COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS DISCLOSURE STATEMENT CAMPUS BRIEFING

Florida State University submitted its Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Disclosure Statement (DS-2) in June 1998. The four CAS and disclosure statement requirements as they apply to educational institutions were incorporated in OMB Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions, on May 8, 1996. The four CAS policies are:

• 501 - Consistency in Estimating, Accumulating and Reporting Costs.

• 502 - Consistency in Allocating Cost Incurred for the Same Purpose.

• 505 - Accounting for Unallowable Costs.

• 506 - Cost Accounting Period.

The Disclosure Statement is a document by which the Federal government evaluates if an institution has the necessary costing policies and procedures for compliance with the Federal regulations, and if an institution is consistently following these policies and procedures. As a part of the DS-2, FSU must describe its cost accounting practices and ensure that the described practices are consistent with FSU's policies and procedures.

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

HISTORY OF COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD'S REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS

AS THEY APPLY TO EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

On November 8, 1994 the Cost Accounting Standards Board (CASB) published regulations which extended four of its cost standards to certain contracts awarded to colleges and universities. On May 8, 1996, OMB Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions, was revised to incorporate and officially extend the CAS standards to all federally sponsored agreements. Listed below are the four standards with their stated purpose, fundamental requirements, and implications: The Cost Accounting Standards also mandate that certain institutions submit a DS-2 describing the educational institution and its cost accounting practices. With the release of A-21, institutions not previously covered by the CAS standards are also required to prepare and file a DS-2 if they receive more than $25 million in federally sponsored agreements annually. The Disclosure Statement is a criteria by which the Federal government evaluates: if the institution has the necessary policies and procedures for compliance with the Federal regulations, and if the institution is consistently following the policies and procedures.

501- Consistency in estimating, accumulating and reporting costs

The purpose of this Cost Accounting Standard is to ensure that each educational institution's practices used in estimating costs for a proposal are consistent with cost accounting practices used by the institution in accumulating and reporting costs. Consistency in the application of cost accounting practices is necessary to enhance the likelihood that comparable transactions are treated alike. With respect to individual contracts, the consistent application of cost accounting practices will facilitate the preparation of reliable cost estimates used in pricing a proposal and their comparison with the costs of performance of the resulting contract. Such comparisons provide one important basis for financial control over costs during contract performance and aid in establishing accountability for costs in the manner agreed to by both parties at the time of contracting. The comparisons also provide an improved basis for evaluating estimating capabilities.

Fundamental Requirement

(a) An educational institution's practices used in estimating costs in pricing a proposal shall be consistent with the institution's cost accounting practices used in accumulating and reporting costs.

(b) An educational institution's cost accounting practices used in accumulating and reporting actual costs for a contract shall be consistent with the institution's practices used in estimating costs in pricing the related proposal.

(c) The grouping of homogeneous costs in estimates prepared for proposal purposes shall not per se be deemed an inconsistent application of cost accounting practices under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section when such costs are accumulated and reported in greater detail on an actual cost basis during contract performance.

502-Consistency in allocating costs incurred for the same purpose

The purpose of this Standard is to require that each type of cost is allocated only once and on only one basis to any contract or other cost objective. The criteria for determining the allocation of costs to a contract or other cost objective should be the same for all similar objectives. Adherence to these cost accounting concepts is necessary to guard against the overcharging of some cost objectives and to prevent double counting. Double counting occurs most commonly when cost items are allocated directly to a cost objective without eliminating like cost items from indirect cost pools which are allocated to that cost objective.

Fundamental Requirement

All costs incurred for the same purpose, in like circumstances, are either direct costs only or indirect costs only with respect to final cost objectives. No final cost objective shall have allocated to it as an indirect cost any cost, if other costs incurred for the same purpose, in like circumstances, have been included as a direct cost of that or any other final cost objective. Further, no final cost objective shall have allocated to it as a direct cost any cost, if other costs incurred for the same purpose, in like circumstances, have been included in any indirect cost pool to be allocated to that or any other final cost objective.

505- Accounting for unallowable costs

(a) The purpose of this Cost Accounting Standard is to facilitate the negotiation, audit, administration and settlement of contracts by establishing guidelines covering (1) identification of costs specifically described as unallowable, at the time such costs first become defined or authoritatively designated as unallowable, and (2) the cost accounting treatment to be accorded such identified unallowable costs in order to promote the consistent application of sound cost accounting principles covering all incurred costs. The Standard is predicated on the proposition that costs incurred in carrying on the activities of an educational institution -- regardless of the allowability of such costs under Government contracts -- are allocable to the cost objectives with which they are identified on the basis of their beneficial or causal relationships.

(b) This Standard does not govern the allowability of costs. This is a function of the appropriate procurement or reviewing authority.

Fundamental Requirement

(a) Costs expressly unallowable or mutually agreed to be unallowable, including costs mutually agreed to be unallowable directly associated costs, shall be identified and excluded from any billing, claim, or proposal applicable to a Government contract.

(b) Costs which specifically become designated as unallowable as a result of a written decision furnished by a contracting officer pursuant to contract disputes procedures shall be identified if included in or used in the computation of any billing, claim, or proposal applicable to a Government contract. This identification requirement applies also to any costs incurred for the same purpose under like circumstances as the costs specifically identified as unallowable under either this paragraph or paragraph (a) of this subsection.

(c) Costs which, in a contracting officer's written decision furnished pursuant to contract disputes procedures, are designated as unallowable directly associated costs of unallowable costs covered by either paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection shall be accorded the identification required by paragraph (b) of this subsection.

(d) The costs of any work project not contractually authorized, whether or not related to performance of a proposed or existing contract, shall be accounted for, to the extent appropriate, in a manner which permits ready separation from the costs of authorized work projects.

(e) All unallowable costs covered by paragraphs (a) through (d) of this subsection shall be subject to the same cost accounting principles governing cost allocability as allowable costs. In circumstances where these unallowable costs normally would be part of a regular indirect-cost allocation base or bases, they shall remain in such base or bases. Where as directly associated cost is part of a category of costs normally included in an indirect-cost pool that will be allocated over a base containing the unallowable cost with which it is associated, such a directly associated cost shall be retained in the indirect-cost pool and be allocated through the regular allocation process.

(f) Where the total of the allocable and otherwise allowable costs exceeds a limitation-of-cost or ceiling-price provision in a contract, full direct and indirect cost allocation shall be made to the contract cost objective, in accordance with established cost accounting practices and Standards which regularly govern a given entity's allocations to Government contract cost objectives. In any determination of unallowable cost overrun, the amount thereof shall be identified in terms of the excess of allowable costs over the ceiling amount, rather than through specific identification of particular cost items or cost elements.

506- Cost Accounting Period

The purpose of this Cost Accounting Standard is to provide criteria for the selection of the time periods to be used as cost accounting periods for contract cost estimating, accumulating, and reporting. This Standard will reduce the effects of variations in the flow of costs within each cost accumulating period. It will also enhance objectivity, consistency, and verifiability, and promote uniformity and comparability in contract cost measurements.

Fundamental Requirement

(a) Educational institutions shall use their fiscal year as their cost accounting period, except that:(1) Costs of an indirect function which exists for only a part of a cost accounting period may be allocated to cost objectives of that same part of the period as provided in 9905.506-50(a).(2) An annual period other than the fiscal year may, as provided in 9905.506-50(d), be used as the cost accounting period if its use is an established practice of the institution.(3) A transitional cost accounting period other than a year shall be used whenever a change of fiscal year occurs.

(b) An institution shall follow consistent practices in the selection of the cost accounting period or periods in which any types of expense and any types of adjustment to expense (including prior-period adjustments) are accumulated and allocated.

(c) The same cost accounting period shall be used for accumulating costs in an indirect cost pool as for establishing its allocation base, except that the contracting parties may agree to use a different period for establishing an allocation base as provided in 9905.506-50(e).

C.A.S Exemption Form

Direct/Indirect Costs