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FBO DAILY - FEDBIZOPPS ISSUE OF MAY 22, 2014 FBO #4562
DOCUMENT

R -- A-123 Append A Support Services Cycle 3 for ICS. Modification. - Attachment

Notice Date

5/20/2014
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

541219 — Other Accounting Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;Office of Acquisition Operations;Technology Acquisition Center - Austin;1701 Directors Blvd, Suite 600;Austin TX 78744
 

ZIP Code

78744
 

Archive Date

6/22/2014
 

Point of Contact

Lino Vera
 

E-Mail Address

1-4415<br
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Award Number

VA798A-BP-0031
 

Award Date

5/13/2014
 

Description

LIMITED-SOURCES JUSTIFICATION 1. Contracting Activity:Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Acquisition Operations Technology Acquisition Center 1701 Directors Blvd Austin, TX 78744 2. Description of Action: The proposed action is to modify Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) Number VA798A-BP-0031 to increase the estimated value by redacted, from redacted to redacted. The increase in the ceiling will be used to place four additional task orders. This effort is being conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program; the proposed modification will be awarded under the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule GS-23F-8196H to Grant Thornton. 3. Description of the Supplies or Services: The BPA is for advisory and assistance services for evaluating financial controls as described in Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-123, Appendix A, for the Department of Veterans Affairs Internal Controls Services (VA-ICS). The specific task orders are anticipated to be awarded in May of 2014 and are: a review of the Intra-Government Payment and Collection (IPAC) process; a review of the Veterans Cemetery Program Assistance process; the Separation of Duties and Audit Adjusting Entries for fiscal year 2013, and a review of Operating Expenses and Procurement. The total estimated value of the proposed action is redacted. The period of performance for these four task order requirements is ten months. 4. Statutory Authority: This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple-Award Schedule Program. The specific authority providing for a limited source award is Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), Only one source is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services are unique or highly specialized. 5. Rationale Supporting Use of Authority Cited Above: The proposed source for this action is Grant Thornton, 333 Jon Carlyle Street, Suite 500, Alexandria, VA 22314. The BPA was awarded competitively using the procedures in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 8.405-3 with an ordering period of August 10, 2010 to March 31, 2015. Because the ceiling was expended at a faster than anticipated rate, a request for a follow-on contractual vehicle was submitted by ICS to the VA Technology Acquisition Center (TAC) in New Jersey. The original anticipated award date for that vehicle was September 2013; due to evolving requirements, additional market research requirements, and the complexity of the acquisition, the anticipated date is now June 20, 2014. However, the four requirements cited in paragraph 3 above cannot wait for the award of the new contractual vehicle. The above requirements are a follow on to the work previously completed by the contractor under the existing BPA. The results of the four requirements will support testing efforts, which will be completed under the competitive contractual vehicle VA expects to award in June, 2014. Performance for these four requirements must begin immediately in order to complete the deliverables by March of 2015, so that testing can be completed, and ICS can report to the VA Secretary by September of 2015. In summary, failure to award these task orders will impair ICS ability to support the VA Secretary's Statement of Assurance which is required to be submitted annually to Congress and OMB. Should the contemplated task orders be competed individually using FAR part 8 procedures, a new contractor would not have the specialized experience, unique capability or time to ramp up in order to complete these critical requirements by March of 2015. It is anticipated that any other source would require two months and thirty percent more effort and expense to formulate a process that can meet VA's need to include obtaining security clearances and develop templates that can encapsulate VA's reporting requirements. Although these are new tasks, Grant Thornton has performed over twenty task orders that required writing over fifty narratives. Therefore, they already have the corporate knowledge of VA processes and personnel required to perform these services in a timely manner. A different contractor will have to spend a minimum of thirty days just to familiarize themselves with VA processes. Only Grant Thornton, the incumbent BPA contractor, is in a unique position to provide these services in a timely manner. 6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: Market research was conducted, details of which are in the market research section of this document. This effort did not yield any additional sources that can meet the Government's requirements. There is no competition anticipated for this acquisition. 7. Actions to Increase Competition: A follow-on contractual vehicle is currently being processed by the TAC. It was originally anticipated that this would be awarded October 1, 2013. However, due to evolving requirements, the market research necessary, and the complexity of the acquisition, the anticipated award was revised to June 20, 2014. The TAC anticipates issuing a multiple award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) type contract. Three IDIQ contract awards are anticipated to include one small business. All future requirements for these services will be competed among the three IDIQ contractors. 8. Market Research: The Government's technical experts conducted market research in March of 2014 by reviewing other companies that provide similar services to ascertain if any source could meet VA's needs. While other companies were found to provide general capabilities, no source was found that is currently performing the aforementioned services and no source was found that could meet VA's current requirement in the timeframe required. 9. Other Facts: None ?
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/38fc32528c0957d5f311af7117e82ba2)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA798A-BP-0031 P00001 VA798A-BP-0031 P00001_1.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=1375356&FileName=VA798A-BP-0031-P00001002.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=1375356&FileName=VA798A-BP-0031-P00001002.docx

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN03371320-W 20140522/140520235014-38fc32528c0957d5f311af7117e82ba2 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

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

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