Amendment 1 5400027371.docx

SAP

State of South Carolina

AMENDMENT 1

Solicitation:

Date Issued:

Procurement Officer:

Phone:

E-Mail Address:

Mailing Address:

5400027371 01/14/2025

JON BAYSDEN

803-896-5304 jbaysden@mmo.sc.gov SFAA, Div. of Procurement Services, 1201 Main Street, Suite 600 Columbia SC 29201

DESCRIPTION: Specialized Accountant Recruitment

USING GOVERNMENTAL UNIT: South Carolina State Treasurer’s Office

SUBMIT YOUR OFFER ON-LINE AT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.procurement.sc.gov

SUBMIT OFFER BY (Opening Date/Time): 02/13/2025 11:00 AM ET (See "Deadline For Submission Of Offer" provision)

QUESTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: 01/08/2025 12:00 PM ET EXPIRED

(See "Questions From Offerors" provision)

NUMBER OF COPIES TO BE SUBMITTED: Two (2) Online submissions – One (1) Original and One (1) Redacted Copy Initial here if NO redacted copy is necessary___________ See Section II A “Submitting Confidential Information” clause, and Section IV “Submitting Redacted Offers” clause

CONFERENCE TYPE: Non-Mandatory Pre-Proposal Conference DATE & TIME: 01/07/2025 10:00 AM ET (Virtual) EXPIRED

(As appropriate, see "Conferences - Pre-Bid/Proposal" & "Site Visit" provisions)

LOCATION:

Virtual MSTEAMS Link – Email jbaysden@mmo.sc.gov if link needed.

(See Section IIB “Conference – Pre-Bid/Proposal” clause)

You must submit a signed copy of this form with Your Offer. By signing, You agree to be bound by the terms of the Solicitation. You agree to hold Your Offer open for a minimum of ninety (90) calendar days after the Opening Date.

(See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

NAME OF OFFEROR

(full legal name of business submitting the offer) Any award issued will be issued to, and the contract will be formed with, the entity identified as the Offeror. The entity named as the offeror must be a single and distinct legal entity. Do not use the name of a branch office or a division of a larger entity if the branch or division is not a separate legal entity, i.e., a separate corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

(Person must be authorized to submit binding offer to contract on behalf of Offeror.)

DATE SIGNED

TITLE

(business title of person signing above)

STATE VENDOR NO.

(Register to Obtain S.C. Vendor No. at www.procurement.sc.gov)

PRINTED NAME

(printed name of person signing above)

STATE OF INCORPORATION

(If you are a corporation, identify the state of incorporation.)

OFFEROR'S TYPE OF ENTITY: (Check one) (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

___ Sole Proprietorship ___ Partnership ___ Other_____________________________

___ Corporate entity (not tax-exempt) ___ Corporation (tax-exempt) ___ Government entity (federal, state, or local)

COVER PAGE - ON-LINE ONLY (MAR. 2015)

SAP

SAP

PAGE TWO

(Return Page Two with Your Offer) HOME OFFICE ADDRESS (Address for offeror's home office / principal place of business)

NOTICE ADDRESS (Address to which all procurement and contract related notices should be sent.) (See "Notice" clause)

_________________________________________________ Area Code - Number - Extension Facsimile

_________________________________________________ E-mail Address

PAYMENT ADDRESS (Address to which payments will be sent.) (See "Payment" clause)

____Payment Address same as Home Office Address ____Payment Address same as Notice Address (check only one) ORDER ADDRESS (Address to which purchase orders will be sent) (See "Purchase Orders and "Contract Documents" clauses)

____Order Address same as Home Office Address ____Order Address same as Notice Address (check only one)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS

Offerors acknowledges receipt of amendments by indicating amendment number and its date of issue. (See "Amendments to Solicitation" Provision)

DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

(See "Discount for Prompt Payment" clause)

PREFERENCES - A NOTICE TO VENDORS (SEP. 2009):

Preferences do NOT apply to Requests for Proposals per SC Consolidated Procurement Code §11-35-1524(E)(5)

PREFERENCES - ADDRESS AND PHONE OF IN-STATE OFFICE:

Preferences do NOT apply to Requests for Proposals per SC Consolidated Procurement Code §11-35-1524(E)(5)

PAGE TWO (SEP 2009)

End of PAGE TWO

QUESTIONS FROM VENDORS

Specialized Accountant Recruitment

SOLICITATION 5400027371

AMENDMENTS TO SOLICITATION (JAN 2004)

(a) The Solicitation may be amended at any time prior to opening. All actual and prospective Offerors should monitor the following web site for the issuance of Amendments: www.procurement.sc.gov (b) Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation (1) by signing and returning the amendment, (2) by identifying the amendment number and date in the space provided for this purpose on Page Two, (3) by letter, or (4) by submitting a bid that indicates in some way that the bidder received the amendment. (c) If this solicitation is amended, then all terms and conditions which are not modified remain unchanged. [02-2A005-1]

QUESTIONS FROM OFFERORS - AMENDMENT (JUN 2017)

The Solicitation is amended as provided herein. Information or changes resulting from questions will be shown in a question-and-answer format. All questions received have been reprinted below. The “State’s Response” should be read without reference to the questions. The questions are included solely to provide a cross-reference to the potential offeror that submitted the question. Questions do not form a part of the contract; the “State’s Response” does. Any restatement of part or all of an existing provision of the solicitation in an answer does not modify the original provision except as follows: underlined text is added to the original provision. Stricken text is deleted. [02-2A097-1]

The following questions were received pursuant to the original date and time specified on the front of the solicitation:

1. Please provide us with an estimated NTE budget allocated for this contract.

State’s Response:

The State is not disclosing this information at this time.

1. Is this a new contract or are there any incumbents? If there is an incumbent, could you please let us know the incumbent name and pricing and are the incumbents eligible to submit the proposal again?

State’s Response:

While the STO has previously leveraged vendors for recruitment services, this is the agency’s first competitive procurement for Specialized Accountant Recruitment.

1. Are there any pain points or issues with the current vendor(s)?

State’s Response:

See state’s response to question 2.

1. Could you please share the previous spending on this contract, if any?

State’s Response:

See state’s response to question 2.

1. Is there any mandatory subcontracting requirement for this contract? If yes, Is there any specific goal for the subcontracting?

State’s Response:

No, there is no mandatory subcontracting requirements for this contract.

1. How many positions were used in the previous contract?

State’s Response:

See state’s response to question 2.

1. How many positions will be required per year or throughout the contract term?

State’s Response:

See Section III SCOPE OF WORK/SPECIFICATIONS – While there is no minimum or maximum guaranteed number of placements, an estimated annual number of placements would range from zero to five within a fiscal year.

1. Can we provide hourly rate ranges in the price proposal?

State’s Response:

See Section VIII BIDDING SCHEDULE/PRICE-BUSINESS PROPOSAL

1. Are resumes required at the time of proposal submission? If yes, do we need to submit the actual resumes for proposed candidates or can we submit the sample resumes?

State’s Response:

See Section IV INFORMATION FOR OFFERORS TO SUBMIT

1. Is this a newly initiated project, or is it a continuation of an existing one? If it is ongoing, kindly provide the names of the current service providers/incumbent vendors.

State’s Response:

See state’s response to question 2.

1. Could you provide details on the previous expenditure associated with this contract?

State’s Response:

See state’s response to question 2.

1. Are there any specific challenges or issues currently being faced with the existing vendors?

State’s Response:

See state’s response to question 2.

1. Could you confirm if it is possible to obtain the proposals or pricing details of the incumbent vendors?

State’s Response:

See state’s response to question 2.

1. Can you clarify the expected number of awards for this solicitation?

State’s Response:

See Section VI AWARD CRITERIA under AWARD CRITERIA –PROPOSALS (MODIFIED)

1. Is there any preference or priority given to local vendors for this contract?

State’s Response:

See Section III SCOPE OF WORK/SPECIFICATIONS – A strong local presence is recommended.

1. What will be the onsite working address?

State’s Response:

South Carolina Treasurer’s Office 1200 Senate Street, Wade Hampton Bldg., Columbia SC 29201

1. How many years back should a candidate’s background check go to?

State’s Response:

A standard, national and state criminal background check is required.

1. In regard to a credit check, what would be an acceptable FICO score for a candidate?

State’s Response:

A standard credit check is required.

1. Will CPA’s need to hold any FINRA securities licenses?

State’s Response:

Each CPA and/or specialized accountant requisition may hold separate, specific requirements to include a variety of backgrounds or certifications, but none are specifically required for every requisition.

1. Will the scope of the CPA’s work include any of the following: Forensic Accounting, Regulation Compliance, Tech Assurance, Audit & Attestation Services, Sustainability and/or Business Fundamental studies?

State’s Response:

Each CPA and/or specialized accountant requisition may hold separate, specific requirements to include a variety of backgrounds or certifications, but none are specifically required for every requisition.

1. Will a Sr. CPA be responsible in overseeing any departmental staff? If so, how many?

State’s Response:

Each CPA and/or specialized accountant requisition may hold separate, specific requirements to include a variety of backgrounds or certifications, but none are specifically required for every requisition. Some positions may be responsible for overseeing staff, but we do not have an estimated number of staff at this time.

1. For the question in the Technical Proposal, under Related Experience, you stated, "Provide a list of five businesses or organizations for which services substantially similar to those sought in this solicitation have been provided during the past three years," do the referenced contracts need to be awarded contracts?

State’s Response:

No, the referenced contracts do not need to be awarded contracts.

1. In Attachment D, is it permissible to place a range in column E instead of a singular number?

State’s Response:

No, it is not permissible to place a range in column E instead of a singular number.

1. Can we note exceptions in our response? If so, where would you prefer us to place those exceptions within the document?

State’s Response:

No. Not at this time. However, the State may elect to negotiate with the highest ranked offeror(s).

1. Is Auto Liability insurance mandatory when no vehicles are required to be driven?

Yes. See Section III SCOPE OF WORK/SPECIFICATIONS - If required by STO, selected firm(s) must be able to arrive onsite for meeting/conference purposes within 72 hours.

1. Will Professional Liability Insurance w/ a $1m dollar per occurrence be acceptable in leu of Commercial General Liability (CGL) w/ a $1m dollar per occurrence?

No. Not at this time. However, the State may elect to negotiate with the highest ranked offeror(s).

1. What is the State’s historical usage and yearly spend for this contract during the past three (3) years?

State’s Response:

See state’s response to question 2.

1. Will the State provide detailed job descriptions for the positions listed in the solicitation?

State’s Response:

The State will provide a more detailed job description for specific positions after award. Please select the link below to search for basic position descriptions under (AN) Fiscal Services.

https://admin.sc.gov/ohr_classes_list?class_code=AN

1. To ensure FCRA compliance, it is our company’s policy to provide clients with an attestation of completion of background check pursuant to client’s requirements, but not the actual results. Will the State accept letters of attestation in lieu of actual background check results?

State’s Response:

No. Not at this time. However, the State may elect to negotiate with the highest ranked offeror(s).

1. Is this a re-compete RFP? If yes:

a) Could you please provide the name of the current suppliers (who are currently providing services to the agency)?

b) Could you please share the current suppliers' pricing and proposals?

c) When did the existing contract start, and what is the annual monetary spend value of the current contract since its inception?

d) How many resources are currently engaged under the current contract?

e) Can you please share the number of positions served in previous years under this contract?

f) Can you please share the amount of business each vendor conducted under this contract in previous years?

State’s Response:

See state’s response to question 2.

1. What will be the estimated annual budget for this project?

State’s Response:

The State is not disclosing this information at this time.

1. Is there any local preference involved in evaluation criteria of the proposal?

State’s Response:

See Section III SCOPE OF WORK/SPECIFICATIONS – A strong local presence is recommended. Also, see Section VI AWARD CRITERIA under EVALUATION FACTORS—PROPOSAL (JAN 2006)

1. Will you accept references from both public and commercial entities?

State’s Response:

Yes, the state will accept references from both the public and commercial entities.

1. Is there any mandatory subcontracting required for this contract? Please confirm the subcontracting goal to fully meet the requirement.

State’s Response:

See state’s response to question 5.

1. How many positions can we expect under this contract throughout the given term?

State’s Response:

See Section III SCOPE OF WORK/SPECIFICATIONS – While there is no minimum or maximum guaranteed number of placements, an estimated annual number of placements would range from zero to five within a fiscal year.

1. How many vendors is the agency planning to select?

State’s Response:

See Section VI AWARD CRITERIA under AWARD CRITERIA –PROPOSALS (MODIFIED)

1. What will be the shift timings for the given positions?

State’s Response:

8:30 – 5:00 Monday through Friday.

1. Is it mandatory to bid on all positions within a category?

State’s Response:

Yes. See instructions within Attachment D.

1. We have reached out to the South Carolina Enterprise Information System (SCEIS) technical team multiple times in the past to reset our password and access our account, but we are still unable to access our account to submit bids on the portal “http://www.procurement.sc.gov.” Considering this, we submitted our last two South Carolina bids through other means. Will you please accept our email or hardcopy submission instead of portal submission?

State’s Response:

See Section II. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – A. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS under SUBMITTING A PAPER OFFER OR MODIFICATION (MAR 2015)

1. Will you accept email submissions of the proposal?

State’s Response:

No, the state will not accept email submission of the proposal.

1. Will you accept hardcopy submissions? If yes, please confirm the number of copies required and describe any applicable binding instructions.

State’s Response:

See Section II. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – A. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS under SUBMITTING A PAPER OFFER OR MODIFICATION (MAR 2015)

1. Do we need to submit the proposal in two separate files—one file including the proposal content as described under the section “Proposal Content” on page 17 through the technical proposal, and the other containing the price proposal? Please confirm.

State’s Response:

See Section IV INFORMATION FOR OFFERORS TO SUBMIT – The Business Proposal shall be separate from the Technical Proposal. No pricing information shall be included in the Technical Proposal. The completed “Attachment D” should be saved and attached as an Excel document in the online bidding system.

1. Is it mandatory to submit sample resumes for the required roles? Please confirm the minimum and maximum number of acceptable resumes.

State’s Response:

See Section IV INFORMATION FOR OFFERORS TO SUBMIT image1.png