Inquiry_Answers.docx

S5105A-15-R-0014 Questions and Answers

1. Would the Government please extend the due date for proposal submission?

ANSWER: Yes, the proposal deadline will be extended to 12:00PM (noon) 9/23/2015.

2. Please confirm this is a Small Business Set Aside?

ANSWER: Confirmed, this requirement is a 100% small business set-aside.

3. RFP page 37, Subfactor Management Approach states, “The management approach shall clearly indicate a complete understanding of the required actions, anticipated workload, labor needs by type, projected travel, as well as other requirements.”

Question: Can the Government please provide additional details related to the number of trips anticipated, in in order for the contractor to determine a reasonable projected travel amount?

ANSWER: Anticipate 2 trips for 2 people to Columbus, OH and various day trips to OSD (Pentagon) for FIAR

4. RFP page 38, Subfactor Key Personnel – Can the Government please change the requirement for all accountants to have an accounting degree to an accounting or business related degree? There are many qualified personnel without accounting degrees who have the relevant experience requested by the Government.

ANSWER: Requirement has changed to Bachelor’s Degree in accounting, business, operations research, management, computer science or related discipline. Have 24 hours of accounting credits for other than accounting degree.

5. RFP page 38, Subfactor Key Personnel – Can the Government please provide the number of FTEs anticipated to be provided for this requirement and at what levels? It’s very difficult to determine from the information provided in the RFP to provide a reasonable price quote.

ANSWER: Please note, Key Personnel has been removed from the solicitation. The identified personnel requirements are as follows:

Senior Accountant Manager – 1 FTE Staff Accountant – 7 FTEs Accounting Technician 3 FTEs

6. RFP page 38, Subfactor Key Personnel – Can the Government decrease the requirement for all accountants to have at least 5 years of experience? There are tasks in the Performance Work Statement that can be performed by personnel with less experience.

ANSWER: Labor categories have been defined in the amendment. Please reference the amendment for details on the minimum requirements for each labor category.

7. RFP page 39, Factor 3 Price at the top of the page includes a table that should a rate of $14.48/hr for a 01011 – Accounting Clerk I. Can the Government please advise what the significance of this table is, since that rate is significantly below the minimum requirements for all personnel stated on page 38.

ANSWER: This table is included as a requirement of FAR 52.222-41 for informational purposes only. The rate listed is the minimum wage allowable to be paid for labor in this category.

8. RFP page 45, 2. Background states, “August 2015 DCMA will be converting to a new accounting and payroll system, Defense Agency Initiative (DAI).” Please advise what impact the system implementation will have on the tasks required to be performed in the Performance Work Statement?

ANSWER: This is accounting work and we currently use DBMS which will change over to DAI, 1 Oct. So all work will be accomplished in the new system. SOPs, narratives, flows, etc will have to be redone with the new system processes.

9. RFP page 47, 4. Work Requirements, 4.7 states, “Reconcile financial statements line item accounts, imbalances, and financial discrepancies with source documents and reports (i.e., DD 1002, DDRS-B, and etc.).” Please advise how many and which financial statements line item accounts the Government anticipates the contractor will be reconciling?

ANSWER: Due to implementation of a new system this information is not readily available. However, we have 3 types (O&M, RDT&E and Procurement) of money and we work State of Budgetary Resources, Statement of Net Cost, Balance Sheet and Statement of Changes in Net Position for the 3 types of money mentioned.

10. RFP page 47, 4. Work Requirements, 4.9 states, “Review and analyze accounts payables; identify and prepare corrective actions plans.” Please advise what level of detail this review and analysis of accounts payables will entail? Will the contractor be expected to review for the existence and completeness of accruals booked by the agency for example?

ANSWER: With the implementation of a new system rejects will need to be analyzed for root problems and correction. Review for completeness and accuracy will be done by the FIAR team.

11. RFP page 47, 4. Work Requirements, 4.11 states, “Retrieve and reconcile monthly accounting reports to the trial balance, subsidiary ledgers, source documents and provide variance and trend analyses.” Please advise how many and which accounts the Government anticipates the contractor will be retrieving and reconciling on a monthly basis.

ANSWER: With the implementation of a new system this information is not readily identifiable. However, today we have approximately 15-20 SF133 Monthly reports.

12. RFP page 47, 4. Work Requirements, 4.13 states, “Assist in remedying identified internal control shortfalls, deficiencies, gaps and enhance management's efforts towards a successful implementation of OMB Circular A-123, Appendix A.” Please advise what stage of implementation of OMB A-123 Appendix A the agency is at?

ANSWER: We are in the beginning phase of OMB Circular A-123 due to the implementation of a new accounting system which will require our processes to be redone.

13. RFP page 49, 6. Period of Performance states, “This order includes two (2) six (6) month option periods, which may be unilaterally exercised by the Government. Each option period shall not exceed one year in duration.” Please clarify the term of the option period, as the above statements contradict each other.

ANSWER: The above statement is correct, as the option periods are established to be 6 months in duration. However, in accordance with clause FAR 52.217-8 the Government may extend services for a period of 6 months or less. With this noted, it is conceivable that the Government may extend one of the option periods for an additional 6 months, bringing the total option period duration to 1 year. Please reference clause FAR 52.217-8 for additional details.

14. RFP page 50, 10. Security – Please advise if the Government will accept personnel to work on this contract with Interim Secret clearances?

ANSWER: Yes, as long as the interim clearance is in the Consolidated Adjudication Facility (CAF) and logged within JPAS.

15. The RFQ due dates for questions and proposal submission are only one week apart. Would the Government please consider extending the proposal due date by at least one week to allow offerors sufficient time to review and incorporate the questions and answers once received?

ANSWER: The submission deadline has been extended to September 23, 2015 at 12:00PM (noon) EST.

16. Is electronic (e-mail) submission of proposals acceptable? If so, please specify the e-mail address for submission, identify any associated file size restrictions, and confirm acceptable file type(s) for submission (e.g., Word, PDF).

ANSWER: Yes, email submission of proposals is acceptable. The email address for submission is michael.toter@dcma.mil. Files size should not exceed 5MB due to DCMA’s inability to receive file sizes larger than this through email. Additionally, acceptable file types include Word, PDF and Excel.

17. Would the Government please clarify whether the contractor will be required to document and scope system controls testing and Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual (FISCAM) requirements as part of this contract?

ANSWER: No, but look at service provider’s SSAE16s and ensure we have no gaps during handoffs of interfaces, etc.

18. Many of the work requirements and deliverables pertain to analyzing financial statements, line item balances, and other various types of financial reporting support. To what extent does the Government foresee the Contractor working directly with DFAS personnel in accomplishing the requested tasks outlined in the PWS? Does the Government anticipate travel to DFAS to support tasks other than the preparation of financial statements?

ANSWER: DFAS is our partner so they will be working directly with DFAS. Traveling to DFAS may be a requirement upon implementation if we encounter issues but not a normal trip to work financial statements.

19. Is the offeror required to complete the following fill-ins and include the information with their proposal? If so, in what proposal volume and section should this information be included?

ANSWER: Clause 52.209-7(b) must be filled in by the offeror.

The fill-ins located in Clause 52.212-3 must be filled out by the offeror.

The fill-ins located in Clause 252.209-7992(b)(1)-(2) must be filled out by the offeror.

This information is to be included in Part I – Administrative Data.

20. Clause 52.212-2 (a) lists three (3) evaluation factors for award; Clause 52.212-1 ADDENDUM lists four (4) evaluation factors for award. Will PART I – ADMINISTRATIVE DATA be evaluated?

ANSWER: 52.212-1 ADDENDUM is only the instruction to offerors and does not provide evaluation criteria. 52.212-2 ADDENDUM does provide evaluation criteria, and as stated in 52.212-2 ADDENDUM, PART I Administrative Data, “Proposals that fail to furnish the required information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.” This is all that will be reviewed in regards to Administrative Data.

21. The RFQ states, “PART II – Technical Proposal (Maximum of 30 pages).” Please confirm front matter (e.g., cover page, table of contents) is excluded from the 30-page limitation.

ANSWER: Confirmed, in submission of your proposal, separate Part II – Technical Proposal from your package. Please note, this part should ONLY include the Technical piece of your proposal.

22. Must all proposal “PARTs” be submitted as individual volumes (files)? Or can all four PARTs be submitted in one proposal volume (file)?

ANSWER: Parts I - Administrative Data, III – Past Performance and IV – Price Proposal may be combined. Part II – Technical Proposal should be submitted as a separate volume (file). Please note, Part II – Technical Proposal is not to exceed 30 pages.

The Solicitation requires offerors to provide resumes for all proposed personnel. Please confirm resumes are excluded from the 30-page Technical Proposal limit and may be included in an Appendix to this file.

ANSWER: Confirmed, resumes are excluded from the 30 page requirement and may be included in an Appendix to Part II – Technical Proposal.

23. Will the Government accept past performance references from subcontractors?

ANSWER: Yes, the Government will accept past performance references from subcontractors.

24. The RFQ states, “Contractor shall propose all anticipated travel cost, including number of trips, number of personnel, mode of travel, per diem, etc.” However, the FBO announcement states, “Please note, Surge and Travel CLINs pricing will not be evaluated for pricing. With this noted do not propose pricing for the Surge and Travel CLINs. The Government will establish the proper funding and amount after time of award.”

Will the Government please confirm we should not propose all anticipated travel costs, as stated on page 39 of solicitation?

ANSWER: Confirmed.

25. With the ever-changing environment to achieve audit readiness and so many unknowns (i.e., types/volume of assessable units, number of CAPs, various ad hoc queries/analysis), it is difficult for an offeror to estimate the level of effort under a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract.

Will the Government provide an estimated full-time equivalent (FTE) count by proposed Labor Category in order for offerors to correctly price this FFP solicitation?

ANSWER: The Government estimates the following Labor Categories and FTE’s needed for this requirement:

Senior Accountant Manager – 1 FTE Staff Accountant – 7 FTEs Accounting Technician 3 FTEs

Please note, the amendment has changed this requirement to a labor hour type contract.

Is the Government willing to change the contract to Time and Materials (T&M) to allow both the government and awardee the flexibility to expand or shrink the workforce as potential problem areas are identified and then resolved?

ANSWER: Yes, after review of the requirement the Government has determined that a labor hour type contract is more appropriate for this effort. Please reference the amended solicitation.

26. Please confirm it is the Government’s intention for offerors to provide resumes for all proposed personnel, rather than only key personnel.

ANSWER: Confirmed, within the Solicitation amendment you will find that all personnel submitted will have to submit resumes showing they meet the minimum requirements for their assigned labor category, additionally labor categories have been defined.

27. The only position identified as Key is “Accountants.” Can the Government please confirm this is the only key position, and the Contractor may propose other positions as it sees fit to accomplish the tasks?

ANSWER: Key Personnel has been removed from the solicitation. Please reference the Solicitation Amendment for the identified labor categories and submission instructions.

28. The RFQ states: “The Government will utilize the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) at www.ppirs.gov to evaluate past performance for those contractors having previously performed on a Federal Government contract(s).” Many Government engagements do not require PPIRS evaluations. Please confirm that offerors will not be given lower or neutral evaluation ratings in these cases.

ANSWER: If an offeror is found to not have any past performance information, the offeror will be given a neutral rating. However, for the purposes of this evaluation a neutral rating shall be deemed an Acceptable Past performance rating.

29. Can the Government please elaborate on what it means by “Review DCMA’s financial status daily”?

ANSWER: We monitor reports, do analysis, prepare correction vouchers

30. Can the Government please provide an estimate as to the number of documents to be retrieved and the frequency (i.e., pulling samples versus 100% review)?

ANSWER: That is depending on the scope of the audit. Under current testing we do 55-60 samples per assessable unit and/or CAP.

31. Can the Government please clarify which financial statements are in scope for this effort?

ANSWER: Refer to Question 9.

32. Can the Government please elaborate on its expectations for this particular requirement: “Clarify existing DCMA entity position(s) for CFO financial statement and reporting purposes”?

ANSWER: CFO is positioning itself to undergo and pass its first examination/audit.

33. What type of documentation is required to be included as part of the monthly and quarterly financial packages? Is the Contractor responsible for developing the documentation, or simply compiling the required information and uploading to the designated repository?

ANSWER: Work papers and checklist to be compiled and uploaded. Templates and examples are already developed and being stored.

34. Deliverable 5.4 – Can the Government please define “financial products”?

ANSWER: Workpapers, statements, monthly reports, research results, etc.

35. The Performance Work Statement (PWS) does not specify deliverable due dates. Is it the Government’s intention to work with the contractor to mutually determine deliverable due dates following contract award?

ANSWER: Government will work with the contractor to mutually determine due dates upon award. Due dates of statements and monthly reports is dependent on DFAS schedule which hasn’t been published.

36. Has DCMA identified all of its assessable units? If so, how many assessable units are there? Additionally, does DCMA require full assertion packages to be prepared in accordance with the FIAR Guidance for each assessable unit?

ANSWER: Yes assessable units have been identified and there are 8. The packages will need to be redone with the new accounting system being in place 1 Oct.

37. Is the Contractor responsible for assisting with the implementation of pre-existing CAPs, newly discovered CAPs, or both? Additionally, how many open CAPs does DCMA currently have, what is the status of the CAPs, and what financial areas do they pertain to?

ANSWER: There are 34 CAPs, 11 for retesting and 23 from Mock Audit conducted by OSD. The largest area is Reimbursable Authority and then Contract/Vendor Pay.

38. Can the Government please elaborate on the extent to which the Contractor will be involved in remediating material weaknesses for Plant, Property, & Equipment (PP&E)? How many material weaknesses are there and what do these weaknesses pertain to?

ANSWER: Assist the accountant in developing PP&E SOP, testing CAPs and developing narrative, flows, etc. for this assessable unit.

39. The RFQ states computers will be provided for the contractor. Will the Contractor be required to perform all PWS tasks solely on Government computers, or does the Contractor have flexibility to work from Contractor computers as well?

ANSWER: Only DCMA provided computers can be used for this effort.

40. Will the Government provide any workspaces at DCMA headquarters or Rivers Bend locations for Contractor support? If so, how many? Or, is the Contractor expected to work remotely, unless otherwise requested to be onsite by DCMA management?

ANSWER: With the new system the need to be on site will be crucial because of the lack of experience. However, as metrics improve working remotely can be an option depending on management. If space becomes an issue working remotely will be an option.

41. Is the scope of the Option Periods the same as the base-year scope?

ANSWER: Yes.

42. Is there a contractor currently providing CFO Compliance services? If so, what is the name of the contractor and how many FTEs?

ANSWER: No there is not another contractor providing CFO Compliance services.

43. Is there a contractor currently providing Accounting Support Services? If so, what is the name of the contractor and how many FTEs?

ANSWER: No, there is not another contractor providing Accounting Support Services.

44. How many FTEs does the government anticipate for this effort?

ANSWER: 11

45. The included Wage Determination data (on pg. 39) for an Accounting Clerk I, does the information coincide with the Key Personnel identified as Accountant?

ANSWER: Key personnel has been removed from the solicitation, please reference the solicitation amendment for additional information. Additionally, please reference question 7 for additional details.

46. Does the government anticipate having professionals from the "Administrative Support and Clerical Occupations" group from the DOL wage determination?

ANSWER: Labor categories have been defined please reference the solicitation amendment for additional information.

47. Are any contractors currently providing support for any of the PWS Work Requirements? If so, what is the name of the contractor and how many FTEs?

ANSWER: No, DCMA currently does not have a contractor in place for this requirement.

48. How many contractor on-site visit/meeting requests does the government anticipate?

ANSWER: The work is to be done off site if telework is authorized or spacing issues arise. Other than that expect to be on site at Rivers Bend or Fort Lee.

49. Will contractor on-site contractor visit/meeting requests be planned in advance?

ANSWER: To the best of our ability.

50. Will on-site requests contractor visit/meetings be periodic?

ANSWER: Yes.

51. Will the bi-weekly status meetings be required to be on-site or can the meetings be conducted remotely or via teleconference?

ANSWER: Dependent on the workload and training of the contractors.

52. Has the government completed its conversion to DAI?

ANSWER: No.

53. Is there a contractor assisting the government with the conversion from DBMS to DAI? If so, what is the name of the contractor and how any FTEs?

ANSWER: Yes, however, information in regards to that requirement is not relevant to this requirement and therefore will not be released.

54. Does the government anticipate more than the Accountant labor category listed in Key Personnel?

ANSWER: Yes, please reference question 5.

55. Will the government allow remote/virtual access to DBMS?

ANSWER: No, DBMS will not be the system of record.

56. Will the government consider extending the response date to allow for potential changes based on government responses to questions?

ANSWER: Yes the response deadline has been extended to September 23, 2015 at 12:00PM (noon) EST.

57. I would like to know how much work is involved so that I best know how many employees I will need to do the job.

ANSWER: Changed to labor hours to accommodate the surge if applicable.

58. RFP States “Provide a copy of any subcontract, teaming, or consulting agreements or letter of intent containing a description of and the extent of their role in the requirement, and a statement of commitment on their part to satisfy the requirements of the solicitation.”

Will the Government please confirm the following interpretation: Offeror may provide Either (1) a subcontract, teaming, or consultant agreement OR (2) a letter of intent that describes subcontractor’s role and contains a commitment that subcontractor intends to satisfy the solicitation requirements.

ANSWER: Confirmed.