Federal Acquisitions And Contracting Systemic Challenges Need Attention

Federal Acquisitions and Contracting: Systemic Challenges Need Attention

Take the First Step Toward Building a Strong Foundation in Federal Acquisition! Federal Acquisition: Key Issues and Guidance is an essential guide to understanding and working within the complex world of federal government contracting. It offers brief but comprehensive explanations of the major phases and essential tasks in the contracting process. Written in a clear and easy-to-understand style, this resource provides the perfect foundation for building a thorough understanding of federal contracting. Author Paula Compton focuses on the most problematic areas of federal contracting, highlighting the deficiencies cited most often by the Government Accountability Office and Inspector General audits and reports, such as: • Not performing market research • Inadequate independent government cost estimates • Violation of the bona fide needs rule • Insufficient statements of work • Inadequate price or cost analysis Anyone new to government acquisition will find that reading this book is the ideal first step on the path to understanding the federal acquisition process. Seasoned contract professionals will find it an excellent quick review.

Through a series of compelling stories, The Next Government of the United States reveals the increasing complexity of the policy challenges that face the nation and exposes the reality that America's 20th-century government is a poor match for its 21st-century problems.

A growing portion of federal spending is related to buying services such as administrative, management, and information technical support. Services accounted for about 60% of total FY 2006 procurement dollars. The Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA) of 2003 established a Services Acquisition Advisory Panel to make recommendations for improving acquisition practices. In Jan. 2007, the panel proposed 89 recommendations to improve fed. acquisition practices. This report determines how the panel recommendations compare to past work and identifies how the Office of Fed. Procurement Policy expects the recommendations to be addressed. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables.