Contracting Resources - Profile by Tony Mackey, HP
Best practices in contracting — FAR and DFARS
In my opinion, the US Federal Government has been the originator of many best practices and standards in contracting, (procurement, sales, and ethics), since at least the 1980's. The best part about this is that all of these practices and standards have been codified in manuals for many years, that is, in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement (DFARS).
It seems that those practicing commercial contracting have long resisted embracing the standards, guidelines, regulations, and practices embodied in the FAR and DFARS, in an ‘anything goes’ culture and are only recently adopting similar or parallel standards due to the ethics-related pressures imposed upon them by Congress via other government regulating bodies. We see this exemplified in the Corrupt Practices Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, Anti-Kickback Act, or the recent requirement for big business to have ethics programs. These principles have long been embodied in FAR & DFARS.
Here are some topics extracted from the FAR Table of Contents from March 1, 1991, to name a few.
FAR Part 3 — Improper Business Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest
FAR Part 6 — Competition Requirements
FAR Part 23 — Drug Free Workplace
FAR Part 30 — Cost Accounting Standards
FAR Part 31 — Contract Cost Principles and Procedures
