Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF MAY 30, 2008 FBO #2377
SOLICITATION NOTICE

R -- Internal Control/Financial Audit

Notice Date

5/28/2008
 

Notice Type

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
 

NAICS

541219 — Other Accounting Services
 

Contracting Office

National Mediation Board, Office of Administration, Office of Administration, 1301 K Street, NW Suite 250 East, Washington, District of Columbia, 20005-7011
 

ZIP Code

20005-7011
 

Solicitation Number

NM-08-REQ02
 

Archive Date

7/10/2008
 

Point of Contact

Denise M Murdock,, Phone: 202-692-5010, Bruce Alan Conward Jr,, Phone: 202-692-5010
 

E-Mail Address

murdock@nmb.gov, conward@nmb.gov
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

STATEMENT OF WORK PART I: GENERAL INFORMATION A. Background The National Mediation Board (NMB) prepares an annual Performance Accountability Report (PAR) in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles and the formats prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The PAR includes comparative financial statements for the current and immediately preceding fiscal years. NMB has had a financial statement audit performed each year in accordance with the Accountability of Tax Dollars ACT (ATDA) of 2002. The NMB is an independent federal agency established by the 1934 amendments to the Railway Labor Act of 1926 whose primary mission is to prevent or minimize labor-management disputes affecting interstate commerce. Pursuant to the Railway Labor Act, NMB programs provide an integrated dispute resolution process to effectively meet the statutory objective of minimizing work stoppages in the airline and railroad industries. The NMB's integrated process specifically designed to promote four statutory goals: • The prompt and orderly resolution of disputes arising out of the negotiation of new or revised collective bargaining agreements: • The avoidance of interruptions of interstate commerce: • The protection of employee rights to self-organization; and • The prompt and orderly resolution of disputes over the interpretation or application of existing agreements. The agency spends about $13 million of appropriated funds annually. B. Scope The Contractor shall perform an audit of NMB's financial statements for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008, and succeeding years, in accordance with Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States (subsequent revisions), and OMB Bulletin No. 07-04, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements (Bulletin). The Contractor shall follow the GAO/PCIE Financial Audit Manual (FAM) and subsequent issuances. Accordingly the Contractor shall perform the following: • Determine whether the basic statements and related notes present fairly, in all material respects, the assets, liabilities, and net position; net costs; changes in net position; budgetary resources; and, if applicable, custodial activity in accordance with paragraph 6.2 of OMB Bulletin No. 07-04. • Obtain an understanding of the components of internal control and assess the level of control risk relevant to the assertions embodied in the classes of transactions, account balances, and disclosure components of the financial statements in accordance with paragraph 6.8 of OMB Bulletin 07-04. • Perform tests of compliance with laws and regulations in accordance with 6.12 of OMB Bulletin 07-04. • Prepare separate audit reports on the financial statements, internal control, and compliance with laws and regulations in accordance with Section 7 of OMB Bulletin 07-04. C. Payment Payment shall be made in accordance with the clauses of the contract entitled "Prompt Payment" (FAR 52.232-25), Progress Payments (FAR 52-232-16) and Payments (FAR 52.232-1). This is a one-year firm fixed price contract, with two one-year options. Payment will be as follows after approval by the Director, Office of Administration: 40 percent on the date of the draft report and 60 percent on the date that the NMB approves the final report. Labor Category The estimated level-of-effort to perform this task is 600 man hours for the base year. In your submission, please divide the CFO audit into four phases, including price quotations and milestone dates for each of the following phases: • Planning • Internal Control • Substantive • Reporting PART II. REQUIREMENTS Task - Audit of Financial Statements The NMB's financial statements are prepared in accordance with OMB Circular A-136, and Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS). The audits 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, 2007 Revision (Yellow Book); and OMB Bulletin No. 07-04, Audit Requirements of Federal Financial Statements (or it 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 NMB'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 NMB is in accordance with generally accepted accounting standards (AICPA, GAO and OMB). B. A report on internal controls which conform 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. 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 official. 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 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 November 4, 2008. 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. 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 offices' technical representative (COTR). E. All deliverables required by this task shall be delivered to the COTR by the due dates specified in the submission date schedule below. • Prepare and submit draft of all audit reports on or no later than October 10, 2008. • Prepare and submit required final audit reports on or no later than October 17, 2008. At the completion of the audit, the Contractor shall hold an exit conference with NMB official to communicate the findings and recommendations developed during the audit.
 

Web Link

FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=cc9fbe0a9206ca9f0fa74a2a8543c47c&tab=core&_cview=1)
 

Place of Performance

Address: National Mediatiation Board, 1301 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, Washington, District of Columbia, 20005, United States

Zip Code: 20005
 

Record

SN01581871-W 20080530/080528220129-cc9fbe0a9206ca9f0fa74a2a8543c47c (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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