An Analytical Synopsis of Dr. Ashton Carter's "Should-Cost" Initiatives

Abstract

Dr. Ashton Carter, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD [AT&L]), and Robert F. Hale, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller/Chief Financial Officer), issued a Joint memorandum on April 22, 2011, titled "Joint Memorandum on Saving Related to 'Should-Cost.'" As iterated in the memorandum, Dr. Carter's goal for the Should-Cost initiative is to ensure that program managers (PMs) drive productivity improvements into their programs during contract negotiations and throughout program execution and sustainment. This is achievable, according to Dr. Carter, if PMs continuously perform Should-Cost analysis that scrutinizes every element of government and contractor cost. In addition to the Joint memorandum, Dr. Carter issued a second memorandum on April 22 2011, for acquisition and logistics professionals, titled "Implementation of Will-Cost and Should-Cost Management." This guidance is applicable for all acquisition category (ACAT) I, II, and III programs. The purpose of this research is to examine the potential impacts this and related directives have on the contracting community's ability to request, acquire, audit, and utilize data germane to contract negotiations and management; examine whether there may be inherent potential conflicts with the commercial item acquisition provisions of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12 and the contract pricing initiatives of FAR Part 15 to reduce reliance on the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) requirements for certified cost and pricing data and cost accounting standards (CAS); and explore strategies for implementing the directive effectively. Additionally, the research determines the nature and extent of any potential impacts on the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) in supporting the Should-Cost effort.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2013
Accession Number
ADA586224

Entities

People

  • Cory Yoder

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Business Administration
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Cost Analysis
  • Cost Estimates
  • Cost Reductions
  • Department Of Defense
  • Directives
  • Governments
  • Logistics
  • Personnel Management
  • Procurement
  • Productivity
  • Public Policy
  • Standards

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Defense Financial Management and Audit.
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.