Annual Financial Auditing Services

STATEMENT OF WORK

1. SPONSOR: Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (RATB)

2. PROJECT NUMBER: RATB-2014-S-002

3. PROJECT TITLE: Contract Solicitation for Annual Financial Auditing Services

4. PROJECT OFFICER: David A. Morris, Chief of Mission Support and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (RATB). 1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20006 (202) 254-7900.

5. BACKGROUND:

The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (RATB) was established by Public Law 111-5 to coordinate and conduct oversight of funds distributed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA or the Recovery Act) in order to identify fraud, waste, abuse, and/or mismanagement. The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (Public Law 113-2) extended the RATB's mission to include Hurricane Sandy funds. The RATB includes a Chair, appointed by the President, and 11 Inspectors General (IG) with authority to provide oversight and promote transparency of the expenditure of ARRA funds at all levels of government. The Recovery Act identified 6 specific functions to be performed by the 12-member Board culminating in "flash, quarterly, and annual" reports to the President and the Congress.

6. SCOPE AND EFFECT

The Accountability of Tax Dollars Act of 2002 requires federal agencies not covered by the CFO Act to obtain annual audits in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, generally accepted auditing standards, and Government Auditing Standards ("Yellow Book"), which produces financial statements, notes to financial statements, a comment on the effectiveness of internal control, and comments on compliance with laws and regulations.

7. STATEMENT OF WORK

The purpose of this Blanket Purchase Agreement contract is to obtain financial auditing services for the RATB for fiscal year ending September 30, 2014.

8. SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED:

Task - Audit of Financial Statements

Financial statements are prepared by General Services Administration, Heartland Finance Center, Kansas City, Missouri, in accordance with OMB Bulletin No. 97-01, Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS), and the remainder of the hierarchy of accounting standards comprising the Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting (OCBOA), as this term is defined by AICPA.

The audit should be performed according to generally accepted auditing standards as issued by AICPA; generally accepted government auditing standards as set forth in Government Auditing Standards, 1994 Revision (Yellow Book); and OMB Bulletins No. 93-06, 98-08 and 14-02, Audit Requirements of Federal Financial Statements (or its successor).

Planning Phase

The Planning Phase shall include a high level review of the agency's organization, controls, and risks. The Contractor shall gain an understanding of, and document, the agency's internal control structure including the control environment, control procedures, and accounting systems.

Internal Control Phase

The Internal Control Phase shall provide an understanding of the elements of the agency's internal control structure and how the assessment of this structure is used in performing the financial statement audit. The Contractor will be responsible for obtaining sufficient, reliable audit evidence as to whether the RATB's internal control structure provides reasonable assurance of achieving internal control objectives.

Substantive Phase

The Substantive Phase shall consist of detailed tests to form conclusions about whether financial statement amounts are reliable, accurate, complete, and include all disclosures. The Contractor shall perform some degree of substantive testing on all account balances.

The level of testing required will be dependent on the degree or reliance being placed upon the internal controls that affect the accounts.

Reporting Phase

The Report Phase shall be the culmination of all work that is performed during the audit. The Contractor will follow up as needed, develop overall conclusions and communicate them to management.

Also, perform several quality control functions, as well as prepare reports. The audit report shall be made up of at least the following three parts:

A. A complete overall analytical review of procedures, making sure that the RATB is in accordance with generally accepted accounting standards (AICPA, GAO, and OMB).

B. A report on internal controls which conforms with the requirements of Government Auditing Standards and OMB Bulletin 93-06 Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statement's.

C. A report on the agency's compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

D. Potential audit findings should be discussed with the appropriate personnel throughout the course of the audit.

The Contractor shall, if applicable, provide a written management letter of suggestions for improvement for those matters which are not considered to be material weaknesses or reportable conditions in the agency's internal control structure.

Audit Management

In performing the audit, the Contractor shall adhere to the following:

A. The Contractor shall arrange entrance and exit conferences to be attended by key agency officials. The entrance conference provides an opportunity for the Contractor to discuss the overall audit approach with agency officials. The exit conference provides an opportunity for the Contractor to discuss the results of the audit.

B. During the course of the audit, and in the progress reports in the form of briefings, the Contractor shall discuss the status of the audit, including the progress to date compared with the audit plan and time scheduled or any problems the Contractor has encountered or that have come to the Contractor's attention that
could impact the opinion on the financial statements, the report on internal controls, the report on compliance with laws and regulation or completion of agreed upon tasks or the due date of deliverables.

C. It is the responsibility of the RATB's Office of Administration to ensure that all records are available, all accounting entries and adjustments are made, and all other necessary steps are taken to make it possible for the audit firm to perform the work necessary to be able to present the final audit report no later than 60 days following the award of the contract.

D. The Contractor shall, at the conclusion of the audit, provide hard copy of all working papers, drafts and final reports which become the property of the agency.

E. The Contractor's work papers shall be subject to access and review by the GAO and any other oversight organization deemed appropriate by the agency or the contracting officer's representative (COR).

At the completion of the audit, the Contractor shall hold an exit conference with the RATB officials to communicate the findings and recommendations developed during the audit.

9. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The contractor shall submit weekly progress reports to the project officer. The report shall:

A. Describe the work being performed during the reporting period

B. Describe events/issues affecting the project

C. Provide the amount of hours expended

D. Describe anticipated problems/issues potentially affecting the work status or outcome of the project

10. DELIVERABLES

The Offeror shall provide a Deliverables Schedule showing interim milestones as part of their solution. Final delivery shall be no later than (NLT) 45 calendar days after the end of the fiscal year unless a later date is determined by OMB.

The schedule for performance of the audit should meet OMB and AICPA requirements. Specifically, OMB Circular A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements, revised October 21, 2013, requires the audit to be completed 45 days from the close of the fiscal year or by the date determined by OMB.

This schedule shall include, as a minimum, the following:

• Audit report (opinion on financial statements, report on internal controls over financial reporting, and report on compliance with laws and regulations)

• Principal financial statements (balance sheet and related statements of net cost, statement of changes in net position, and statement of budgetary resources).

• Notes to financial statements

• Management Letter (Offeror's recommendations on how to improve processes and controls)

• Audit Work Papers

All deliverables required by this task shall be delivered to the RATB. Specific criteria for acceptance for contract deliverables will be as follows: Reports, lists, and recommendations shall be submitted in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and other format as agreed to by the Government. Deliverables will be submitted via e-mail and in hard copy by the due dates specified in the deliverables schedule and as agreed to by the Government.

11. CLIN Structure

The government proposed CLIN structure can be altered to fit the Offeror's solution more appropriately. Offeror's are encouraged to contact the contracting officer with any/all questions regarding the CLIN structure. For the envisioned solution, the following CLIN Structure applies. If an Offeror's solution does not fit this CLIN structure (including contract type), Offerors are instructed to clearly articulate a CLIN structure that does fit their solution for Government consideration.

CLIN 0001: Financial Audit Services for Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2014. This CLIN includes Financial Audit Services for Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2014 performed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, generally accepted auditing standards, and Government Auditing Standards ("Yellow Book"), which produces financial statements, notes to financial statements, a comment on the effectiveness of internal control, and comments on compliance with laws and regulations. This CLIN is Firm Fixed Price. Period of Performance: contract award to -December 31, 2014.

CLIN 0002: (Option Year 1) Financial Audit Services for Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2015. This CLIN includes Financial Audit Services for Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2015 performed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, generally accepted auditing standards, and Government Auditing Standards ("Yellow Book"), which produces financial statements, notes to financial statements, a comment on the effectiveness of internal control, and comments on compliance with laws and regulations. This CLIN is Firm Fixed Price. The Firm Fixed Price for this CLIN is to be based on a percentage escalation over CLIN 0001. Offerors should provide the percentage of price escalation over CLIN 0001. Period of Performance shall be from July 1, 2015 (or a mutually agreed upon date for pre-audit work) - December 31, 2015.

12. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The initial Period of Performance for this contract shall be from contract award through December 31, 2014. Optional periods of performance may be exercised to obtain financial audit services for subsequent fiscal years, thus extending the period of performance of this task order.

13. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The work shall be performed at the Government facility located at 1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington DC and the office(s) of the contractor.

14. PROCEDURES FOR PAYMENT

Offerors shall propose a billing schedule based upon the total cost of the contract, and the period of performance. Invoices shall be emailed to hank.hardy@ratb.gov or mailed to: Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, Attention: Henry Hardy, Contracting Officer, 1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 700, Washington DC 20006. Failure to comply with the procedures outlined above may result in your payment being delayed.

15. CLAUSE IMPLEMENTATION

The resultant contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(s): http://www.arnet.gov/far/index.html

Privacy and Security
This project is unclassified and no security clearances are required. However, the Offeror shall comply with the General Services Administration (GSA) administrative, physical and technical security controls to ensure all of the Government's security requirements are met. In addition, all Offeror personnel must adhere to the GSA Public Buildings Rules and Regulations.

Protection of Information
For Official Use Only. All Government information, data and/or equipment used by the Offeror in performance of this contract shall only be disclosed to authorized personnel on a Need-To-Know basis. The Offeror shall ensure that appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards are established to ensure the security and confidentiality of this information, data and/or equipment is properly protected. When no longer required, this information, data and/or equipment shall be returned to government control, destroyed, or held until otherwise directed. Destruction of items shall be accomplished by tearing into small parts, burning, shredding, or any other method that precludes the reconstruction of the material. All sensitive information contained on Offeror computers shall be either degaussed or shall use the Department of Defense method of a three time overwrite of the sensitive data.

Inspection and Acceptance
In the absence of other agreements negotiated with respect to time provided for government review, deliverables shall be inspected and the Offeror notified of the Government's findings within 5 workdays after receipt of a deliverable. If the Government does not respond to the deliverable within the five (5) workday period the deliverable shall be deemed to be acceptable. The Project Manager and the Offeror shall meet on a monthly basis to review performance and inspect work for compliance with the SOW and the contract and all modifications thereto.

Organizational Conflict Of Interest
The Offeror's attention is directed to FAR Subpart 9.5, Organizational Conflicts of Interest.

Clause Implementation
The resultant contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(s): http://www.arnet.gov/far/index.html
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52.217-09 -- Option to Extend the Term of the Contract.
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52.215-1 -- Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items.
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52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items.
As prescribed in 12.301(c), the Contracting Officer may insert a provision substantially as follows:
EVALUATION-COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JAN 1999)
(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:
Technical merit, Price, and Past Performance.

Technical merit and Past Performance, when combined, are equal when compared to price.

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).
(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

 

Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items.
Offeror should visit ORCA.gov to register their representation and certifications.
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52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items. (for all non
Time and Material CLINs)
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52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items. Alternate I
(for all Time and Material CLINs)
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52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (May 2009) Alternate II

(a) The Contractor shall comply with the following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses, which are incorporated in this contract by reference, to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items:
(1) 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (Feb 2009) (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)).
___Alternate I (Aug 2007) of 52.222-50 (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)).
(2) 52.233-3, Protest After Award (AUG 1996) (31 U.S.C. 3553).
(3) 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (OCT 2004) (Pub. L. 108-77, 108-78).
(b) The Contractor shall comply with the FAR clauses in this paragraph (b) that the Contracting Officer has indicated as being incorporated in this contract by reference to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items:
(3) 52.203-15, Whistleblower Protections under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (MAR 2009) (Section 1553 of Pub. L. 111-5). (Applies to contracts funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.)
(4) 52.204-11, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-Reporting Requirements (Mar 2009) (Pub. L. 111-5).
(c) The Contractor shall comply with the FAR clauses in this paragraph (c), applicable to commercial services, that the Contracting Officer has indicated as being incorporated in this contract by reference to implement provisions of law or Executive orders applicable to acquisitions of commercial items: Not applicable.
(d) Comptroller General Examination of Record. The Contractor shall comply with the provisions of this paragraph (d) if this contract was awarded using other than sealed bid, is in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold and does not contain the clause at 52.215-2, Audit and Records-Negotiation.
(1) The Comptroller General of the United States, an appropriate Inspector General appointed under section 3 or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), or an authorized representative of either of the foregoing officials shall have access to and right to-
(i) Examine any of the Contractor's or any subcontractors' records that pertain to, and involve transactions relating to, this contract; and
(ii) Interview any officer or employee regarding such transactions.
(2) The Contractor shall make available at its offices at all reasonable times the records, materials, and other evidence for examination, audit, or reproduction, until 3 years after final payment under this contract or for any shorter period specified in FAR Subpart 4.7, Contractor Records Retention, of the other clauses of this contract. If this contract is completely or partially terminated, the records relating to the work terminated shall be made available for 3 years after any resulting final termination settlement. Records relating to appeals under the disputes clause or to litigation or the settlement of claims arising under or relating to this contract shall be made available until such appeals, litigation, or claims are finally resolved.
(3) As used in this clause, records include books, documents, accounting procedures and practices, and other data, regardless of type and regardless of form. This does not require the Contractor to create or maintain any record that the Contractor does not maintain in the ordinary course of business or pursuant to a provision of law.
(e) (1) Notwithstanding the requirements of the clauses in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), of this clause, the Contractor is not required to flow down any FAR clause in a subcontract for commercial items, other than-
(i) Paragraph (d) of this clause. This paragraph flows down to all subcontracts, except the authority of the Inspector General under paragraph (d)(1)(ii) does not flow down; and
(ii) Those clauses listed in this paragraph (e)(1). Unless otherwise indicated below, the extent of the flow down shall be as required by the clause-
(A) 52.203-13, Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct (Dec 2008) (Pub. L. 110-252, Title VI, Chapter 1 (41 U.S.C. 251 note)).
(B) 52.203-15, Whistleblower Protections Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (May 2009) (Section 1553 of Pub. L. 111-5).
(C) 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (May 2004) (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(2) and (3)), in all subcontracts that offer further subcontracting opportunities. If the subcontract (except subcontracts to small business concerns) exceeds $550,000 ($1,000,000 for construction of any public facility), the subcontractor must include 52.219-8 in lower tier subcontracts that offer subcontracting opportunities.
(D) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007) (E.O. 11246).
(E) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (Sept 2006) (38 U.S.C. 4212).
(F) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (June 1998) (29 U.S.C. 793).
(G) 52.222-39, Notification of Employee Rights Concerning Payment of Union Dues or Fees (Dec 2004) (E.O. 13201).
(H) 52.222-41, Service Contract Act of 1965 (Nov 2007) (41 U.S.C. 351, et seq.).
(I) 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (Feb 2009) (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)).
(J) 52.222-51, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment-Requirements (Nov 2007) (41 U.S.C. 351, et seq.).
(K) 52.222-53, Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Certain Services-Requirements (Feb 2009) (41 U.S.C. 351, et seq.).
(L) 52.222-54, Employment Eligibility Verification (Jan 2009).
(M) 52.226-6, Promoting Excess Food Donation to Nonprofit Organizations. (Mar 2009) (Pub. L. 110-247). Flow down required in accordance with paragraph (e) of FAR clause 52.226-6.
(N) 52.247-64, Preference for Privately Owned U.S.-Flag Commercial Vessels (Feb 2006) (46 U.S.C. Appx. 1241(b) and 10 U.S.C. 2631). Flow down required in accordance with paragraph (d) of FAR clause 52.247-64.
(2) While not required, the contractor may include in its subcontracts for commercial items a minimal number of additional clauses necessary to satisfy its contractual obligations.
(End of clause)
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Option to Extend Services (Nov 1999) (FAR 52.217-8)
The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the task order. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 10 days of the expiration of the option.
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Evaluation of Options
Except when it is determined in accordance with FAR 17.206(b) not to be in the Government's best interests, the Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).
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RELEASABILITY UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
(a) Purpose. The purpose of this clause is to obtain agreement between the Government and the Contractor regarding the releasability of the contents of this contract and all modifications thereto pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
(b) Contractor Representation. Except for the specific items listed below, the Contractor has determined that the contents of this contract and all modifications thereto do not contain trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential. These contents include, but are not limited to, cost/fee and pricing information; information contained in any of the contract attachments; and all other contents of this contract and all modifications thereto, to a requester of such records under the FOIA. Excepted items are as follows:
(1) Offeror to complete
(c) Inapplicability. This clause does not apply to any records submitted by the contract to the Government during the performance of this Contractor (e.g., Contractor-created reports and briefings), nor does it apply to any records created by the Government during the Contractor's performance of this contract. Requests for any such records shall be handled by the Contracting Officer.
(d) This section does not require, and shall not be construed as requiring, the Government to release any portion of this contract or any modification thereto under the FOIA to any person to the extent the Government concludes a valid exemption exists. This clause shall not be construed as an admission by the Government that any excepted items listed above are not releasable under the FOIA. This clause is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity against the United States, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board by the contractor any other individual or corporate person (including, but not limited to, a requester of such records).

16. EVALUATION CRITERIA

Past Performance
The Contractor must have prior experience conducting similar government audits and analysis.

The Contractor should provide evidence of successfully completing above services government agencies, or small entities within larger government organizations.

The Contractor shall provide references for not less than three (3) projects, which demonstrate the offeror successful completion of similar task orders. Work shall have been performed within the past 5 years, and should be comparable to the size, scope, and complexity of this requirement. The Contractor shall provide the following information:

1. Contract number and period of performance;
2. Description of the services provided and price of the effort;
3. Contracting Officer name and telephone number; and
4. Program contact name and telephone number.

Technical Approach
The contractor must demonstrate clear knowledge and experience with auditing standards as issued by AICPA; generally accepted government auditing standards as set forth in Government Auditing Standards, 1994 Revision (Yellow Book); and OMB Bulletins No. 93-06, 98-08, and 14-02, Audit Requirements of Federal Financial Statements (or it successor).

Price Evaluation
In determining best value, the Price factor will be equal to both Past Performance and Technical Approach factors.

17. AWARD

A contract will be entered into with the contractor whose proposal provides the most advantageous solution to the Government, price and other factors considered. For this requirement, Best Value criteria will be the determining factor for award. Technical factors, experience, and successful prior work are the key award criteria. All factors when combined are equal in importance to price.

18. TRAVEL AND REIMBURSMENTS

Travel reimbursement for office parking and expenses to and from the Agency office is not authorized.

19. TERMINATION FOR CONVENIENCE OF THE GOVERNMENT

The Contracting Officer, by written notice, may terminate this contract, in whole or in part, when it is in the Government's interest. If this contract is terminated, the rights, duties, and obligations of the parties, including compensation to the Contractor, shall be in accordance with Part 49 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation in effect on the date of this contract.

20. SUB-CONTRACTORS

No subcontracts are allowed under this contract without written approval of the Contracting Officer.