Compliance Stuff

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is often described as the “bible” of federal procurement. For decades, it has governed how agencies acquire goods and services, and how contractors compete for, win, and perform government contracts. While incremental updates are common, the federal procurement community is now bracing for the implementation of an effort describing itself as a “ revolutionary FAR overhaul ” — a top-to-bottom “modernization effort” that could reshape the contracting landscape. Why an Overhaul Now? For some time, certain policymakers, acquisition officials, and industry stakeholders have criticized the FAR for being: Overly complex  – Thousands of pages of regulations can overwhelm even experienced contractors. Outdated  – Some provisions reflect procurement practices from the 1980s, ill-suited to today’s fast-moving tech environment. Inflexible  – Agencies often struggle to adopt innovative solutions due to rigid rules. The current change has its ro...

  The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) is an  Executive Order  that seeks to reform the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to eliminate barriers to doing business with the Federal Government. This monumental change is akin to removing the traffic light at a four-way intersection and replacing it with a stop sign. So, will the government’s signal change improve efficiency, or will it cause more traffic and accidents? Let’s take a look. What is the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul? The  White House  intends for the RFO to streamline the procurement process. To achieve this goal, the FAR Council, the heads of agencies, and senior acquisition officials will amend the FAR so that it only contains provisions that are required by statute or “are otherwise necessary to support simplicity and usability, strengthen the efficacy of the procurement system, or protect economic or national security interests.” To date, little guidance has been issued to determine which regulatio...