View Rule

Section 820 of the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, P.L. 114-328, requires the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Board to ensure that the CAS used by Federal contractors rely, to the maximum extent practicable, on commercial standards and accounting practices and systems -- i.e., Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).  Contractors are subject to both CAS and GAAP which serve different purposes. GAAP reports the financial results of operations at the macro or corporate level, while the CAS measure, assign, and allocate costs at the micro or contract level. There are areas of commonality between CAS and GAAP. The CAS Board is preparing a Staff Discussion Paper, the first step in the Board’s rulemaking process, to seek public input as it identifies the areas of CAS-GAAP commonality, with the goal of minimizing the compliance burden on both contractors and the Government.