As used in this appendix—

“Best practice” means an innovative, novel, or otherwise noteworthy approach or practice used to comply with one or more internal controls.

“Contingency contracting” means a military operation that is designated by the Secretary of Defense as an operation in which members of the armed forces are or may become involved in military actions, operations, or hostilities against an enemy of the United States or against an opposing military force in accordance with 10 USC 101(a)(13)(A) (see also FAR subpart 2.1). The support may be provided in a mature or immature operational environment and may be long term or short term.

“Internal controls” (also known as “internal management controls”) means the rules, procedures, techniques, and devices employed by managers to ensure that what should occur in their daily operations does occur on a continuing basis. For the purposes of this appendix, internal controls include the policies in the FAR, DFARS, and AFARS, and the associated processes and procedures of the contracting activity’s acquisition instruction (see AFARS 5101.304-90).

“Key internal controls” are those internal controls that must be implemented and sustained in daily operations to ensure organizational effectiveness and compliance with legal requirements. The effectiveness of key internal controls is assessed through the PMR Program and other management review processes.

“Lesson learned” means a noteworthy flaw in the design, implementation, or operational effectiveness of one or more internal controls.

“Strategic controls” are those controls that are directly linked to ACE contracting strategic objectives. The primary focus of strategic controls is on operations (i.e., cost, schedule, and performance) objectives.