1.2.1-SAM SB RFI 3 060424.docx

Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) Office of Financial Management (OFM)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Accounting Support Services

June 04, 2024

1.0 Background

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), Office of Financial Management (OFM) is replacing aged and outmoded legacy financial, accounting, data management, procurement and asset management systems for ICE and all Components receiving financial and accounting services from ICE. This Financial System Modernization (FSM) effort will bring ICE and ICE Component customers into compliance with new regulatory mandates for financial operations and will resolve long-standing deficiencies in the Department’s ability to effectively manage financial services.

To sustain this effort, OFM requires additional contractor support services to assist with day-to-day financial management operations while Subject Matter Experts (SME) within OFM concentrate on FSM activities that go over and above those normal operations. Specifically, OFM requires SMEs to be integrated into the implementation process during all phases of FSM program development to include pre-discovery, discovery, configuration, testing and data cleansing. Starting in FY24 Q2, SME involvement will ramp up with discovery efforts, refinement of business processes, testing, and training through FY 2028, when FSM is expected to be fully transitioned and stabilized. To meet scheduled milestones for readiness and implementation additional expanded contractor support services are required starting in FY 2024 Q3 in a phased approach to provide day-to-day support while SMEs concentrate on FSM activities. During the phased transition, customer Components will shift from the current Federal Financial Management System (FFMS) to the SAP S4/HANA solution over a two-year period, requiring OFM to provide simultaneous operational support in two financial systems using different business process models.

In preparation for upcoming FSM activities, ICE spoke to representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which had already completed FSM efforts within DHS. Through these discussions, ICE became aware of several implementation deficiencies that it must avoid in its own FSM program. These deficiencies are listed below:

· Minimal data cleansing efforts resulting in bad data causing late payments and deficient manual processes.

· Poor user development and insufficient implementation training, resulting in user deficiencies and re-training.

· Lack of dedicated subject matter expertise leading to incorrect operations and faulty system design.

· Unresolved system changes leading to improper post-deployment operation.

· Insufficient testing to validate proper system configuration, leading to deficient operations post-deployment.

· Lack of user buy-in and lagging support from senior leaders led to ineffective post-deployment operations.

In addition to these deficiencies, the FSM program is also faced with an implementation schedule that brings the first Component into the new SAP system two years before the final Components, requiring ICE to operate SAP concurrently with FFMS during this transition period. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is scheduled to migrate to the new financial management system during Q1 of FY 2026, followed by ICE and the Federal Protective Service (FPS) in Q1 FY 2027, then the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and DHS Departmental Management Operations (DMO) in Q1 FY 2028.

2.0 Description of Requirements

The ICE OFM requires accounting support services for Technical Accounting, Financial Support, Financial Reporting, Policy and Compliance, Systems Accounting, Management and Program Analysis support. The cost will be primarily driven by the seniority level, labor category, level of effort, and hourly rate of the contract staff providing support. This contract must be in place by September 30, 2024. OFM expects to have the contract in place for one base year and four option years. The Forecast Record for this requirement (F2024065250) has been published to the public in the DHS APFS system.

3.0 Purpose of Request for Information

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI). ICE issues this RFI to provide notification of an upcoming procurement and to determine the level of interest in this requirement. DHS/ICE is seeking to identify sources that can provide the support outlined in the attached Statement of Work (SOW).

Responses to this RFI will be used to identify potential set asides for specific small business classifications. Therefore, while not responding to this RFI does not directly preclude a vendor from participating in a future solicitation, not responding to this RFI could impact procurement decisions that affect a vendor’s ability to participate in a future solicitation as a prime.

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, ICE will not accept unsolicited proposals. Interested parties are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor these sites for additional information pertaining to this requirement. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

4.0 Description of Requirements

For a description of the requirements see attached “Draft” Statement of Work (SOW).

5.0 Submission of Company’s Qualifications and Experience

Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a submission of the company’s qualifications and experience, which will be referred to herein as a Capabilities Statement. Capabilities Statements must be submitted in size 12 Times New Roman font with single spacing and 1” margins. The Capabilities Statement shall include the following:

5.1 Administrative Information (One (1) page limit)

At a minimum, interested parties shall provide and include the following:

1.) Name of firm, mailing address, firm UEI, firm phone number and e-mail of designated point of contact.

2.) The Firm’s Small Business Administration (SBA) business classification based upon North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541219 – Other Accounting Services (i.e. SBA certified 8a small business, SDVOSB, Economically Disadvantaged WOSB (EDWOSB).

3.) Please identify current Small Business contract vehicle your firm has for the above-referenced NAICS.

5.2 Government Questions/Industry Responses (3) three-page limit

Interested parties shall address all the points outlined below:

1. What is your experience with Government contracts regarding accounting support services in the following areas?

· Technical Accounting

· Financial Support

· Financial Reporting

· Policy and Compliance

· Systems Accounting

· Management and Program Analysis

2. Provide at least three (3) examples of similar contracts that your company has worked on in the last five (5) years, including contract number, overall contract value.

3. Provide any questions/feedback on the Draft SOW for the government’s consideration.

4. Submit a Draft Management Plan to support how you can staff up from as little as 8 FTEs to as many as 28 FTEs in any year (to support surge). Please discuss any partnerships that can facilitate this effort and expected timeframe to complete the onboarding process.

6.0 Questions

Questions and requests for additional information must be sent to DHS/ICE via e-mail to Daniel.Beery@ice.dhs.gov by June 11, 2024, at 10:00 AM (EST). All submissions shall include in the subject line “RFI Response for ICE Requirement entitled Accounting Support Services from (Your Company’s Name).” Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. The Government does not guarantee that questions received will be answered and reserves the right to address questions via any related upcoming Request for Proposal or Request for Quotes.

Please submit any additional questions your firm may have regarding this SOW at this time. There will be no questions related to the SOW accepted during the RFP process. The Government reserves the right to not respond to these questions via separate amendment to this RFI. Rather, the Government reserves the right to answer questions/resolve issues related to the SOW by amending the draft SOW and incorporating any necessary changes in the final SOW incorporated into the RFP.

7.0 Submission Instructions

Responses shall be received via e-mail as one electronic submission in Adobe PDF format with the subject line “Capabilities Statement For RFI entitled Accounting Support Services submitted from (insert your firm’s name).”

Submissions must be received no later than June 21 2024 at 10:00 AM (EST) and submitted to Daniel.Beery@ice.dhs.gov. ICE reserves the right to review late submissions but makes no guarantee to the order of, or possibility for, this review.

All company proprietary information, performance capabilities and/or future modifications must be clearly identified and marked so segregation of proprietary information is required.

image1.jpeg