Have you come across acronyms in the government contracting world and found yourself confused as to what they stand for?  You are not alone.  This blog entry originated after attempts to determine what ACO actually stood for.  If you want to be a player in the GovCon (not an acronym, but an abbreviation) industry, you need to stay on top of these acronyms.

 

There are literally thousands of acronyms in the federal government industry.  The acronyms begin at the agency level and trickle all the way down.  These acronyms describe programs, objectives, and individual titles within each federal agency.  As accountants, we are familiar with the DCAA, or the Defense Contract Audit Agency, and FAR, Federal Acquisition Regulation.  My personal favorites are GWACS and MOBIS.  They sound more like far-off lands you are likely to encounter in a science fiction novel than in Government Wide Acquisition Contracts and Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services programs you will find through GSA.  See, there’s another acronym.  GSA, or the General Services Administration, is the government agency responsible for the GSA Schedule which provides other agencies a means to purchase goods and services.  As for ACO mentioned above – that is the acronym for Administrative Contracting Officer.

 

 

You can search the World Wide Web (or www) for definitions of acronyms you encounter during the  course of working in the government marketplace.  Or you can contact us, Watkins Meegan, your resourceful CPAs, who have the KSA’s (knowledge, skills, and abilities) to decipher the code.