Subpart 1845.71—Forms Preparation

NASA must account for and report assets in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3512 and 31 U.S.C. 3515, Federal Accounting Standards, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) instructions. Since contractors maintain NASA's official records for its assets in their possession, NASA must obtain periodic data from those records to meet these requirements. Changes in Federal Accounting Standards and OMB reporting requirements may occur from year to year, requiring contractor submission of supplemental information with the NASA Form (NF) 1018. The specific Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) to be used for property records are SFFAS No. 3 “Accounting for Inventory and Related Property”, SFFAS No. 6 “Accounting for Property, Plant and Equipment”, SFFAS No. 10 “Accounting for Internal Use Software”, and SFFAS No. 11 “Amendments to PP&E: Definitions” issued by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board. Classifications of property, related costs to be reported, and other reporting requirements are discussed in this subpart. NF 1018 (see 1853.3) provides critical information for NASA financial statements and property management. Accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of the report are critical to many aspects of NASA's operations.

(a) General.

(1) Contractors shall report costs in the classifications on NF 1018, as described in this section. The cost of heritage assets and obsolete property will be reported on the NF 1018 under the appropriate classification. Supplemental reporting may also be required.

(2)

(i) Heritage assets are property, plant and equipment that possess one or more of the following characteristics:

(A) Historical or natural significance;

(B) Cultural, educational or artistic importance; or

(C) Significant architectural characteristics.

(ii) Examples of NASA heritage assets include buildings and structures designated as National Historic Landmarks as well as aircraft, spacecraft and related components on display to enhance public understanding of NASA programs. Heritage assets which serve both a heritage and government operation function are considered multi-use when the predominant use is in general government operations. Multi-use heritage assets will not be considered heritage assets for NF 1018 supplemental reporting purposes.

(3) Obsolete property is property for which there are no current plans for use in its intended purpose (i.e., it no longer provides service to NASA operations). Examples of obsolete property are items in configurations which are no longer required or used by NASA or items held for engineering evaluation purposes only. NASA may have approved the retention of these items for programmatic reasons even though they have no current plans for use.

(b) Land. Includes costs of land and improvements to land. Contractors shall report land with a unit acquisition cost of $500,000 or more.

(c) Buildings. Includes costs of buildings, improvements to buildings, and fixed equipment required for the operation of a building which is permanently attached to and a part of the building and cannot be removed without cutting into the walls, ceilings, of floors. Contractors shall report buildings with a unit acquisition cost of $500,000 or more. Examples of fixed equipment required for functioning of a building include plumbing, heating and lighting equipment, elevators, central air conditioning systems, and built-in safes and vaults.

(d) Other Structures and Facilities. Includes costs of acquisitions and improvements of real property (i.e. structures and facilities other than buildings); for example, airfield pavements, harbor and port facilities, power production facilities and distribution systems, reclamation and irrigation facilities, flood control and navigation aids, utility systems (heating, sewage, water and electrical) when they serve several buildings or structures, communication systems, traffic aids, roads and bridges, railroads, monuments and memorials, and nonstructural improvements such as sidewalks, parking areas, and fences. Contractors shall report other structures and facilities with a unit acquisition cost of $500,000 or more and a useful life of two years or more.

(e) Leasehold improvements. Includes NASA-funded costs of improvements to leased buildings, structures, and facilities, as well as easements and right-of-way, where NASA is the lessee or the cost is charged to a NASA contract. Contractors shall report leasehold improvements with a unit acquisition cost of $500,000 or more and a useful life of two years or more.

(f) Construction in progress. Includes costs of work in process for the construction of Buildings, Other Structures and Facilities, and Leasehold Improvements to which NASA has title, regardless of value.

(g) Equipment. Includes costs of commercially available personal property capable of stand-alone use in manufacturing supplies, performing services, or any general or administrative purpose (for example, machine tools, furniture, vehicles, computers, software, test equipment, including their accessory or auxiliary items). Software integrated into and necessary to operate another item of Government property is considered to be an auxiliary item (see FAR 45.501) and should be considered part of the item of which it is an integral part. Other software to which NASA has title shall be classified as an individual item of equipment for reporting purposes if it has a useful life of 2 years or more and acquisition cost of $1,000,000 or more (also see 1845.7101–3(g)). Enhancement costs for existing software should be added to the software acquisition cost if the enhancement results in significant additional capability beyond that for which the software was originally developed (i.e., a capability that was not included in the original software specifications, the total cost of the enhancement is $1,000,000 or more, or the expected useful life of the enhanced software is 2 years or more). Software licenses are excluded. Contractors shall separately report:

(1) The amount for all items with a unit acquisition cost of $500,000 or more and a useful life of two years or more; and

(2) All other items.

(h) Special tooling. Includes costs of equipment and manufacturing aids (and their components and replacements) of such a specialized nature that, without substantial modification or alteration, their use is limited to development or production of particular supplies or parts, or performance of particular services (see FAR 45.101). Examples include jigs, dies, fixtures, molds, patterns, taps and gauges. Contractors shall separately report:

(1) The amount for all items with a unit acquisition cost of $500,000 or more and a useful life of two years or more; and

(2) All other items.

(i) Special test equipment. Includes costs of equipment used to accomplish special purpose testing in performing a contract, and items or assemblies of equipment (see FAR 45.101). Contractors shall separately report:

(1) The amount for all items with a unit acquisition cost of $500,000 or more and a useful life of two years or more; and

(2) All other items.

(j) Material. Includes costs of NASA-owned property held in inventory regardless of whether or not it is unique to NASA programs, that may become a part of an end item or be expended in performing a contract. Examples include raw and processed material, spares, parts, assemblies, small tools and supplies. Material that is part of work-in-process is not included. Contractors shall report the amount for all Materials in inventory, regardless of unit acquisition cost.

(k) Agency-Peculiar Property. Includes costs of completed items, unique to NASA aeronautical and space programs, which are capable of stand-alone operation. Examples include research aircraft, reusable space vehicles, ground support equipment, prototypes, and mock-ups. The amount of property, title to which vests in NASA as a result of progress payments to fixed price subcontractors, shall be included to reflect the pro rata cost of undelivered agency-peculiar property. Completed end items not related to the International Space Station or the Space Shuttle program which otherwise meet the definition of Agency-Peculiar Property, and are destined for permanent operation in space, such as satellites and space probes, shall not be reported. Contractors shall separately report:

(1) The amount for all items with a unit acquisition cost of $500,000 or more and a useful life of two years or more; and

(2) All other items.

(l) Contract Work-in-Process. Work-in-process (WIP) consists of property items under construction (i.e., not complete). It includes costs of all work-in-process regardless of value, and excludes costs of completed items reported in other categories. While the costs of WIP for International Space Station and Space Shuttle components should be included as WIP, satellites and space probes and their components should be excluded from WIP as those items will be accounted for by NASA.

A transfer is a change in accountability between and among prime contracts, NASA Centers, and other Government agencies (e.g., between contracts of the same NASA Center, contracts of different NASA Centers, a contract of one NASA Center to another, a NASA Center to a contract of another NASA Center, and a contract to another Government agency or its contract). To enable NASA to properly control and account for all transfers, they shall be adequately documented. Adequate documentation includes the appropriate dollar amount of the asset(s) transferred (as prescribed in 1845.7101–3) and the formal, signed NASA or contractor authorization approving the transfer. In addition, procurement, property, and financial organizations at NASA Centers must effect all transfers of accountability, although physical shipment and receipt of property may be made directly by contractors. The procedures described in this section shall be followed to provide an administrative and audit trail, even if property is physically shipped directly from one contractor to another. Property shipped between September 1 and September 30, inclusively, shall be accounted for and reported by the shipping contractor, regardless of the method of shipment, unless written evidence of receipt at destination has been received. Repairables provided under fixed price repair contracts that include the clause at 1852.245–72, Liability for Government Property Furnished for Repair or Other Services, remain accountable to the cognizant NASA Center and are not reportable on NF 1018; repairables provided under a cost-reimbursement contract, however, are accountable to the contractor and reportable on NF 1018. All materials provided to conduct repairs are reportable, regardless of contract type.

(a) Approval and notification. The contractor must obtain approval of the contracting officer or designee for transfers of property off the prime contract before shipment. Each shipping document must be signed by the contracting officer or designee demonstrating such approval. Each shipping document must contain contract numbers, shipping references, property classifications in which the items are recorded (including Federal Supply Classification group (FSC) codes for equipment), unit acquisition costs (as defined in 1845.7101–3, Unit Acquisition Cost), original Government acquisition dates for items with a unit acquisition cost of $500,000 or more and a useful life of two years or more, and any other appropriate identifying or descriptive data. Where the DD Form 250, Material Inspection and Receiving Report, is used, the FSC code will be part of the national stock number (NSN) entered in Block 16 or, if the NSN is not provided, the FSC alone shall be shown in Block 16. The original Government acquisition date shall be shown in Block 23, by item. Other formats, such as the DD Form 1149, Requisition and Invoice/Shipping Document, should be clearly annotated with the required information. Unit acquisition costs shall be obtained from records maintained pursuant to FAR part 45 and this part 1845, or, for uncompleted items where property records have not yet been established, from such other record systems as are appropriate such as manufacturing or engineering records used for work control and billing purposes. Shipping contractors shall furnish a copy of the formally approved shipping document to the cognizant property administrator. Shipping and receiving contractors shall promptly submit copies of shipping and receiving documents to the Center Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Finance, responsible for their respective contracts when accountability for NASA property is transferred to, or received from, other contracts, contractors, NASA Centers, or Government agencies.

(b) Reclassification. If property is transferred to another contract or contractor, the receiving contractor shall record the property in the same property classification and amount appearing on the shipping document. For example, when a contractor receives an item from another contractor that is identified on the shipping document as equipment, but that the recipient intends to incorporate into special test equipment, the recipient shall first record the item in the equipment account and subsequently reclassify it as special test equipment. Reclassification of equipment, special tooling, special test equipment, or agency-peculiar property requires prior approval of the contracting officer or a designee.

(c) Incomplete documentation. If contractors receive transfer documents having insufficient detail to properly record the transfer (e.g., omission of property classification, FSC, unit acquisition cost, Government acquisition date, required signatures, etc.) they shall request the omitted data directly from the shipping contractor or through the property administrator. The contracting officer shall assist the Government Property Administrator and the receiving contractor to obtain all required information for the receiving contractor to establish adequate property records.

(a) The unit acquisition cost shall include all costs incurred to bring the property to a form and location suitable for its intended use. The following is representative of the types of costs that shall be included, when applicable:

(1) Amounts paid to vendors or other contractors.

(2) Transportation charges to the point of initial use.

(3) Handling and storage charges.

(4) Labor and other direct or indirect production costs (for assets produced or constructed).

(5) Engineering, architectural, and other outside services for designs, plans, specifications, and surveys.

(6) Acquisition and preparation costs of buildings and other facilities.

(7) An appropriate share of the cost of the equipment and facilities used in construction work.

(8) Fixed equipment and related installation costs required for activities in a building or facility.

(9) Direct costs of inspection, supervision, and administration of construction contracts and construction work.

(10) Legal and recording fees and damage claims.

(11) Fair values of facilities and equipment donated to the Government.

(b) Acquisition cost shall include, where appropriate, for contractor acquired property, related fees, or a pro rata portion of fees, paid by NASA to the contractor. Situations where inclusion of fees in the acquisition cost would be appropriate are those in which the contractor designs, develops, fabricates or purchases property for NASA and part of the fees paid to the contractor by NASA are related to that effort.

(c) Acquisition cost shall be developed using actual costs to the greatest extent possible, especially costs directly related to fabrication such as labor and materials. Where estimates are used, there must be a documented methodology based on a historical basis. All acquisition costs shall be properly documented, supported and retained. Supporting documentation shall be made available upon request.

(d) The use of weighted average methodologies is acceptable for valuation of Material.

(e) Contractors shall report unit acquisition costs using records that are part of the prescribed property or financial control system as provided in this section. Fabrication costs shall be based on approved systems or procedures and include all direct and indirect costs of fabrication.

(f) Only modifications that improve an item's capacity or extend its useful life two years or more and that cost $500,000 or more shall be reported on the NF 1018 on the $500,000 & Over line. The costs of any other modifications, excluding routine maintenance, will be reported on the Under $500,000 line. If an item's original unit acquisition cost is less than $500,000, but a single subsequent modification costs $500,000 or more, that modification only will be reported as an item $500,000 or more on subsequent NF 1018s. The original acquisition cost of the item will continue to be included in the under $500,000 total. The quantity for the modified item will remain “1” and be reported with the original acquisition cost of the item. If an item's acquisition cost is reduced by removal of components so that its remaining acquisition cost is under $500,000, it shall be reported as under $500,000.

(g) Software acquisition costs include software costs incurred up through acceptance testing and material internal costs incurred to implement the software and otherwise make the software ready for use. Costs incurred after acceptance testing are excluded. License, maintenance, training, and data conversion costs are also excluded. If the software is purchased as part of a package, the costs will need to be segregated in such manner as to ensure that the excluded costs (maintenance, training, etc.) are not reported as part of the software's acquisition cost. Enhancement costs for existing software should be added to the acquisition cost if the enhancement results in significant additional capability beyond that for which the software was originally developed (i.e. a capability that was not included in the original software specifications), the total cost of the enhancement is $1,000,000 or more, and the expected useful life of the enhanced software is 2 years or more. Include the same types of cost as indicated above under new software. Costs incurred solely to repair a design flaw or perform minor upgrades should not be included.

(h) The computation of work in process (WIP) shall include all direct and indirect costs of fabrication, including associated systems, subsystems, and spare parts and components furnished or acquired and charged to work in process pending incorporation into a finished item. These types of items make up what is sometimes called production inventory and include programmed extra units to cover replacement during the fabrication process (production spares). Also included are deliverable items on which the contractor or a subcontractor has begun work, and materials issued from inventory. The computation of WIP shall incorporate the other requirements for unit acquisition cost as outlined in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section. In addition, acquisition cost of property furnished by the Government, which has been incorporated in the property item under construction or in process of fabrication, should be included. Do not include costs for operation or repairing existing completed property items. Once the property is complete, include all the costs outlined above in its acquisition value in the property record. The WIP values are inception to date until such time as the WIP is completed. It does not include future costs.

Contractors shall report the types of deletions from contract property records as described in this section.

(a) Lost, damaged or destroyed. Deletion amounts that result from relief from responsibility under FAR 45.503 granted during the reporting period.

(b) Transferred in Place. Deletion amounts that result from transfer of property to a follow-on prime contract or other prime contract with the same contractor.

(c) Transferred to NASA Center accountability. Deletion amounts that result from transfer of accountability to the NASA Center responsible for the contract, whether or not items are physically moved.

(d) Transferred to another NASA Center. Deletion amounts that result from transfer of accountability to a NASA Center other than the one responsible for the contract, whether or not items are physically moved.

(e) Transferred to another Government agency. Deletion amounts that result from transfer of property to another Government agency.

(f) Purchased at cost/returned for credit. Deletion amounts that result from contractor purchase or retention of contractor acquired property as provided in FAR 45.605–1, or from contractor returns to suppliers under FAR 45.605–2.

(g) Disposed of through plant clearance process. Deletions other than transfers within the Federal Government, e.g., donations to eligible recipients, sold at less than cost, or abandoned/directed destruction, or trade-ins.

(h) Other. Types of deletion other than those reported in paragraph (a) through (g) of this section such as those resulting from reclassifications (e.g. from equipment to agency-peculiar property).

If a transfer of property between contractors involves disclosing costs of a proprietary nature, the contractor shall furnish unit acquisition costs only on copies of shipping documents sent to the shipping and receiving NASA Centers.