Signed Sole Source Justification - Audit Software.pdf

SOLE SOURCE - SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITIONS

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

RECOMMENDATION AND DETERMINATION TO SOLICIT FROM ONE SOURCE

I recommend that National Science Foundation negotiate with _ Wolters Kluwer_ . The total estimated cost of this effort is outlined in the table below and the estimated period of performance is September 1, 2020 through

September l, 2025. The period of performance includes one base period and four option years.

Period of Licenses Annual Renewal Renewal Amount Performance Percentaee 2020-2021 50 20% $37,519 2021-2022 50 20% $39,395 2022-2023 50 20% $41,364 2023-2024 50 20% $43,432 2024-2025 50 20% $45,603

I have reviewed other products/services to identify other vendors which might meet NSF's requirements through one of the following methods:

■ GSA Schedule D Open Market Price Lists D Previous Requirements

■ Others See Attachment 1

FAR 19.502-2 requires award to Small Business for supplies or services with an anticipated dollar value exceeding $2,500. If applicable specify why award is being recommended to other than a Small Business.

■ No other Small Company can supply the equipment or service

■ The Company does not have a Small Business distributor than can supply the equipment or service.

■ GSA schedule does not provide the equipment or service from Small Business

D Other See Attachment

This recommendation is made pursuant to FAR 13. l 06, for the acquisition of supplies or services determined to be reasonably available from only one source. Competition is impractical for the following reasons:

1. Data retention and usability - A significant part of the requirement is the need to retain audit evidence and workpapers (data) from the legacy system that is both stored and usable in the follow-on system. NSF OIG is required to maintain audit evidence and records for a variety of reasons including -

• Congressional inquiries,

• audit follow-up,

• federal records retention regulations,

• Government Auditing Standards, and to

• track the implementation of audit recommendations.

The vendors reviewed on the GSA list did not provide audit software and could therefore not be considered.

The demonstrations provided by the vendors listed in Attachment 1 indicated that the products in the marketplace were unable to meet the data retention/usability requirements. A reliable and complete system of audit records is necessary for the NSF OIG to meet its mission, requirements, and mandate. While the demonstrations indicated that some migration of data was possible, the vendors would be unable to migrate all data (work papers, audit evidence, etc) from the legacy system into a usable format in the new system that would allow for the seamless transition of work flow for both ongoing and completed audits. Government Auditing Standards have a strict requirement that audit reports be supported by evidence, and thus the requirement for this procurement is to be able to migrate all data for both active and complete audits in a useable format. The TeamMate AM product from Wolters Kluwer is the only product/vendor that can provide a seamless workflow for both active and completed audits.

2. Linking Documents and Evidence - Another significant part of the requirement is the ability to link (point to-point) facts in the final audit report directly to evidence (point-to-point linking) in the audit file.

Government Auditing Standards require that OIGs ensure audit reports and recommendations are sufficiently and adequately supported by audit evidence. It is imperative that the facts in the final audit report be traced back to the audit evidence. Further, NSF OIG policy requires cross-referencing of audit reports and summary work papers to supporting evidence in the form of point-to-point linking. The vendors reviewed on the GSA list did not provide audit software and could therefore not be considered. The market research presentations noted severe limitations in the ability to provide point-to-point linking. The vendor demonstrations did not indicate that point-to-point hyperlinking across native and non-native workpapers ( ex. Microsoft office products) was possible. Being able to conduct point-to-point linking between reports, summary workpapers, and supporting evidence is imperative for the OIG to meet its mission and Government Auditing Standards in an efficient and effective manner. Wolters Kluwer was the only identified vendor capable of meeting this requirement.

3. Recommendation Tracking and Reporting - Another significant part of the requirement is the ability to track and report audit recommendations. NSF OIG is required to aggregate, track, and report the status of audit recommendations and their implementation. Further, NSF OIG receives Congressional, agency, legal, and other types of inquiries related to audit recommendations. It is critical that the audit software be able to run reports (both customizable and predeveloped) related to recommendations from the legacy and follow-on system. The vendors reviewed on the GSA list did not provide audit software and could therefore not be considered. The market research did not identify additional products that were able to meet this requirement.

The demonstrations provided by interested vendors neither provided a clear indication that recommendation data would be able to be queried and reported, to a satisfactory degree, nor that legacy data could be effectively integrated into the follow-on system. Wolters Kluwer was the only identified vendor capable of meeting this requirement in a satisfactory manner.

KAREN F

GAMBARANI

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Assistant Inspector General for Management (Acting)

Office of Inspector General

I hereby accept the above stated recommendation and determine that the circumstances of the contract action deem onl)'. one source reasonably available.

Date

Attachment 1:

NSF OIG conducted market research under the guidance of NSF CO Angela Johnson. The market research included vendor demos from the companies/products listed below. A description of why these products could not meet the needs of NSF OIG are listed on the prior page. The NSF CO also contacted other vendors to provide demos, but they were not responsive.

• Metric Stream,

• RSA Archer

• Wolters Kluwer

• ACL Galvanize

• MKinsight Pantana