Navigating Contract Challenges After the Government Shutdown Training Webinar

Overview

This FREE webinar will offer attendees an overview of potential issues and roadblocks coming out of the record-setting U.S. Government shutdown and how you can best prepare to overcome these challenges. The session will explore critical compliance and contractual considerations, including obtaining and documenting contracting officer or prime contractor direction, communicating consistently with subcontractors, and maintaining proper documentation to support cost mitigation efforts. Attendees will also review key FAR and DFARS clauses governing contract execution and the allowability of costs during shutdown disruptions. By the end of the session, participants will gain a clearer understanding of how to safeguard compliance, maintain audit readiness, and strengthen operational resilience in the face of government shutdown impacts.

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this one-hour webinar, participants will be able to:

• Understand the importance of obtaining and following the contracting officer’s or prime contractor’s direction for contract execution following the U.S. Government’s longest shutdown, including how to address contract impairments or access limitations.

• Provide clear and consistent direction to subcontractors in alignment with guidance received from the contracting officer or prime contractor, while demonstrating adherence to contractual and applicable agency requirements.

• Document how contracts were managed during the shutdown period, including the actions taken to mitigate costs and maintain compliance.

Program Content

During the webinar, your faculty will discuss:

• Obtaining and complying with the contracting officer’s directions regarding contract execution and continued performance during the government shutdown.

• Compliance with FAR Part 31 (Contract Cost Principles and Procedures), with special emphasis on FAR 31.201-2(d), as required.

• Why understanding your contract requirements is essential to compliance and performance.

• The importance of specific contract clauses and their impact on your contract(s), including:

• FAR 52.232-18 – Availability of Funds

• FAR 52.232-22 – Limitation of Funds

• FAR 52.242-14 – Suspension of Work

• FAR 52.242-15 – Stop-Work Order

• FAR 52.243-X – Changes (contract-type specific clause)

• Specific agency supplements for contract clauses (For example, DFARS 252-243-7002 – Requests for Equitable Adjustment).

Demonstrating cost mitigation and compliance during the government shutdown by:

• Documenting communications and acknowledgements from the contracting officer.

• Establishing separate cost accounts for shutdown-related expenses.

• Maintaining a detailed record of events and contract disruptions.

• Providing appropriate notifications and guidance to subcontractors.

• Tracking labor and subcontractor impacts, including ramp-down and ramp-up costs.

Understanding Requests for Equitable Adjustment (REAs), including how to identify qualifying contract impairments and the implications of the government’s failure to pass a budget as a sovereign act.

About Redstone GCI

RGCI enables contractors doing business with the U.S. government to comply with the complex and challenging procurement regulatory provisions and contract requirements by providing superior cost, pricing, accounting, and contracts administration consulting expertise to clients expeditiously, efficiently, and within customer expectations. Our consulting expertise and experience is unparalleled in understanding unique challenges of government contractors, our operating procedures are crafted and monitored to ensure rock-solid compliance, and our company’s charter and implementing policies are designed to continuously meet needs of clients while fostering a long-term partnership with each client through pro-active communication with our clients.