Attachment J-6 - 030ADV25R0015 QandA_03272025.pdf

Attachment J-6

Solicitation 030ADV25R0015

Questions and Answers

# Question Response 1 Is this activity considered a new requirement or a follow-on to an existing contract? If there is an incumbent, would you be able to share the vendor’s name, the contract number, value, award date and expiration date?

The Library will award new contracts as a result of this solicitation. The Library is not sharing information on other contracts.

2 Would you kindly confirm if this is an entirely new effort or is there an incumbent currently providing these services? If so, would you please provide the incumbent contract details?

See answer to Question 1.

3 Is this contract a recurring one? If so, could you kindly provide the name of the incumbent contractor? Additionally, we would appreciate it if you could share the amount awarded for the previous audit service contract.

See answer to Question 1.

4 [Section C.3.5, page 9] Does the reference in this section to the right to publicly distribute relate also to working papers, or is this statement primarily in relation to any final issued reports?

This statement is primarily in relation to any final issued reports.

5 [Section F.1 LC52.215-5, Page 13] While either can be supported, does the Government have a preference or expectation as to how much of this work is performed onsite at the LOC versus at the contractor's office?

The expectation will be to meet with Library officials in person when the Library officials are available to do so and to have in-person attendance for key meetings such as entrance and exit conferences, or when performing the work in-person provides a more effective audit outcome.

6 [Section H.6 LC52.204-4, Pages 18-19] If someone has an active interim secret clearance or higher granted by DoD will the Government grant reciprocity or will they still be required to be processed by the Government and go through a complete and successful adjudication of a security

Reciprocity is an option, however, if the person’s investigation/adjudication does not meet the reciprocity standard, then the Library is authorized to collect certain forms or complete forms as

3/27/2025 1 application (release forms, fingerprints, and a full background investigation)?

needed to meet the vetting standard.

7 [Section I.14 LC52.228-70, Page 36] Our insurer will not notify a third-party. Will the Government accept that the contractor will agree to notify the Government of any change that would cause noncompliance with this Agreement?

No. It is a condition of the insurance policy that the Insurance Company furnish written notice to the Library of Congress in care of the Contracting Officer, thirty (30) days in advance of any material change or cancellation of this policy as stated in the clause.

8 [Section L.3, Pages 56-57] Outside of the file size limitation, is there a page limit to the Technical proposal? If yes, are tables of contents, cover letters, and legal disclosures included within the response volumes from page count limitations?

Technical proposals must not exceed 75 pages. See revision to section L in Amendment 0001 to the Solicitation.

9 Will the Government permit 1 submission of the offerors Quality Assurance to cover both the IDIQ and Sample Order?

As stated in Section L, Offerors shall provide a response for the requirements of L.3.A – Technical Approach – IDIQ and also a response for the requirements of L.3.B – Technical Approach – Sample Order.

10 Is this a GSA Schedule procurement? No. See section L.

11 Is this a new IDIQ or is this a re-bid? If a re-bid, who are the current incumbent contractors on the IDIQ?

See answer to Question 1.

12 Will the Government please clarify whether NDAs and/or OCI statements must be included with the submission package? If so, how would the Government prefer they be included?

NDAs or similar documents do not need to be included in the submission package.

13 While D. Corporate Experience requests examples of relevant projects from the last 5 years, no such time requirement is given for the Past Performances. Will the government please clarify if Past Performance must also be within the last 5 years?

As stated in section L of the solicitation, Offeror shall send the blind Past Performance Questionnaire attached at section J-2 to the customers referenced above in the Corporate Experience section.

14 [H.6] Would the Government clarify if it will accept reciprocity for fully adjudicated Department of Defense (DoD) clearances or does the Library of Congress (LOC) plan on putting all the Offeror’s employees through their background check regardless?

See answer to Question 6. See comment.

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15 [H.9] Would the Government confirm the “name” column is to be completed post-award?

This column must be completed in response to an IDIQ solicitation.

16 [H.11] For any work done on the Contractor Information Technology (IT) equipment, would the Government confirm that Contractors must only meet the controls of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171, Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations?

OCIO will be checking for compliance of software before contractors can link into the Library’s VPN. This does not apply to any contractor using Library provided Laptops or has no need to access Library resources.

17 [H.11] Would the Government provide more specifics around what type of information is Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)?

Controlled unclassified information (CUI) includes sensitive unclassified information that requires safeguarding or dissemination control. Agencies are responsible for marking or identifying any CUI shared with non-federal entities.

Unclassified information that the Library doesn’t want disclosed to the public (or other entities) may be classified as CUI.

18 Would the Government confirm the completed copy of Section K is not required as part of our proposal submission?

As stated in 52.212-3, The Offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically in the System for Award Management (SAM) accessed through https://www.sam.gov. If the Offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically, the Offeror shall complete only paragraphs (c) through (v) of this provision.

19 Given the requirements in A. Technical Approach – IDIQ and B. Technical Approach – Sample Order are the same, would the Government allow for cross-referencing on high-level requirements that may apply to both scenarios to avoid repetition?

Yes.

3/27/2025 3 https://www.sam.gov/

20 These sections indicate the Offeror is to address “all the requirements in the SOW.”

Would the Government confirm only the sections labeled as “requirements” are to be addressed (i.e., Section C, 3. and Attachment J-3 Sections C.3 and C.4)?

Offerors shall address all requirements as described in Section L of the solicitation.

21 This section states, “Offeror shall provide resumes for the Key Personnel and Other Key Staff positions described in Section C (Statement of Work) and Sample Order (Attachment J-3).”

Would the Government confirm that the only résumés that are required to be included in the Offeror’s proposal is the Engagement Partner/Quality Review Partner at the Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)-level, as well as the two key personnel positions listed in Attachment J-3?

As stated in Section L of the solicitation, Offeror shall provide resumes for the Key Personnel and Other Key Staff positions described in Section C (Statement of Work) and Sample Order (Attachment J-3).

22 Would the Government confirm that Offerors are permitted to include a narrative in Microsoft (MS) Word or Adobe Acrobat with their price proposal?

See revised section L.3 for of Amendment 0001 to the solicitation.

23 This section states that “the Library will review the proposed prices for each labor category and applicable discounts, to determine if the pricing is reasonable.”

Would the Government confirm that this IDIQ will be issued under the Offeror’s General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) and that rates should be discounted from the Offeror’s GSA MAS rates?

The IDIQs awarded as a result of this solicitation will not be issued under GSA schedules.

24 In Section C.4.B.ii.d-8, the Supervisory Senior Auditor position requires that the personnel have a bachelor’s degree that includes 24 semester hours in accounting as part of the degree. Would the Government confirm a bachelor’s degree with additional outside coursework (not specifically part of the bachelor’s degree) equaling 24 semester hours in accounting will also be accepted?

See revised section C.4 of Amendment 0001 to the solicitation.

25 This section states, “A signed agreement with specific compliance measures will be signed to enable this and may be provided on

This is a post award requirement.

See revised Attachment J-3 – Sample Order Rev 03252025 (Section C.10).

3/27/2025 4 request prior to the contractor submitting a proposal.”

Would the Government provide this agreement to Offerors, as well as confirm this is a post-award requirement?

26 Can the government please clarify if a copy of Section K – Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors needs to be completed and included as part of an offeror’s response to this solicitation?

OR

Is it acceptable to the government for an offeror to include a statement in its response that it has completed these Representations, Certifications and Other Statements of Offerors as part of its current SAM.gov profile?

See answer to Question 18.

27 D. Corporate Experience v. reads as follows:

“If offeror is proposing subcontracting, offeror shall provide the relevant and recent experience for the subcontractor(s) for the services that will be provided by the subcontractor.”

Can the government please clarify if this requested information on proposed subcontracting (on this engagement) should instead be included in a different section of the proposal response and not as part of the Corporate Experience asking offerors to provide examples of past projects?

This information is required for Corporate Experience as stated in section L.

28 Can the government please clarify where an offeror should include its introductory firm information such as years in business, type of firm and services provided, etc.?

This is at the discretion of the offeror. The requirements for offerors proposal are as stated in the solicitation.

29 Is the offeror required to use their GSA rates? No.

30 Is the offeror only required to include their rates for each labor category and not update the number of units LH – Hours?

See revised Attachment J-1 Price Schedule in the Amended Solicitation (0001).

31 Would the government please confirm that offerors may propose labor categories in addition to the key personnel and other staff roles listed in the solicitation, in order to demonstrate the ability to staff all levels of personnel?

Yes. As stated in Attachment J-1

– Price Schedule, offerors may insert additional rows and include labor categories and rates for roles not listed in the solicitation.

32 Would the government consider amending the requirements for the Audit Senior

We will consider other relevant certifications.

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Manager and Manager roles to include other relevant certifications (e.g., Certified Internal Auditor [CIA], Certified Fraud Examiner [CFE], Certified Government Financial Manager [CGFM], Project Management Professional

[PMP])?

33 Would the government please confirm that offerors should include their representations and certifications as part of the price volume of their proposals?

See answer to Question 18.

34 Would the government please confirm that offerors may include a pricing narrative, in addition to the completed Price Schedule?

This is not a requirement of the solicitation and is at the discretion of the offeror.

35 The solicitation states, “(ii) Offeror shall provide resumes for the Key Personnel and Other Key Staff positions described in Section C (Statement of Work) and Sample Order (Attachment J-3). The resumes must include relevant certificates and applicable experience for all the positions described in the Statement of Work.”

Would the government please confirm that offerors do not have to include copies of proposed personnel licenses/certifications, and instead may provide a list of certifications, including license numbers as appropriate?

Certificates of licenses and certifications are not necessary.

36 Section C of the RFP includes a listing of other staff which consists of Audit Senior Manager, Audit Manager/ Principal, Supervisory Senior Auditor.

Can the Government remove the Principal role from the Audit Manager/Principal labor category and incorporate it into the Engagement Partner/Quality Review Partner labor category, given that the Principal typically has over ten (10) years of experience?

No.

37 Section C of the RFP includes a listing of other staff which consists of Audit Senior Manager, Audit Manager/ Principal, Supervisory Senior Auditor. Based on experience conducting similar services in the solicitation, a Staff Auditor would be used.

As stated in Attachment J-1 – Price Schedule REV 03202025, Offerors may insert additional rows and include labor categories and rates for roles not listed in the solicitation.

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Can the Government add e. Staff Auditor – The minimum experience requirements in this category include: a) being a Staff Auditor in the Contractor’s organization, b) having a minimum of one (1) year of audit experience, of which at least one (1) year relate to Federal government audits, and c) having a bachelor’s degree that includes 24 semester hours in accounting.

38 Section L of the RFP states, “(ii) Offeror shall provide resumes for the Key Personnel and Other Key Staff positions described in Section C (Statement of Work) and Sample Order (Attachment J-3).”

Please confirm the resumes can be added as an Appendix to the Technical Volume.

Resumes must be included in the Management and Staffing section as stated in Section L of the solicitation.

39 Would the Government allow for columns to be inserted to show side-by-side comparison of the discount provided for the various labor categories?

This is not a requirement of the solicitation and is at the discretion of the offeror.

40 For resource planning purposes, could the government confirm whether the Sample Order (J-3) will be awarded as part of the IDIQ award or if it is solely being used to evaluate pricing across vendors?

If the Sample Order is intended to be awarded as part of the IDIQ, could the government provide an anticipated award date?

The sample order is for evaluation purposes only.

41 Section C.8 of the Sample Work Order includes a listing of Key Personnel which consists of Audit Manager/ Principal.

Can the Government remove the Principal role from the Audit Manager/Principal labor category and create an Engagement Partner/Principal labor category, given that the Engagement Partner/Principal typically has over ten (10) years of experience?

See answer to 36.

42 (Price Detail Tab) Would the Government allow columns to be inserted to show side-by-side comparison of discount provided for the various labor categories and total discount provided to the Government for the Sample Order?

This is not a requirement of the solicitation and is at the discretion of the offeror.

3/27/2025 7

43 The Offeror’s labor category requirements and descriptions for Partners, Principals, and Managing Directors are similar and meet the minimum requirements outlined in subsections b) and c). Would the Government please include “Managing Director” as a category in the minimum experience requirements subsection a)?

No.

44 Would the Government consider a recent CPARS record in lieu of a completed Past Performance Questionnaire?

No.

45 Would the government please confirm if there is a typo in the Contract Period for CLIN 0003, and if it should instead refer to Contract Period: Option 2?

See revised Section B of the Amended solicitation (0001).

46 Would the government please confirm if there is a typo in the Contract Period for CLIN 0004, and if it should instead refer to Contract Period: Option 3?

See revised Section B of the Amended solicitation (0001).

47 Would the government please confirm whether or not the contract will be awarded under a GSA Schedule? If so which one?

See answer to Question 23.

48 Would the government please clarify that the offeror is permitted to retain copies of working papers, published works, and reports issued and is permitted to make certain audit documentation and work papers available to other auditors or reviewers, including the GAO and other U.S.

regulators, in a timely manner pursuant to Government Auditing Standards, other applicable auditing standards, AICPA consulting standards and applicable provisions of laws and regulations?

Yes, because contractors need to be peer reviewed on their work ("make certain audit documentation and work papers available to other auditors or reviewers") and need the working papers/files in order to do that.

And clarifying language that the end product is the property of the government.

49 All the personnel listed are CPAs or accountants. These folks all follow GAAP.

Since the SOW states there are no financial audits, it appears that the personnel don't match the requirements in the SOW or the sample task. Could the government please confirm if these are the correct LCATS or provide an updated list?

See answer to Question 32.

50 Does the government consider audits, evaluations, and inspections to be equivalent to assessments, or do they differentiate between these terms in policy and practice?

Audits are performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards issued by the Government Accountability Office while evaluations and

3/27/2025 8 inspections are performed in accordance with Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation issued by the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.

51 Would the government consider adding page counts for each volume?

See revised Section L.3 of Amendment 0001 to the solicitation.

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