File Number: NPS-CM-03-002

Author: Christopher Parker and Michael Busansky

Title: Transformation in DoD Contract Closeout

Published: June 2003

Sponsored by: Acquisition Chair, Naval Postgraduate School

Full Text URL: http://www.acquisitionresearch.org/_files/FY2003/NPS-CM-03-002.pdf

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Abstract:

Two short years ago, mentioning the words “contract closeout” would have drawn a critical eye or a scoffing laugh out of many in the acquisition community, much less trying to convince those same critics that contract closeout was destined to become a priority at the highest levels of the Department of Defense (DOD).  Yet, in the past few years we have seen a reversal in the way acquisition professionals view contract closeout as the least important portion of a contract’s life and a wholesale transition to a renewed emphasis on closing contracts in a timely manner.  DOD has even gone so far as to create specific metrics to track the progress of the Services in closing contracts, and has focused management attention on the issue.

So what is it that has created this shift in priorities, what are some of the most glaring problems in tackling contract closeout, and what are some ways of correcting those problems?  These are some of the questions this short article will pose to the reader, although a detailed rendering of those issues is better within the source material from which this article was taken.   Although this article cannot address all of the findings from a larger study conducted at the Naval Postgraduate School and published as an MBA Project Report and an associated Thesis, both published in June 2003, this article points out many of the problems involved in contract closeout and proposes potential solutions to address those problems.

Keywords: Contract Closeout, contract management, contracts 

The research presented in this report was supported by the Acquisition Chair of the Graduate School of Business & Public Policy at the Naval Postgraduate School.

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RADM James B. Greene, USN, (Ret), Acquisition Chair
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