjustment was made from the total preparation hours 
from three to 60. This change was made considering particularly the 
hours that would be required for review within the company, prior to 
release to the Government.
    The burden is prepared taking into consideration the necessary 
criteria in OMB guidance for estimating the paperwork burden put on the 
entity submitting the information. For example, consideration is given 
to an entity reviewing instructions; using technology to collect, 
process, and disclose information; adjusting existing practices to 
comply with requirements; searching data sources; completing and 
reviewing the response; and transmitting or disclosing information. The 
estimated burden hours for a collection are based on an average between 
the hours that a simple disclosure by a very small business might 
require and the much higher numbers that might be required for a very 
complex disclosure by a major corporation. Also, the estimated burden 
hours should only include projected hours for those actions which a 
company would not undertake in the normal course of business. Careful 
consideration went into assessing the burden for this collection and 
adjustments were made. However, at any point, members of the public may 
submit comments for further consideration, and are encouraged to 
provide data to support their request for an adjustment.

C. Annual Reporting Burden

    The estimated number of respondents has increased from 200 to 
10,636, based on information retrieved from the Federal Procurement 
Data System--Next Generation (FPDS-NG). For Fiscal Year 2012, 21,272 
contractors were awarded modifications over $100,000 on fixed-price 
type contracts, which are applicable to this information collection. It 
is estimated that only about half of these contractors would be 
required to submit the information under this collection, or 10,636 
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. Submission to the 
Government remains the same at 12, based on an estimated monthly 
submission, or 12 times a year. The estimated hours per response time 
of .5, or 30 minutes, is increased to 1 hour. 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: 10,636.
    Responses per Respondent: 12.
    Annual Responses: 127,632.
    Hours per Response: 1.
    Total Burden Hours: 127,632.
    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: March 21, 2013.
William Clark,
Acting Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of 
Governmentwide Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office 
of Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-06919 Filed 3-25-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P