1131PL-19-R-CP71025_-_RFP-Instruction_to_Offeror.pdf

U . S . T R A D E A N D D E V E L O P M E N T A G E N C Y

SUBJECT: COMBINED/SYNOPSIS SOLICITATION for Financial and Program

Audit Services

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 1131PL-19-R-CP71025

ISSUANCE DATE: October 25, 2018 CLOSING DATE: November 13, 2018, 12 Noon, Washington, D.C. Local

Time

This request for commercial item prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.6 and procedures in FAR Part 15 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only RFP; offers are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

The Government contemplate a hybrid fixed-price/cost-reimbursable, multiple-award requirement which may result in award of up to three (3) contracts from this solicitation to the offeror(s) who is deemed responsible and is determined, based on the evaluation factors to represent the best value to the Government.

This procurement is a Small Business Set-Aside under NAICS Code 541690. Award is limited to U.S. Firms or U.S. individuals. Contractor and U.S. subcontractor employees used shall be either U.S. citizens on non-U.S. citizens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States. Contractor use of subcontractors is limited to less than fifty percent of the proposed price.

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS REPRESENT THE "PROPOSAL PACKAGE" THAT

SHOULD BE RETURNED IN RESPONSE TO THIS SOLICITATION (Addendum to FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items (JAN 2017)).

1. Proposal Due Date:

Your proposal must be received no later than 12:00 Noon, Washington, DC local time on Tuesday, November 13, 2018. Late proposals will be processed in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation guidance.

2. Offer Submission:

Send your offer by email to contractproposals@ustda.gov. Proposals submitted by facsimile or to alternate email addresses will NOT be accepted.

mailto:contractproposals@ustda.gov

3. Questions Relating to This Solicitation:

All questions must be emailed to the POC listed in the solicitation at awilliams@ustda.gov no later than 12 Noon, Monday, November 5, 2018. Please reference the Solicitation Number in the SUBJECT LINE of your email.

4. Notice Regarding Suspension/Debarment/Ineligibility:

Any contract awarded to a contractor who, at the time of award was suspended, debarred, and ineligible for receipt of contract with Government Agencies or in receipt of a notice of proposed debarment from any Government Agency, is voidable at the option of the Government.

5. System for Award Management (SAM) Database:

All Contractors must be registered in the SAM database via https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ in order to be eligible for contract award. Lack of registration in SAM will make an Offeror ineligible for award as described in FAR 52.204-7.

Do NOT delay submission of your offer pending receipt of a CAGE code.

6. Inspection and Acceptance:

All services are subject to the Contracting Officer's Representative’s (COR) and/or Alternate Contracting Officer's Representative’s (ACOR) final approval. All work will be inspected and accepted at USTDA's Office, Arlington, VA.

7. Deliveries or Performance:

The Contractor shall submit all deliverables under this contract to the COR as stated in the Performance Work Statement. Performance of this contract shall be at the USTDA 1101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1100 Arlington, VA, contractor’s site, and/or in the host country location as directed by the government.

8. Contract Clauses:

The clauses at 52.214-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items and 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders- Commercial Items, apply to this acquisition.

9. Evaluation Factors for Award: FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation, Commercial Items (available at www.farsite.hill.af.mil under FAR), is being used. (b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). The following non-price factors are of equal mailto:awilliams@ustda.gov https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ http://www.farsite.hill.af.mil/ importance and will be used to evaluate all offers. All evaluation factors, other than cost or price, when combined, are significantly more important that cost or price.

FACTOR 1 -- TECHNICAL: The following sub-factors are of equal importance:

Sub-factor 1: Technical Approach

Sub-factor 2: Current “CPA Firm” license in compliance with laws and regulations for state in which firm is licensed.

Sub-factor 3: Peer review completed within the past three years or evidence of progression towards peer review requirement.

Sub-factor 4: Proposed engagement team and each member’s role, along with each member’s relevant qualification and experience.

FACTOR 2 -- PAST PERFORMANCE

FACTOR 3 -- PRICE: The Government will evaluate price to determine the following--

Completeness: All information required by the solicitation has been submitted and is accurate.

Reasonableness: Price is fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR.

Technical factor and sub-factors shall be evaluated using the following adjectival ratings:

Table 1. Technical Ratings Rating Description Outstanding Proposal meets requirements and indicates an exceptional approach and understanding of the requirements. Strengths far outweigh any weaknesses. Risk of unsuccessful performance is very low.

Good Proposal meets requirements and indicates a thorough approach and understanding of the requirements. Proposal contains strengths which outweigh any weaknesses. Risk of unsuccessful performance is low.

Acceptable Proposal meets requirements and indicates an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements. Strengths and weaknesses are offsetting or will have little or no impact on contract performance. Risk of unsuccessful performance is no worse than moderate.

Marginal Proposal does not clearly meet requirements and has not demonstrated an adequate approach and understanding of the requirements. The proposal has one or more weaknesses which are not offset by strengths. Risk of unsuccessful performance is high.

Unacceptable Proposal does not meet requirements and contains one or more deficiencies. Proposal is unawardable.

Past Performance factor shall be evaluated using the following adjectival ratings:

Table 2. Past Performance Confidence Assessments Rating Description Substantial Confidence Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a high expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Satisfactory Confidence Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a reasonable expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

Limited Confidence Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a low expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort.

No Confidence Based on the offeror’s recent/relevant performance record, the Government has no expectation that the offeror will be able to successfully perform the required effort.

Unknown Confidence (Neutral) No recent/relevant performance record is available, or the offeror’s performance record is so sparse that no meaningful confidence assessment rating can be reasonably assigned.

10. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS:

RESPONSES SHALL BE SUBMITTED IN TWO SEPARATE VOLUMES AS

FOLLOWS:

VOLUME I: TECHNICAL & PAST PERFORMANCE

Technical Proposal -- shall not exceed 15 pages in length. Font type shall be “Times New Roman” size 12. Proposals not in compliance with these requirements will be determined non-responsive and will not be evaluated or eligible for award. The Offeror(s) shall confine submissions to essential matters, sufficient to define the proposal and provide an adequate basis for evaluation. Offeror(s) are responsible for including sufficient details, in a concise manner, to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each proposal. No material may be incorporated in the proposal by reference, etc. to circumvent the page limitation.

The following documents are not included in the page limitation:

a. Cover Page

b. Table of Contents

c. Executive Summary: Although this section will not be evaluated, if included, it should allow technical reviewers to quickly understand the critical elements of the proposal including the most salient features of the offerors’ technical vision and approach, the key personnel and capabilities to accomplish the desired results. This section shall be limited to 3 pages. Any additional pages will not be reviewed.

d. Resume/Curriculum Vitae (CV): Resumes/CVs submitted as part of the proposal, may not exceed 3 pages per person. Any additional pages will not be reviewed.

The Offeror’s technical proposal must adequately address/include the following:

• Demonstrate an understanding of all aspects of the PWS and provide an acceptable technical approach for completing the required tasks, including but not limited to: a proposed quality control process; a description of the Offeror’s ability and the applicable methodology to be used by the Offeror’s team to successfully complete the engagement within the period of performance; and a work breakout structure with sub-tasks along with the proposed responsible team member.

• Evidence of current “CPA Firm” license. Offeror must also confirm that it is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in the state in which it is licensed, including but not limited to any CPE requirements.

• Evidence of peer review (with rating of “Pass” or “Pass with deficiency”) completed within three years of the closing date of this solicitation. If the licensed CPA firm is not yet subject to peer review per GAGAS, the Offeror shall specify its plans to obtain a peer review in accordance with GAGAS.

• Identify each proposed members of engagement team along with their role in performance of the requirement. Provide resumes/CVs for each proposed member which demonstrate relevant work experience, educational background, and applicable certifications (e.g., CPA, PE, etc. (including state(s) in which the certification is held)). Engagement Leader’s relevant work experience, educational background, and applicable certifications (e.g., CPA) is extremely important therefore, the proposal must demonstrate that this individual possesses an understanding of U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as well as GAGAS by citing specific experiences/projects with dates, client name, role on the project, and total costs audited. Additionally, proposal must demonstrate the Offeror’s ability to identify and retain technical experts in energy, transportation, telecommunication, health, agriculture, water/environment, natural resources sectors as needed to successfully complete work product assessments against agreement terms and quantify monetary value.

Past Performance Information – Please include reference information for at least two but not more than three clients for relevant work of similar size, scope, and complexity you have performed in the last three years. To meet the above relevancy requirement for work of similar size, scope, and complexity, please provide a list and description of completed GAGAS-compliant AUP and examination engagements, to include the name of the entities for which the engagement was done, the point of contact, amount audited, the date(s) performed, a summary of the work performed, the firm or person’s role in the engagement, and how such work relates to the tasks required by this contract. The name and contact information of Offeror’s references will not count towards the page limit.

Past Performance Questionnaire - The Offeror shall provide information for a maximum of three (3) contracts and/or subcontracts held within the last three (3) years. Also, ensure the attached Past Performance Questionnaire is forwarded by the Offeror to the contract POC for which the past performance reference is being provided. The government will use information submitted by the Offeror’s past performance POC, such as other Federal Government offices and commercial sources, to assess performance. The attached Past Performance Questionnaire MUST be completed by the POC providing the reference. Upon completion, the past performance POC should forward the completed questionnaire to USTDA via email to contractproposals@ustda.gov no later than 12:00 Noon., Washington D.C. time on October 30, 2018.

VOLUME II: PRICE

Price-Proposal - SF 1449, Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items – Offeror should ensure the CAGE CODE and DUNS Numbers are placed in Block 17A and complete blocks 23 and 24 (PRICE), 30A, 30B, and 30C. Finally, the offeror should sign and date in blue or black ink while ensuring that all changes made are initialed. PLEASE DO NOT

SUBMIT YOUR PRICES IN ANY OTHER FORMAT.

11. BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD:

The Government will use Trade-off Source Selection Procedures to evaluate offers and determine the best value. The Government will award one contract resulting from this RFP to the offeror who is deemed responsible in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation, as supplemented, whose proposal conforms to the RFP requirements (to include all stated terms, conditions, representations, certifications, and all other information required by this solicitation) and is determined, based on the evaluation factors to represent the best value to the Government. The Government seeks to award to the offeror who gives USTDA the greatest confidence that it will best meet or exceed the requirement affordably. This may result in an award to a higher rated, higher priced offeror, where the decision is consistent with the evaluation factors and the Contracting Officer reasonably determines that the technical approach of the higher priced offeror outweighs the cost difference.

//Signed//

GARTH A. HIBBERT

Chief, Office of Acquisition Management mailto:contractproposals@ustda.gov