Facility Security Officer (FSO) - Overhead or G&A

Facility Security Officer (FSO) - Overhead or G&A

 

INQUIRY:

FSO (Facility Security Officer) - Should this cost be charged to Overhead or G&A? 

   

RESPONSE: In my opinion, I would assign FSO costs to Overhead.  Generally, those costs that benefit more than contract and cannot, or are not, charged direct to contracts are considered overhead.  I would not typically assign FSO to G&A because the FSO is required only because of contract requirements. 

Now, if you have other general security type costs in place for your company as a whole, say for instance, ADT/Brinks/etc. or a security officer for the general business, I would assign that costs either entirely to G&A or allocate a portion to Overhead and G&A based on a ration of labor hours or labor dollars.  

FYI: Document under what circumstances you identity the costs to Overhead, G&A or Both in your Policy Manual.  Date the changed or new policy and keep a copy of the old policy for reference purposes.  Remember, your Policy Manual is a dynamic document and therefore will continue to change as your company evolves.