FAR Compliance
Navigating the federal marketplace requires more than technical excellence; it requires a sophisticated understanding of the legal and financial frameworks that govern USG acquisitions. Akiri provides senior-level advisory to help you decode the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and its agency-specific supplements, ensuring your organization remains a low-risk, high-performing partner for the DOD, VA, and other federal agencies.
What is the FAR?
The FAR is the primary set of rules and guidelines used by the U.S. federal government to manage the acquisition process (purchasing) of goods and services. If you are working with government agencies or large prime contractors, the FAR is essentially the rulebook that dictates how your contracts are written, how you get paid, and what your legal obligations are. Having access to FAR expertise is an essential element of successful USG contract implementation.
Strategic FAR Governance & Award Lifecycle Oversight
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FAR & Agency Supplement Advisory (AIDAR, DFARS, DOSAR, etc.)
The FAR is the foundation, but agency-specific supplements often contain the most critical performance mandates. We provide specialized guidance on both the FAR and its agency supplements, ensuring your team understands the specific clauses that impact your contract’s profitability and compliance.
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Contract Formation & Negotiation Strategy
We support the entire pre-award and award process, from reviewing RFP Section L & M instructions and evaluation criteria to negotiating final contract terms. We ensure that your cost volumes are structured correctly and that your contract types (CPFF, FFP, T&M) are managed to maximize cost recovery and protect your margins.
Operational Compliance & Audit-Ready Systems
A compliant contract is only as strong as the systems that support it. Akiri makes the connection between your daily operations and federal audit standards. We help you build and maintain the "Evidence of Responsibility" required to satisfy DCAA and DCMA auditors, transforming compliance from a burden into a competitive advantage.
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Purchasing System Design & CPSR Readiness
Under FAR Part 44, larger contractors with significant procurement portfolios must maintain an approved purchasing system. We design and refine your procurement workflows to meet CPSR (Contractor Purchasing System Review) standards, focusing on competition, price reasonableness, and mandatory flow-down documentation.​
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Subcontractor Oversight & Flow-Down Management
Managing downstream risk is a prime contractor's greatest challenge. We develop robust subcontract management plans and flow-down matrices, ensuring that your partners are held to the same compliance standards as your organization, protecting you from inheriting your subcontractors' liability.
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Compliant Policies & Consistent Practices
Contractors are required to operate on a consistent basis and in accordance with standardized policies and practices. Operating on "exceptions" only is a recipe for disallowances as contractors continue to grow their USG portfolio. We review and design a multitude of policies and standard operating procedures from compensation to procurement to business ethics and conduct to travel and transportation.
Comprehensive Audit Readiness & Internal Controls
​Compliance is the foundation of a responsible government source. We conduct organizational "health" assessments to identify and remediate gaps in your policies, systems, and procedures before a formal agency audit occurs.
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DCAA-Compliant Accounting & Labor Oversight
We ensure your financial systems meet the rigors of FAR Part 31 (Cost Principles). From timekeeping policies to indirect rate structures, we help you implement the internal controls necessary to pass DCAA audits and ensure your costs are deemed "allowable, allocable, and reasonable."
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Mock Audits & Pre-Award Surveys
​Prior to a formal DCAA or agency audit, we review your systems to identify gaps in timekeeping, indirect rate pools, and labor charging and ensure. We also conduct an accounting system review to ensure you are segregating your direct costs from indirect, your allowable costs from unallowable costs, and that your system allows you to track costs by contract. This proactive approach ensures you pass Pre-Award Surveys with total confidence.
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FAR 52.244 Compliant Procurement
Under FAR Subpart 52.244, contractors must ensure they spend USG money in accordance with specific regulations and maximize competition opportunities to the maximum practical extent. We design and refine your procurement practices and policies to meet the rigors of FAR Subpart 52.244, FAR 15.403 adequate price competition requirements, and price reasonableness determinations.
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Leveling the Playing Field for Federal Subcontractors
​Small businesses are the backbone of the federal supply chain, yet they often lack the leverage to negotiate fair terms with massive Prime contractors. Akiri provides the technical and regulatory "muscle" needed to ensure your subcontracts are fair, profitable, and compliant.
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Strategic Flow-Down and Teaming Negotiations
Subcontractors often face "take-it-or-leave-it" subcontracts filled with unnecessary FAR flow-down clauses or unreasonable but "required" prime policies, that shift undue risk onto the smaller firm. Akiri levels the playing field through:
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Flow-Down Analysis: We distinguish between mandatory flow-downs and those that do not apply.
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Rate Protection: We help you sell the methodology behind your indirect rates, ensuring the Prime’s target rate doesn't compromise your profitability or audit standing.
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Teaming Agreement Advocacy: We review Teaming Agreements to ensure your work share is clearly defined and protected before the Prime wins the award.
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Sponsorship Agreements: We help negotiate the terms under which a Prime must sponsor your claims to the government, ensuring you aren't left without recourse if an agency issue arises.
