Overview
This section defines the specific duties and coordination requirements of a Corporate Administrative Contracting Officer (CACO), focusing on the centralized management of contract administration functions that affect a contractor's entire corporate structure.
Key Rules
- Corporate-Wide Functions: The CACO is responsible for performing designated administration tasks on a corporate-wide basis, rather than at the individual plant or division level.
- Primary Duties:
- Determining final indirect cost rates for cost-reimbursement contracts.
- Establishing advance agreements or recommendations regarding how corporate/home office expenses are allocated to subordinate units.
- Administering Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) specifically related to corporate-level or corporate-directed accounting practices.
- Audit Agency Integration: The CACO must utilize the responsible contract audit agency for financial advice, policy acceptability reviews, and advisory audit reports.
- Coordination Mandate: The CACO is required to keep cognizant Administrative Contracting Officers (ACOs) and auditors informed of major determinations and must solicit their input and participation in the process.
Practical Implications
- Consistency: This centralized approach prevents conflicting determinations across different business segments by ensuring that corporate overhead and accounting practices are handled by a single government official.
- Communication Burden: For the contractor, this necessitates high-level transparency with the CACO, as decisions made at the corporate level will flow down and bind the administration of individual contracts at the divisional level.