Organization
1. Define the authorized work elements
for the program. A work breakdown structure (WBS), tailored for
effective internal management control, is commonly used in this
process.
2. Identify the program organizational structure including the
major subcontractors responsible for accomplishing the authorized
work, and define the organizational elements in which work will
be planned and controlled.
3. Provide for the integration of the company's planning, scheduling,
budgeting, work authorization and cost accumulation processes
with each other, and as appropriate, the program work breakdown
structure and the program organizational structure.
4. Identify the company organization or function responsible for
controlling overhead (indirect costs).
5. Provide for integration of the program work breakdown structure
and the program organizational structure in a manner that permits
cost and schedule performance measurement by elements of either
or both structures as needed.
Planning and Budgeting
6. Schedule the authorized work in
a manner which describes the sequence of work and identifies significant
task interdependencies required to meet the requirements of the
program.
7. Identify physical products, milestones, technical performance
goals, or other indicators that will be used to measure progress.
8. Establish and maintain a time-phased budget baseline,
at the control account level, against which program performance
can be measured. Budget for far-term efforts may be held in higher
level accounts until an appropriate time for allocation at the
control account level. Initial budgets established for performance
measurement will be based on either internal management goals
or the external customer negotiated target cost including estimates
for authorized but undefinitized work. On government contracts,
if an over target baseline is used for performance measurement
reporting purposes, prior notification must be provided to the
customer.
9. Establish budgets for authorized work with identification of
significant cost elements (labor, material, etc.) as needed for
internal management and for control of subcontractors.
10. To the extent it is practical to identify the authorized work
in discrete work packages, establish budgets for this work in
terms of dollars, hours, or other measurable units. Where the
entire control account is not subdivided into work packages, identify
the far term effort in larger planning packages for budget and
scheduling purposes.
11. Provide that the sum of all work package budgets plus planning
package budgets within a control account equals the control account
budget.
12. Identify and control level of effort activity by time-phased
budgets established for this purpose. Only that effort which is
unmeasurable or for which measurement is impractical may be classified
as level of effort.
13. Establish overhead budgets for each significant organizational
component of the company for expenses which will become indirect
costs. Reflect in the program budgets, at the appropriate level,
the amounts in overhead pools that are planned to be allocated
to the program as indirect costs.
14. Identify management reserves and undistributed budget.
15. Provide that the program target cost goal is reconciled
with the sum of all internal program budgets and management reserves.
Accounting Considerations
16. Record direct costs in a manner
consistent with the budgets in a formal system controlled by the
general books of account.
17. When a work breakdown structure is used, summarize direct
costs from control accounts into the work breakdown structure
without allocation of a single control account to two or more
work breakdown structure elements.
18. Summarize direct costs from the control accounts into the
contractor's organizational elements without allocation of a single
control account to two or more organizational elements.
19. Record all indirect costs which will be allocated to the contract.
20. Identify unit costs, equivalent units costs, or lot costs
when needed.
21. For EVMS, the material accounting system will provide for:
(1) Accurate cost accumulation and assignment of costs to control accounts in a manner consistent with the budgets using recognized, acceptable, costing techniques.
(2) Cost performance measurement at the point in time most suitable for the category of material involved, but no earlier than the time of progress payments or actual receipt of material.
(3) Full accountability of all material purchased for the program including the residual inventory.
Analysis and Management Reports
22. At least on a monthly basis, generate
the following information at the control account and other levels
as necessary for management control using actual cost data from,
or reconcilable with, the accounting system:
(1) Comparison of the amount of planned budget and the amount of budget earned for work accomplished. This comparison provides the schedule variance.
(2) Comparison of the amount of the budget earned the actual (applied where appropriate) direct costs for the same
23. Identify, at least monthly, the significant differences between
both planned and actual schedule performance and planned and actual
cost performance, and provide the reasons for the variances in
the detail needed by program management.
24. Identify budgeted and applied (or actual) indirect
costs at the level and frequency needed by management for effective
control, along with the reasons for any significant variances.
25. Summarize the data elements and associated variances through
the program organization and/or work breakdown structure to support
management needs and any customer reporting specified in the contract.
26. Implement managerial actions taken as the result of earned
value information.
27. Develop revised estimates of cost at completion based on performance
to date, commitment values for material, and estimates of future
conditions. Compare this information with the performance measurement
baseline to identify variances at completion important to company
management and any applicable customer reporting requirements
including statements of funding requirements.
Revisions and Data Maintenance
28. Incorporate authorized changes
in a timely manner, recording the effects of such changes in budgets
and schedules. In the directed effort prior to negotiation of
a change, base such revisions on the amount estimated and budgeted
to the program organizations.
29. Reconcile current budgets to prior budgets in terms of changes
to the authorized work and internal replanning in the detail needed
by management for effective control.
30. Control retroactive changes to records pertaining to work
performed that would change previously reported amounts for actual
costs, earned value, or budgets. Adjustments should be made only
for correction of errors, routine accounting adjustments, effects
of customer or management directed changes, or to improve the
baseline integrity and accuracy of performance measurement data.
31. Prevent revisions to the program budget except for authorized
changes.
32. Document changes to the performance measurement baseline.