The contracting officer may ask for additional supporting data  and the contractor should provide it promptly and completely.  The CO has 60 days to issue a final decision or provide a date when the decision will be made.  The CO will rely on the advise of its technical, accounting and legal advisors.  An audit is not always performed but one will often be performed if the CO is persuaded the claim has some merit.  After the CO’s review of the claim, formal negotiations with the contractor will begin.  It is recommended that full effort to settle the claim be made at the CO level because court decisions have ruled other government personnel lacked authority to bind the government.  If negotiations do not produce an agreement, a final decision should be requested from the CO so an appeal may be filed.

A contractor should keep a complete claim negotiation file throughout the process of presenting and negotiating a claim because it will probably be invaluable for appeal if no settlement is reached.  It should contain (1) all documents not attached to the claim (2) names and addresses of personnel who witnessed events in question (3) names and addresses of persons involved in preparing the claim (4) drafts of the claim (5) any memorandum generated during the course of negotiations and (6) estimating and pricing worksheets and revisions of material previously submitted.

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