48 CFR 9903.302-4 - 9903.302-4 Illustrations of changes which do not meet the definition of “Change to a cost accounting practice.”

Regulations last checked for updates: May 03, 2025

Title 48 - Federal Acquisition Regulations System last revised: Oct 18, 2025

View all text of Subpart 9903.3 [9903.301 - 9903.307]

9903.302-4 - 9903.302-4 Illustrations of changes which do not meet the definition of “Change to a cost accounting practice.”

Description	Accounting treatment
(a) Changes in the interest rate levels in the national economy have invalidated the prior actuarial assumption with respect to anticipated investment earnings. The pension plan administrators adopted an increased (decreased) interest rate actuarial assumption. The company allocated the resulting pension costs to all final cost objectives	(a) Adopting the increase (decrease) in the interest rate actuarial assumption is not a change in cost accounting practice.
(b) The basic benefit amount for a company's pension plan is increased from $8 to $10 per year of credited service. The change increases the dollar amount of pension cost allocated to all final cost objectives	(b) The increase in the amount of the benefits is not a change in cost accounting practice.
(c) A contractor who has never paid pensions establishes for the first time a pension plan. Pension costs for the first year amounted to $3.5 million	(c) The initial adoption of an accounting practice for the first time incurrence of a cost is not a change in cost accounting practice.
(d) A contractor maintained a Deferred Incentive Compensation Plan. After several years' experience, the plan was determined not to be attaining its objective, so it was terminated, and no future entitlements were paid	(d) There was a termination of the Deferred Incentive Compensation Plan. Elimination of a cost is not a change in cost accounting practice.
(e) A contractor eliminates a segment that was operated for the purpose of doing research for development of products related to nuclear energy	(e) The projects and expenses related to nuclear energy projects have been terminated. No transfer of these projects and no further work in this area is planned. This is an elimination of cost and not a change in cost accounting practice.
(f) For a particular class of assets for which technological changes have rarely affected asset lives, a contractor starts with a 5-year average of historical lives to estimate future lives. He then considers technological changes and likely use. For the past several years the process resulted in an estimated future life of 10 years for this class of assets. This year a technological change leads to a prediction of a useful life of 7 years for the assets acquired this year for the class of assets	(f) The change in estimate (not in method) is not a change in cost accounting practice. The contractor has not changed the method or technique used to determine the estimate. The methodology applied has indicated a change in the estimated life, and this is not a change in cost accounting practice.
(g) The marketing department of a segment has reported directly to the general manager of the segment. The costs of the marketing department have been combined as part of the segment's G&A expense pool. The company reorganizes and requires the marketing department to report directly to a vice president at corporate headquarters	(g) After the organization change in the company's reporting structure, the parties agree that the appropriate recognition of the beneficial or causal relationship between the costs of the marketing department and the segment is to continue to combine these costs as part of the segment's G&A expense pool. Thus, the organizational change has not resulted in a change in cost accounting practice.

authority: Public Law 111-350, 124 Stat. 3677, 41 U.S.C. 1502.

source: 57 FR 14153, Apr. 17, 1992, unless otherwise noted.

cite as: 48 CFR 9903.302-4