A step-by-step guide to all phases of price and cost analysis - from the initial contract solicitation to the final contract award. Methods for identifying, considering and understanding all relevant costs...techniques for price analysis... key elements needed for documentation... direct material and labor cost analysis... and more.

Experience... skill... determination... innovation - These virtues alone will not earn you a Government contract. That, to a large extent, boils down to: Pricing the contract. For, being able to transform a contract's requirements into sharply focused prices is the key to receiving the contract award - and to successfully performing and completing the work. As an offeror, you must prepare proposals that convince buyers that your price is fair and reasonable. As a buyer, the prices you pay can mean the difference between success and failure.

Contract pricing is a delicate exercise - taking into account a wide range of tangible and sometimes intangible price and cost analysis information. And, all the while, contractors and Government contracting officers must maintain compliance with a growing number of applicable laws and regulations. In short: Contract pricing is an integral, vital part of the procurement process. It can be where success begins... or where ambitions end.

This specially developed program will provide contractor and Government personnel with effective, immediate-use information regarding contract pricing techniques. In addition to detailed lectures, a review and analysis of actual cases will provide a solid opportunity to apply cost and price analysis techniques to the information you are given.

You will be taken through all phases of price and cost analysis, from the receipt of the purchase request to the award of the contract or subcontract. Further, the program examines the methods for identifying and considering relevant costs to the buyer, quantitative techniques for analysis, key elements needed for documentation, direct material and labor costs analysis matters, and more.

1. The Contract Pricing Environment
   1. Objectives of Government Contract Pricing
   2. Methods of Contract Pricing
2. The Foundations of Price Analysis
   1. Preparing for Price Analysis
   2. Maximizing Price Competition
3. Price Related Data From Offerors
   1. Determining Certified Cost or Pricing Data Requirements
   2. Determining Applicability of Exemptions From Certified Cost or Pricing Data Requirements
   3. Identifying Additional Data Needed From the Offeror
4. Price Related Factors for Award
   1. Selecting Price Related Factors for Award
   2. Applying Price Related Factors for Award
5. Quantitative Techniques for Price Analysis
   1. Index Numbers
   2. Cost-Volume Analysis
   3. Cost Estimating Relationships
6. Price Analysis Related Decisions
   1. Sealed Bidding
   2. Negotiation
7. Documenting Price Analysis
   1. Required Documents
   2. Recordkeeping
8. Overview of Cost Analysis
   1. Costs & Cost Analysis
   2. Cost or Pricing Data
   3. Cost Allowability
   4. Data Collection for Analysis
   5. Work Design and Analysis
9. Quantitative Techniques for Cost Analysis
   1. Sampling
   2. Regression
   3. Moving Averages
   4. Improvement Curves
10. Direct Material Costs Analysis
    1. Analyzing Summary Cost Estimates
    2. Analyzing Detailed Cost Estimates
    3. Considering Major Subcontractor Pricing Requirements
11. Direct Labor Cost Analysis
    1. Analyzing Labor Hour Estimates
    2. Analyzing Wage Rate Estimates
12. Other Direct Cost Analysis
    1. Identifying Other Direct Costs
    2. Considering Special Estimating Concerns
13. Indirect Cost Analysis
    1. Importance and Composition of Indirect Costs
    2. Developing Recovery Rates
    3. Considering the Allocation Cycle
14. Facilities Capital Cost of Money
    1. Fundamentals
    2. Developing Factors
    3. Applying Factors
15. Profit/Fee Analysis
    1. General Factors Affecting Profit/Fee Analysis
    2. DOD Weighted Guidelines
    3. Other Agency Approaches to Profit/Fee Analysis
16. Preparing for Negotiation
    1. Performing Trade-Off Analysis
    2. Documenting Rationale and Factual Support

Joseph Higgins is a managing director in the FTI Forensic and Litigation Consulting practice based in Washington, D.C. Mr. Higgins has worked over 30 years in accounting, auditing and consulting in government contracting with concentration in the Aerospace and Defense (A&D) industry.

Mr. Higgins has extensive financial management experience in government contracting, specifically in the development and implementation of cost allocation systems to ensure cost recovery on government contracts. He has assisted clients with completion of CASB Disclosure Statements and related issues with compliance with the Cost Accounting Standards. Mr. Higgins has expertise in all required government contracting management systems, including cost estimating and earned value management systems (EVMS). He has extensive knowledge in the areas of contract claims, particularly claims in connection with terminations for the convenience of the government.

Mr. Higgins brings a diversity of experience to his consulting tasks, coming to FTI after working 15 years as a Vice President Finance/Chief Financial Officer with A&D companies and slightly more time performing auditing and consulting work within the federal government as well as the private sector. Mr. Higgins has a current operating-level perspective on the challenges that face today’s government contractor. Not only does he have the technical competence to deal with the regulatory/compliance aspects of an issue, he also has the practical insight to appreciate the business and organizational implications that may be involved. Having worked at various levels in the Defense Contract Audit Agency, Mr. Higgins has the background necessary to bring clarity to potentially volatile audit situations. And his experience as a consultant and auditor with major international accounting firms gives him additional qualification and perspective.

Mr. Higgins has industry experience in the aerospace and defense, construction, and manufacturing industries.

Nancy Harrison  is a Director in FTI’s Forensic and Litigation practice and is based in Los Angeles. Ms. Harrison provides consulting and litigation support services on issues relating to public contract services including: contract compliance, cost accounting issues, termination settlement proposals, and requests for equitable adjustments, defective pricing, and solicitation proposals. Ms. Harrison’s extensive experience is a unique combination from years served in a public professional services capacity as well as those years served from within selected industries where she held key financial and contracting positions. Industries served include Aerospace & Defense, Electronic, Engineering and Construction, Biotechnology and Healthcare, specifically for clients receiving government contracts from DOD, NASA, DOE, GSA, VA, and HHS-CMS.

Before joining FTI, Ms. Harrison was a Senior Manager in Ernst & Young’s Government Contract Services Practice where she provided a variety of services to Clients that included: submissions of their Indirect Rates; Disclosure Statements; Medicare Part B - Administrative Cost reports; delay and disruption claims, termination settlement proposals, application of the Federal Acquisition Regulations Cost Principles and Cost Accounting Standards; Federal Supply Schedule voluntary disclosures associated with the Price Reduction Clause, and compliance with the Veterans Administration Health Care Act. Specific areas addressed in these matters included Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) application, audit reviews for compliance with federal regulation cost principles, cost accounting controls and methodology, pricing and estimating techniques, engineering cost impacts, and program risk assessment.

Ms. Harrison earned a BS in Business Administration with emphasis in finance, from California State University, Long Beach. She completed post-baccalaureate hours and courses in Government Contract Accounting at the University of California at Los Angeles.