Government Contracting Officers are required to “purchase supplies and services from responsible sources at fair and reasonable prices”:

“(1) The contracting officer is responsible for evaluating the reasonableness of the offered prices. The analytical techniques and procedures described in this subsection may be used, singly or in combination with others, to ensure that the final price is fair and reasonable. The complexity and circumstances of each acquisition should determine the level of detail of the analysis required.

(2) Price analysis shall be used when certified cost or pricing data are not required

(3) Cost analysis shall be used to evaluate the reasonableness of individual cost elements when certified cost or pricing data are required. Price analysis should be used to verify that the overall price offered is fair and reasonable.”2

The CO is given the following additional guidance:

“Normally competition establishes price reasonableness. Therefore, when contracting on a firm fixed-price or fixed-price with economic price adjustment basis, comparison of the proposed prices will usually satisfy the requirement to perform price analysis, and a cost analysis need not be performed.”3

Government Contractors, when purchasing supplies or services under a government cost reimbursement contract, are held to a similar standard.4 Furthermore, when bidding on any contract for which “certified cost or pricing data” are required, contractors are instructed to:

“Conduct price analyses of all subcontractor proposals. Conduct cost analyses for all subcontracts when certified cost or pricing data are submitted by the subcontractor. Include these analyses as part of your own certified cost or pricing data submissions for subcontracts expected to exceed the appropriate threshold in FAR 15.403-4.”5

Cost Analysis and Price Analysis – two critical and essential tools used in assessing fairness and reasonableness of proposed prices – must be understood by buyers and sellers in all government contracting situations - government contracting officers, and contractors alike,

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1 FAR 15.402 - Pricing Policy
2 FAR 15.404-1(a) – Proposal Analysis Techniques
3 FAR 15.305 – Proposal Evaluation
4 FAR 44 – Subcontracting Policies and Procedures
5 FAR Table 15-2 – Instructions for Submitting Cost/Price Proposals When Cost or Pricing Data Are Required
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particularly when the contractor fills both the seller’s and buyer’s shoes in performing on a government contract.

Taught in a straight forward manner from the perspective of the Buyer, Cost and Price Analysis in Government Contracting presents a thorough discussion of these concepts in practical and actionable terms. Participants will learn not only the “why’s” but the “how to’s”. The course objective, simply stated, is to have participants obtain a working level understanding of what the dual techniques of Cost Analysis and Price Analysis are, when they are to be used, and how to accomplish them. This objective is achieved through a thorough review and analysis of the regulations and illustrated through a variety of real world examples, scenarios and case studies.