W91CRB-18-R-0021_Question_and_Answers.pdf

AWCF Solicitation W91CRB-18-R-0021

Revised: 9/18/2018 NOTE: The solicitation superceeds the Government responses stated herein.

No. RFP Reference Offeror Question Government Response 1 RFP Section 1.6.5 - p. 10 -Place of Performance Will the government provide the physical locations and number of desks that will be provided? 25 Desk locations are available in the NCR and 10 in Huntsville AL. Other desk locations can be made available at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, Warren, MI., and Columbus, OH if required.

2 RFP Section 1.6.8.1 - p. 12 - "The contractor personnel assigned to the project shall be: An independent public accounting firm experienced in performing audit readiness services within the Department of Defense"

Requirement states that all contractor personnel assigned to the project must be an independent public accounting firm. Suggest revising to state that the contractor must be an independent public accounting firm, vs. the contractor personnel.

This section is updated to read, "The contractor assigned to the project shall be an independent public accounting firm experienced in performing audit readiness services within the Department of Defense."

3 RFP Section C - p 28 - 1.6.11 - "At a minimum, the contractor shall have sufficient personnel assigned that are Certified Public Accountants who have been licensed by the appropriate state licensing authority"

Will the government quantify what it considers to be "sufficient personnel"? This paragraph has been revised, and "sufficient personnel" is no longer there. The personnel must meet the requirements in the PWS.

4 RFP Section 1.6.7 - p. 10 - "Security Requirements: Contractor personnel shall possess a minimum of a SECRET security clearance and must be a United States citizen."

This section requires a SECRET clearance. However, RFP Section 5.1 - p. 20 - . "All contractor personnel shall possess a minimum of an Interim SECRET security clearance and must be a United States citizen." requires an Interim SECRET. Can the government clarify whether an Interim SECRET is sufficient?

An Interim SECRET is sufficient

5 RFP Section L - p.56 - Proposal Volumes Table The numbering of the Factors for each Volume omits Factor V. Volume 5 is identified as Factor IV - Past Performance, and Volume 6 is identified as Factor VI - Small Business Utilization. Would the government renumber the Factors for Volumes 6 and 7 from:

Factor VI - Small Business Utilization Factor VII - Price to:

Factor V - Small Business Utilization Factor VI - Price This change would make the Factor numbering in Section L consistent with the numbering in Section M.

The numbering for the Factors has been revised.

6 RFP Section L - p. 58 - Subcontractors/Team Members/Affiliates:

"Offerors proposing subcontractors/team members/affiliates or other organizational elements not part of the entity submitting the offer shall provide evidence of the commitment from these organizations to perform as presented in the proposal. Examples might include teaming agreements, subcontracts, joint venture agreements, or other similar commitments."

RFP Section L - p. 62 (Small Business Utilization) also requires that the offeror provide "evidence of any enforceable commitments in place between itself and the participating small businesses". Will the government confirm that it wants subcontractor commitments included in BOTH Volume 1 - Executive Summary and Volume 6 - Small Business Utilization?

Yes - Evidence of the commitment should be in both Volume 1 and Volume 6

7 RFP Section 5.1.3 - p. 20 - Requirements by Labor Category. The Director I and Senior Manager I Labor Categories allow for substitution of a CPA or CISA for a Masters Degree. However, the Manager I and Senior Consultant Labor Categories do not. Would the government consider changing the descriptions for Manager I and Senior Consultant I to read "Masters Degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Technology, Logistics or Business Management or CPA or CISA" to be consistent with the Director I and Senior Manager I Labor Categories?

See changes to the PWS pagaragraph 5.1.3 per solicitation amendment 1.

No. RFP Reference Offeror Question Government Response 8 RFP Section 5.1.3 - p. 20 - Requirements by Labor Category. Senior

Manager I (Key Personnel) – Masters Degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Technology, Logistics or Business Management or CPA or CISA AND 6 years of experience with Department of Defense financial management including 2 years of experience with Army audit readiness

Would the government consider replacing "Army audit readiness" with "Department of Defense audit readiness" to make the Senior Manager I Labor Category consistent with the Director I, Manager I, and Senior Consultant I Labor Categories?

The Senior Manager I labor category is updated as follows: Replace "2 years of experience with Army audit readiness" with "2 years of experience with DoD audit readiness."

9 RFP - Section L. - Page 59 - Volume 2 / Factor I – Solution Development. "Offeror shall demonstrate an understanding of the issues presented below and demonstrate an understanding of the PWS requirements and deliverables to present a logical and actionable plan to overcome the presented issues."

Can the government provide further clarification whether all of the PWS elements must be explicitly addressed in the response to Volume 2?

The offeror does not need to address all PWS elements in the responses to each individual scenario. Offerors should address elements of the PWS for each scenario, but only those PWS elements they deem necessary to develop a solution.

10 RFP Section L - p 60 - Volume 5/Factor IV - Past Performance - "The offeror shall present a 3 performance narratives of recent and relevant contracts"

Is the submitter limited to providing 3 performance narratives as the prime on recent and relevant contracts or is that the minimum required?

The Offeror shall present a 3 performance narratives of recent and relevant contracts. Additionally, 2 recent and relevant contracts performed by a major subcontractor or team member (as applicable) may be provided. Section L is updated to reflect this re-wording.

11 RFP Section 1.6.8.2 - p. 12 - "To ensure effective management of the project, the contractor shall have the following:"

Would the government consider adding "Experience in performing financial statement audits of Working Capital Funds within the Department of Defense"?

No change will be made.

12 Section L - Volume 7 / Factor VI – Price Proposal - Pg .63 - Bullet d) "For all Key Personnel, as specified in the PWS, the Offeror shall include signed letters of intent (one page max) that shall include individuals name, contingent start date, position/title, and annual salary."

Can the government clarify whether key personnel must be identified the Price Proposal Model? The price Model under tab "Contract Yr pricing" has a column for Key with an asterick indicating the two Key positions.

13 Section L - Volume 7 / Factor VI – Price Proposal - p .63 - Bullet a) - "No modification, alteration to the formatting or formulas of the template are permitted."

The first bullet states that the there should be no modifications to the pricing model. However, instruction #8 within the "A07_Attachment_3_-_Price_Proposal_Model (002)," states "If the particular individual category is to be performed by more than one entity, the offeror will be required to insert additional row(s) under the labor category and to allocate the Col h hours for the individual category and inserted rows to reflect the proposed performance during the contract."

Will the government confirm that the pricing model should be modified if needed in accordance with item 8 in Attachment 3?

Only a change per #8 of the price model is allowed.

No. RFP Reference Offeror Question Government Response 14 Section C, PWS Section 1.4, page 8-9/68 and PWS Section 1.6.8.1, page 12/68 FAR 11.002(a)(1) states that agencies, “shall specify needs using market research in a manner designed to—(i) Promote full and open competition (see Part 6), . . ., with due regard to the nature of the supplies or services to be acquired; and (ii) Only include restrictive provisions or conditions to the extent necessary to satisfy the needs of the agency or as authorized by law.” Based on the foregoing, the government is requiring the bidder to be an independent public accounting firm (IPA) but the deliverables and tasks do not require provision of attest services. Can the government please clarify the reason for requiring the bidder to be an IPA and what deliverables require this firm certification? Additionally, we respectfully request the Government consider amending this solicitation to remove any such requirement because it is unduly restrictive and inhibits full and open competition. If the Government cannot remove the requirement for an Offeror to be an independent public accounting firm (IPA), will the Government please identify the applicable portions of the PWS which require the completion of work and/or the submission of deliverables in accordance with the AICPA Attestation Standards?

This requirement has been updated. The prime vendor must be an IPA firm. For all teaming arrangements, personnel from an IPA firm must perform at least 50% of the work (i.e. at least 50% of the labor hours) on the contract.

15 Labor Categories The Director and Senior Manager I labor categories allow a CPA or CISA or Master’s Degree. Due to the Government’s emphasis on utilizing an IPA, will the Government please allow for the same certification vs. Master’s Degree tradeoff for the Manager I, EDP Senior II and Senior Consultant I labor categories?

Yes. CPA or CISA may be substituted for a Masters Degree for the Manager I and Senior Consultant I.

16 Price Model Can the Government please clarify whether the LOE specified in the price model is an estimate or whether bidders can adjust the hours between labor categories if they determine their proposed solution requires a different level of effort?

Do not deviate from the hour and FTE stated in the Price Model. The Government is requesting 77 positions.

17 FedBizOps states: “Interested parties may identify their interest and capability with regard to this requirement no later than 1200 P.M. EST, 7 September 2018.” Since the Government released a final solicitation on August 29, is the Government still interested in receiving interest/capability statements on September 7? If so, how does the Government intend to use this information in relation to the active solicitation?

See item #14.

18 Would the Government consider removing the requirement that the bidder be an IPA? We believe that limiting the competition to only IPA firms mitigates the purpose of a full and open solicitation and unduly restricts competition, which could trigger protests and delay the award and delivery process.

See item #14.

19 GSA defines a CTA as “an arrangement between two or more GSA Schedule contractors to work together to meet agency requirements.” The Government is requiring an independent public accountant (IPA) to perform this work. IPAs frequently have independence/OCI issues due to the nature of the services they provide. Therefore, would the Government allow a non-IPA to be a CTA member in order to mitigate independence/OCI issues and also support the nature of a full and open competition by not limiting respondents to IPA firms?

See item #14.

20 Standard Form (SF) 1449 Please confirm Offerors should not provide the SF 1449 in their proposal submissions. Block 28 indicates signing and returning the SF 1449, as well as Section L under Executive Summary.

21 Section B - Supplies or Services and Prices Please confirm Offerors should not provide completed Contract Line Item Number (CLIN) tables in their proposal submissions and should instead provide pricing on Attachment 3 - Price Proposal Model.

Attachment 3 - Price Proposal Model correlates to the Section B of the RFP. Only Attachment 3 - Price Proposal Model is required.

No. RFP Reference Offeror Question Government Response 22 PWS Part 1, 1.1 Description of Services/Introduction states that the “Contractor shall maintain all data in an electronic format available for analysis and reporting.”

Would the Government please confirm whether the contractor may house some of the data on contractor servers?

Only non-PII data can be housed on contractor servers

23 PWS Part 1, 1.6.5 Place of Performance states that it will provide workspace for 35-40 contractor staff; however, Staffing Attachment 3 request pricing for 77 positions.

Would the Government please confirm whether it is requesting 77 positions for the performance of this contract?

The Government is requesting 77 positions.

24 PWS Part 1, 1.6.7 Security Requirements states “Contractor personnel shall possess a minimum of a SECRET security clearance;” however, in section 5.1, the solicitation states “All contractor personnel shall possess a minimum of an Interim SECRET.”

Would the Government please confirm whether Interim or Active is required?

An interim SECRET is sufficient. Also see similar question answered above.

25 PWS Part 1, 1.6.7 This section states, “The Contractor must submit a Secret Facility Clearance with their quote.”

In which Volume/section should Offerors include this information? In addition, please confirm this is excluded from any applicable page limitations.

Include in Volumne 1 Executive Summary.

26 PWS Part 1, 1.6.7. Security Requirements and PWS Part 5, 5.

Specific Tasks

Page 10 states all personnel must have a minimum of Secret clearance while page 20 states personnel should have a minimum of Interim Secret clearance.

Would the Government please confirm that an Interim Secret clearance is acceptable and revise the solicitation for consistency?

An Interim SECRET is sufficient. See similar questions answered above.

27 PWS Part 1, 1.6.13 Contractor Travel states “All travel is reimbursable and will be evaluated via a modification if additional funding is required.”

Would the Government please clarify whether each Government-initiated travel request must first require a modification to the contract?

Modification to the contract will occur if there is a request for travel that exceed the remaining amount of funding allocated for travel.

28 PWS Part 5, 5.1.3 In addition to CPA and CISA certifications, will the Government also accept Certified Defense Financial Manager (CDFM), Project Management Profession (PMP) or Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) certifications as substitutes for the Masters Degree requirements in the Director, Senior Manager I, Manager I and Senior Consultant labor categories?

See changes to the PWS pagaragraph 5.1.3 per solicitation amendment 1.

29 PWS Part 5, 5.1.3 Senior Manager lists “Army audit readiness,” but all other categories list “Department of Defense audit readiness.”

Would the Government please confirm that “Department of Defense audit readiness” applies to all Key Personnel?

This is updated as follows: For the Senior Manager I labor category replace "2 years of experience with Army audit readiness" with "2 years of experience with DoD audit readiness."

30 PWS Part 5, 5.1.3 For the Manager I and Senior Consultant labor categories, will the Government please allow Offerors to substitute certifications including Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), PMP, CDFM, or CGFM for the Masters Degree requirement as consistent with the Director and Senior Manager labor categories?

See changes to the PWS pagaragraph 5.1.3 per solicitation amendment 1.

No. RFP Reference Offeror Question Government Response 31 PWS Part 5, 5.1.3 The Government requires a master’s degree for the Director, Senior Manager I, and Manager I

LCATs. The Government also requires a master’s degree for the EDP Manager and EDP Audit Senior II. In our experience, the individuals who typically occupy these LCATs have a vast amount of relevant experience and certifications, but possess a bachelor’s degree in the relevant technical field.

Would the Government please modify the solicitation to accept either:

• A certain number of years of experience as a substitute for the master’s degree, or

• A bachelor’s degree as the minimum education level?

See changes to the PWS pagaragraph 5.1.3 per solicitation amendment 1.

32 PWS Part 5, 5.2.3 This section states, “Quality Control Plan. The Contractor shall submit for review and approval a Quality Control Plan.”

Please confirm this is a post-award requirement.

This is a post award requirement

33 PWS Part 5, 5.2.3 If the Quality Control Plan is not a post-award requirement, in which volume/section should Offerors include this information?

This is a post award requirement

34 PWS Part 5, 5.2.3 If the Quality Control Plan is not a post-award requirement, please confirm it is excluded from any applicable page limitations.

See PWS section 1.6.1

35 Deliverable A03 Reconciliation data for the AWCF’s Universe of Transactions (UoT) – will the Army Working Capital Fund (AWCF) team be allowed to use the current ALTESS iUoT General Fund environment, or will the contractor have to set up our own iUoT environment with our own IT personnel too?

The contractor will be authorized to use the existing iUoT environment at ALTESS.

36 Deliverable A04 Information Technology – will Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual (FISCAM) controls only be tested on the Logistics Modernization Program (LMP) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), or will the contractor need to test all of the feeder systems and reporting systems listed in Deliverable A03 as well?

Deliverable A04 is applicable to LMP, AWRDS, and AESIP Hub

37 Deliverable A06 Statement of Net Costs (SNC) and Statement of Changes in Net Position (SCNP) – does the AWCF have their own SNC and SCNP, or is the statement a combination of General Fund and Working Capital Fund?

The AWCF has its own SNC and SCNP.

38 52.244-2 SUBCONTRACTS (OCT 2010) Please confirm that the Government will fill in this provision post award. If not, please confirm that Offerors may include this fill-in in Volume 7 – Price.

This will be completed post award.

39 Section L, paragraph A.5 Would the Government please confirm whether this sentence should state that “No pricing information shall be in any volumes other than Factor VII – Price”?

This has been revised. Pricing information may also be included in Volumne I.

40 Section L, paragraph A.7 Did the Government intentionally omit Factor V as a proposal volume? This has been corrected.

41 SECTION L, A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Section L), Instructions for Submission, 3.

Please confirm the Summary Section is excluded from the page limitations for each volume. Correct. The summary section is excluded.

42 SECTION L, A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Section L), Instructions for Submission, 5.

This section states, “5. No pricing information shall be in any volumes other than Factor VI – Price.”

Please confirm this is a typo and should state “Factor VII – Price.”

This has been corrected.

No. RFP Reference Offeror Question Government Response 43 SECTION L, A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Section L), Instructions for Submission There are appears to be a Factor numbering error in the table on pages 55 and 56 of 68. The current numbering is as follows:

• Factor I – Solution Development

• Factor II – Key Personnel

• Factor III – Transition Plan

• Factor IV – Past Performance

• Factor VI – Small Business Utilization

• Factor VII – Price.

Please confirm the correct numbering should be the following:

• Factor I – Solution Development

• Factor II – Key Personnel

• Factor III – Transition Plan

• Factor IV – Past Performance

• Factor V – Small Business Utilization

• Factor VI – Price.

This has been corrected.

44 SECTION L, A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Section L), Instructions for Submission, 8.

This section states, “Offerors shall submit their proposals electronically, using the FedBizOps website.” In the event the website goes down, or Offerors are not able to successfully upload documents via FedBizOpps prior to the deadline, will the Government allow Offerors to submit their proposals via e-mail to the Points of Contact (POC) listed for this solicitation on FedBizOpps?

In the event of difficulty you should 1st contact the FedBizOps helpdesk, and then contact the specialist and contracting officer via email for further direction.

45 SECTION L, A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Section L), Instructions for Submission, 9.

This section states, “All volumes and plans shall include pagination with the exception of any excluded pages.”

Please clarify what the Government means by “pagination.”

Pagination - the sequence of numbers assigned to pages in a document.

46 SECTION L, A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Section L), Instructions for Submission, 9.

This section states, “All volumes and plans shall include pagination with the exception of any excluded pages.”

Please clarify what the Government means by “excluded pages.”

The solicitation states the item(s) is excluded from the page count.

47 Section L Would the Government please clarify whether Letters of Intent are required for all proposed key personnel or only those who are not current employees of the bidder?

Letters of intent are required for all proposed key personnel.

48 Volume 1 – Executive Summary, #13 Assumptions or contingent conditions shall be included in the Executive Summary. However, the instructions preclude any pricing information from being included in any volume other than the Pricing Volume. Please confirm that any and all pricing-related assumptions shall be included in the Pricing Volume (and shall be excluded from the Executive Summary).

You may include price information in Volumes I and IV.

49 SECTION L, A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Section L), Instructions for Submission, Volume 1 – Executive Summary, Organizational Conflict of Interest Identification and Risk Mitigation Plan

Please confirm the Mitigation Plan is only required if the Offeror identifies an actual or potential conflict of interest.

All Offeror's must submit an OCI Risk Mitigation Plan. Per the solicitation, if the conclusion reached by the contractor is that no OCI exists, then a statement certifying that the contractor (including subcontractors and affiliates) has no OCI issues relating to this Request for Proposal or contract, including supporting rationale, shall be submitted as well.

50 Subcontractors/Joint Ventures/Affiliates Would the Government accept a letter of commitment from proposed subcontractors as evidence of commitment to perform services as proposed in lieu of the examples provided (e.g., teaming agreement, subcontract, and joint venture agreements)?

Yes. This is acceptable.

51 Volume 1 Executive Summary, Subcontractors/Team Members/Affiliates

To limit the amount of material submitted in Volume 1, will the Government accept the signature page of the teaming agreement as “evidence of the commitment from these organizations to perform as presented in the proposal”?

Yes. The signature page is acceptable.

No. RFP Reference Offeror Question Government Response 52 SECTION L, A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Section L), Instructions for Submission, Volume 3 / Factor II – Key Personnel;

SECTION L, A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Section L), Instructions for Submission, Volume 7 / Factor VI – Price Proposal

Volume 3/Factor II – Key Personnel and Volume 7/Factor VI – Price Proposal both require letters of intent. Please confirm Offerors should submit letters of intent in both Volumes.

Correct. Please submit for both

53 SECTION L, A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Section L), Instructions for Submission, Volume 3 / Factor II – Key Personnel

Please confirm letters of intent are excluded from the four-page limit for résumés. This has been updated to reflect a one page letter of intent to be included in this volume.

54 Evaluation Factors, Volume 3, Factor III The Government states that it requires nine (9) résumés for the two Key Personnel LCATs. Would the Government please confirm whether it requires nine (9) résumés in total for the two LCATs, OR 9 résumés for each of the two LCATs for a total of 18 résumés?

The government requires 9 resumes in total: 1 for the Director labor category and 8 for the senior manager I category.

55 SECTION L, A. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS (Section L), Instructions for Submission, Volume 5 / Factor IV - Past Performance

This section states, “Each past performance narrative shall clearly indicate how the contract effort is both recent and relevant and include the following:

i. Contractor/company name/division performing the work.

ii. Address”

Please clarify whether “Address” refers to the contractor’s address or the customer’s address.

The Contractor's address

56 Section L, Volume 5 / Factor IV – Past Performance Instructions require offerors to submit a Past Performance Risk Assessment Questionnaire to a Government POC and instruct the Government POC to provide the information requested and submit the completed questionnaire directly to the Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) Contracting Officer.

Many organizations within the Department of Defense (DoD) refuse to complete and submit past performance questionnaires and instead prefer to formally document contractor performance through the use of Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), and other mechanisms designed to document contractor performance as required by Federal regulations.

In the event a Government past performance POC refuses to submit the required Past Performance Risk Assessment Questionnaire, will the ACC-APG Contracting Officer use other, formal means such as CPARS or PPIRS to assess the offeror’s past performance?

Per the solicitation, the Government may independently obtain information from other relevant contracts and sources for the purpose of evaluating past performance.

No. RFP Reference Offeror Question Government Response 57 Volume 6 / Factor V – Small Business Utilization, Small Business

Participation Plan The Government requires offerors to meet a mandated subcontracting goal of 15% and to “consider” a significantly higher target goal of 40%. The instructions further state: “for each category in which the offeror’s SB Subcontracting Plan contains goals below those described above, the offeror shall provide an explanation as to why.”

Will the Government please confirm that the offeror’s Small Business (SB) Subcontractor Plan must provide a minimum 15% SB participation, and that the Government’s 40% agency-level goal is a target that offerors are requested to consider?

Will the Government please remove the requirement for offerors to explain why its SB Subcontractor Plan does not achieve the 40% goal since this is a target that offerors are only requested to consider, and the 40% goal is an agency-level Government requirement that is not applicable to bidders?

The Small Business Participation Plan (SBPP) is a requirement for ALL Offeror’s regardless of their business size as large or small, and the percentages are based on achievable goals for large and small business Offerors. The Small Business Subcontract Plan is only for Offeror’s that are a large business, and the percentages are based on achievable goals for a large business.

SBPP Goals

• Small Business 15%

• Women-Owned Small Business .5%

• HubZone Small Business .5%

• Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business .1% SB Subcontracting Plan Goals SB Subcontracting - 40% SDB Subcontracting - 5% WOSB Subcontracting - 5% HUBZone Subcontracting - 1% SDVOSB Subcontracting - 3%

For each category in which the offeror’s SB Subcontracting Plan contains goals below those described above, the offeror shall provide an explanation as to why.

58 Volume 7/Factor VI – Price Proposal This section states that subcontractors must submit price information in the same format as the Prime. Because this is a commercial item procurement requesting fully burdened labor rates (and where a subcontractor’s rates will fit under a prime contractor’s), would the Government please remove the requirement for subcontractors to complete Price Proposal Model (Attachment 3), as subcontractor information will be captured in the Prime’s Attachment 3 submission?

Revised to read, "Offeror shall conduct appropriate cost/ price analysis to establish the cost/price fairness and reasonableness of any proposed subcontract prices and shall include evidence of the results of these analyses in the offeror's price proposal. "

59 Volume 7/Factor VI – Price Proposal Since this is identified as a commercial item procurement under FAR Part 12 (see, e.g., the incorporation of FAR 52.212-4 and -5), where the offeror shall provide fully burdened labor rates for T&M/FFP services, please confirm that offeror may provide pricing based off its General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule(s) for the purposes of determining price reasonableness only?

If so, will the Government please remove the requirement for subcontractors to provide Attachment 3 since the offeror’s fully burdened and commercially reasonable labor rates as submitted in Attachment 3 will capture subcontractor’s information?

See #58

60 Volume 7/Factor VI – Price Proposal, (g) Because this is a commercial item procurement for T&M/FFP services under FAR Part 12, bids will be exempt from the Truth in Negotiations Act, which exempts offerors from submitting cost and pricing data.

As such, will the Government please remove the requirement for cost and pricing data in accordance with FAR 15.406-2?

This has been removed.

61 Section L, Volume 7 / Factor VI Price Proposal, g) Since offerors will not know if the Government receives only one proposal at the time of proposal submission, will the Government inform the offeror after proposal submission of the requirement to submit a Certificate of Current Cost and Pricing Data if required?

N/A - see question above.

No. RFP Reference Offeror Question Government Response 62 Volume 7/Factor VI – Price Proposal (d) Since the resulting award will be a hybrid Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) and Time and Materials (T&M) contract, the Government is requiring Professional Employee Compensation Plans in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.222-46, and pricing information cannot be included in any volume except for the price volume, would the Government please remove the requirement for Key Personnel to include annual salary on their letters of intent?

Annual salary from the letter of intent is removed. Also 52.222-46 has been removed.

63 Volume 7/Factor VI – Price Proposal (d) Would the Government please confirm that letters of commitment are only required for Key Personnel who are not currently employed by offeror or its subcontractors?

Letters of intent are required for all proposed Key Personnel.

64 Volume 7/Factor VI – Price Proposal This section states that subcontractors must submit price information in the same format as the Prime. Would the Government please confirm that subcontractors do not need to complete Price Proposal Model (Attachment 3), as subcontractor information will be captured in the Prime’s Attachment 3 submission?

This has been revised to read as follows, "Offeror shall conduct appropriate cost/ price analysis to establish the cost/price fairness and reasonableness of any proposed subcontract prices and shall include evidence of the results of these analyses in the offeror's price proposal. "

65 Volume 7 / Factor VI – Price Proposal, Paragraph e) Instructions state “use of uncompensated overtime is not encouraged per FAR 37.115-2(a). In accordance with FAR 52.23710, Identification of Uncompensated Overtime, the Offeror and/or subcontractor shall indicate / detail the existence of any uncompensated overtime within their proposed labor rates and its cost/price impact on the Offeror's or subcontractor's proposal.”

Given a primary objective of this solicitation is to improve “the success of current and future financial statement audits,” and that the offeror’s solutions to achieve this objective “must have a two-year timeline,” it is necessary that offerors staff all 77 FTE positions identified at Attachment 3 for the base and two option periods. Offerors who use uncompensated overtime may not fully staff the Government’s required 77 FTE positions, resulting in significant risk to the offeror’s ability to assist the Government in meeting its objectives.

To mitigate this risk, will the government develop a methodology to upwardly adjust offeror’s total evaluated price where the offeror discloses use of uncompensated overtime, and describe how the total evaluated price will be adjusted when offerors identify the use of uncompensated overtime in their proposal?

Do not deviate from the hour and FTE stated in the Price Model. The Government is requesting 77 positions.

66 Section M - Evaluation Factors for Award, D. EVALUATION APPROACH, Factor IV – Transition Plan

Please confirm the bold text that says “Factor IV – Transition Plan – (Acceptable/Unacceptable)” is a typo and should instead say “Factor III – Transition Plan – (Acceptable/Unacceptable).”

This has been corrected.

67 Price Model Will the Government please confirm that offerors cannot change the number of full time equivalents and total hours assigned to each labor category identified in the contract year pricing model in Attachment 3?

Do not deviate from the hour and FTE stated in the Price Model. The Government is requesting 77 positions.

68 Factor VII – Price The second paragraph states that the Government will ensure the awarded price is fair and reasonable and the costs are realistic. Will the Government please confirm that price will be evaluated for both price reasonableness and price realism defined in FAR 15.4 Contract Pricing?

The Government will ensure the awarded price is fair and reasonable. The wording "and the costs are realistic" has been deleted.

No. RFP Reference Offeror Question Government Response 69 Factor VII – Price The Government identified phase-in costs as FFP and plans to evaluate the price reasonableness of the Offeror’s proposed amounts for phase-in activities, but not evaluate these amounts as part of the Offeror’s total evaluated price. Classifying phase-in costs as FFP allows offerors to hide contract year performance costs in this FFP CLIN and artificially reduce their overall total evaluated price.

Since Attachment 3 requires offerors to disclose hours and rates by labor category for phase-in activities, will the Government consider changing the phase-in CLIN from FFP to T&M to prevent Offerors from artificially inflating their phase-in costs to reduce their total evaluated price?

Will the Government consider including phase-in costs as part of the Offerors total evaluated price?

Per the solicitation. Phase-In Cost will be evaluated separately for price reasonableness. The Total Evaluated Price (TEP) is all CLINs except for Phase In CLIN.

70 FedBizOps Posting There is a requirement for vendors performing work under this contract to be Independent Public Accounting (IPA) Firms. Based on this requirement all Contract Teaming Partners, subcontracts, and any other business arrangements must meet this requirement.

See item #14.