Q As_-_English_081116.docx

Attachment A

Inter-American Foundation (IAF) Ref. Solicitation #TFSAIAF16CI0003 of the Fiscal Services Office, for Grant Auditing Compliance Services in El Salvador/Costa Rica/Panama, for the Inter-American Foundation.

Appendix A

· Total amount of the investment in projects for each IAF beneficiary country (ES/ CR/ PN)

· Names of projects and their executors included in the scope of the audit

· Details of the project executors (grant recipients)

· Locations where the projects are executed

· Time period of each project (starting date and completion date)

· Amount allocated to the project and counterpart contribution (or average amounts allocated)

· Agreements signed with each executor

If unable to provide the requested information in detail, please confirm if we can use the information obtained from the IAF web page http://www.iaf.gov/our-work/where-we-work/country-portfolios

Answer: The detail information of grantees on the IAF website is accurate and can be relied upon for purposes of proposal preparation and submission.

Appendix A

3.0. Scope

The scope of this contract and the audits will be in keeping with the “Audit Manual for the Use of Independent Auditors in Reviewing Foundation Grants” (2014 version), attached as Appendix C of this Performance Work Statement (PWS). For purposes of this Performance Work Statement, an Audit will be defined as review level testing, as specified in section 6.02 of the Yellow Book, and is not a financial audit according to the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) or the Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS).

3.2. Requirements

(2) The Contractor will execute all the audits performed under the framework of this Performance Work Statement and the resulting contract in accordance with the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS or Yellow Book) as promulgated by the U.S. Comptroller General, most recent version TFSAIAF16CI0003 13 [sic] (currently the 2014 version).

Please confirm the basis on which the review will be performed for each project (GAGAS or Audit Manual issued by the Foundation)

Answer: The review will be performed based on GAGAS. The contractor should use the IAF audit manual as a guide in in the performance of the audit, reporting on audit findings, etc. The contractor should discuss any discrepancies between the IAF audit manual and GAGAS with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

Answer: This term refers to the firm that performs the audit. The English version of the terms of reference is correct. The Spanish version has a translation error.

The indicated section says: “The Bidder will provide written responses (separate from the curriculum vitae) in order to determine the following, and they will be evaluated by the number of years, number of times, and/or diversity of experience:

a. Demonstrated auditing experience evaluating internal controls and using U.S. evaluation standards.

Does this experience correspond to PCAOB or GAGAS standards?

Answer: The term U.S. evaluation standards is broad enough that we give offerors credit for experience using either standard.

(p. 27)

Also, please advise how much weight the price proposal has with respect to the total evaluation.

Answer: The factors and sub-factors included are listed in order of descending importance. They will be used as the standard against which all proposals are to be evaluated.

In accordance with solicitation Provision 52.212-2 EVALUATION (page 26), technical merit and past performance, when combined, are approximately equal to price. The importance of price as an evaluation factor will increase with the degree of equality in the technical merits of the proposals. Between acceptable proposals with a significant difference in technical rating, a determination will be made as to whether the additional technical merit or benefits reflected by a higher priced proposal warrants payment of the additional price or cost.

Audit Report

Please confirm the basis on which the audit report will be issued for this purpose (See question 2)

Answer: Report should be issued based on GAGAS. The contractor should inform the IAF of any discrepancies with the IAF Audit Manual.

Answer: Under the described scenario, reports should be signed by the El Salvador office.

(p. 18)

Answer: The offeror’s bid should reflect the possibility of auditee delays in providing information. In extremely extraordinary situations the IAF provides additional compensation to the audit firm, but this is extremely rate. The contractor has to request and receive prior approval from the IAF in these situations.

IAF grantees account for Project expenditures using rudimentary Excel spreadsheets or sophisticated accounting packages. The IAF accepts both methods and requires that contract auditors determine that grantee financial reports are accurate and grantee expenditures are consistent with the terms of the grant agreement.

The IAF does not provide guidance on valuing in-kind counterpart.

The IAF is under the auspices of the US Embassy in San Salvador, but does not have a legal representative in El Salvador.

Their five-year contract is coming to an end and US Government acquisition regulations require that we enter into a fair and open competition which the incumbent is allowed to participate in.

A small number of current IAF grantees have been identified as having material internal control weaknesses.

The incidence of suspected or identified frauds in projects financed by the IAF is extremely low.

We are unaware of any on-going litigation involving IAF grantees in El Salvador.

Each grantee contracts their own legal counsel. The IAF generally does not have knowledge of or interact with grantee’s legal counsel.

Grantees are free to deposit IAF funds in the bank of their choosing.

No, organizational structure is limited to the one described in the Terms of Reference. This allows us to rate each bid on an equal basis.

The IAF does not have any established percentages by expense type.