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BRIEF

Policy Summary

This policy provides guidance for the accumulation and allocation of General and Administrative (G&A) expenses to final cost objectives at Berkeley Lab.

Who Should Read This Policy

All Berkeley Lab employees with financial responsibilities.

To Read the Full Policy, Go To:

The POLICY tab on this wiki page

Contact Information

Indirect Budget Manager, Office of the Chief Financial Officer

POLICY

A. Purpose

This policy provides guidance for the accumulation and allocation of General and Administrative (G&A) expenses to final cost objectives, in accordance with Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) and the terms of Contract 31.

B. Persons Affected

All Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) employees with financial responsibilities.

C. Exceptions

None

D. Policy Statement

1. General
   

   General and Administrative (G&A) expenses represent costs of the management and administration of Berkeley Lab as a whole. G&A expenses will be:

• • Appropriately budgeted and accounted for on a consistent basis.
  • Accumulated in a separate G&A cost pool.
  • Allocated in a practical and equitable manner in reasonable proportion to the beneficial or causal relationship of the costs to final cost objectives.

       2. Cost Pool

1. 1. The Budget Office will identify G&A cost elements that represent the cost of the management and administration of Berkeley Lab as a whole and group those cost elements in a separate G&A cost pool. Examples of the functions in G&A include the Lab Directorate, Human Resources, Office of the Chief Financial Officer activities, and Information Technology.
   2. Cost elements may include labor and other operating expenses associated with the above functions.
   3. The G&A pool shall not include research and development (R&D) activities.
   4. The cost pool shall not include expenses which are unallowable per the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) or the terms of Contract 31.
   5. Capital equipment cannot be purchased with G&A funds. 

3. Distribution Base

1. 1. The G&A expense pool for a cost-accounting period is allocated to final cost objectives of that cost-accounting period by means of a value-added cost input base.
   2. The following project types are excluded from the distribution base for G&A expenses:
      1. Conferences
      2. Fellowship and career-development Strategic Partnership Projects (SPP) award projects and work-study students
      3. Contract Supported Research (CSR), Gift, and Royalty
      4. Multiple location assignments (MLAs), inter-jurisdictional employee exchanges (IJEs), intergovernmental personnel appointments (IPAs), and Department of Energy (DOE) detailee projects
   3. All exclusions are detailed in the Lab’s annual Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Disclosure Statement. 

4. Rate Execution and Monitoring

1. 1. G&A expenses are allocated using pre-established rates. Rates are based on forecasted costs for the applicable fiscal year.
   2. Preliminary G&A rates are developed on a break-even basis, with the objective of establishing a rate to recover the exact total of costs in the cost pool at fiscal year-end. The pre-established rates are monitored throughout the fiscal year. If a material variance is anticipated, the pre-established rate will be revised to ensure the variance is reallocated to the original cost objectives in the proportion it was originally recovered. Revised rates are retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal year.
   3. Establishment of G&A rates, forecasts, and revisions of predetermined rates for the applicable cost accounting period(s) are prepared by appropriate Budget Office Staff.

E. Roles and Responsibilities

Managers, supervisors, and employees have the responsibility to adhere to the provisions of this policy.

F. Definitions/Acronyms

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

None

H. Implementing Documents

None

I. Contact Information

Indirect Budget Manager, Office of the Chief Financial Officer

J. Revision History

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Source Requirements Documents

• DOE Order 522.1, Pricing of Departmental Materials and Services
• Cost Account Standards Board (CASB) Disclosure Statement, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Cost Accounting Standard 402, Consistency in Allocating Costs Incurred for the Same Purpose
• Cost Accounting Standard 410, Allocation of Business Unit General and Administrative Expenses to Final Cost Objectives
• Cost Accounting Standard 418, Allocation of Direct and Indirect Costs
• Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2006, PL 109-103, Conference Report, HR 109-275