As part of the Revolutionary FAR overhaul, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council has developed a FAR Companion to help acquisition officials exercise their discretion. The FAR Companion provides context, additional information, and practical advice for planning, awarding, managing, and closing out contracts, consistent with the FAR’s core buying principles.
The FAR Companion is designed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of federal buying by consolidating practitioner insights in one place from a variety of helpful sources, preserving several policies and “how to” procedures formerly mandated in the pre- streamlined FAR that continue to reflect good stewardship but are more appropriately applied with discretion, building the confidence of the acquisition workforce to take managed risks, by providing advice – not direction – and avoiding compliance requirements that create a fear of protests.