IMS Compliance Review

Assure Your Compliance With Government IMS Regulations

The Problem: Federal IMS Compliance

Contractors of government programs must maintain schedules (also known as Integrated Master Schedules, or IMS) in accordance with federal guidelines. These guidelines are complex and change often. It is difficult to keep abreast of these guidelines or understand best practices for implementing them. As a result, most contractors are non-compliant with IMS regulations and do poorly when audited by the government. In recent years, the government has increased scrutiny of contractors’ IMSs, resulting in a record number of Corrective Action Requests (CARs) and harsher penalties.

IMS Compliance Review Benefits

Reveals IMS gaps which can be fixed ahead of an audit
Have a better audit, or avoid one altogether
Improves effectiveness of your IMS as a management tool

What is an IMS Compliance Review?

An IMS Compliance Review, conducted by one of our experts, makes sure that your IMS meets your contract requirements. Pointing out problem areas helps you improve the effectiveness of your IMS as a management tool and fare better in a government audit (e.g., IBR, DCMA/government agency audit, joint surveillance review). Better yet, you may likely avoid one.

Get a Better Audit, or Avoid One Altogether

By revealing and addressing problems ahead of the official audit, contractors obtain better results. More importantly, by adhering to regulations and implementing a responsive, comprehensive IMS, we have seen that the government is more confident in the quality of schedule and cost information the contractor furnishes. And the government is less likely to impose penalties or audit the contractor.

How We Conduct an IMS Compliance Review

With nearly 40 years of IMS experience with federal programs, we know IMS regulations and best practices for meeting them. Our comprehensive review tests compliance with all 15 of the EIA‑748 standard guidelines that deal with schedules. The review centers around DI‑MGMT‑81650, the essential federal IMS guideline. It also covers non-contractual guidelines for which government reviewers nonetheless may hold you accountable. By examining program requirements and IMS data, and speaking with your people, we determine compliance and other IMS issues, and, in our out-brief, recommend solutions.

Testing for IMS compliance and Excellence

We have distilled our knowledge of government and industry IMS requirements into an audit with over 100 tests. Tests are weighted by importance, and, for ease of understanding, grouped by function. The outbrief we produce at the completion of the Review recaps compliance and general schedule and cost management issues, and provides specific action items for improvement.