SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Internal Audit for the NINDS Purchase Card Program - Statement of Work
- Notice Date
- 4/13/2015
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541211
— Offices of Certified Public Accountants
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Station Support/Simplified Acquisitions, 31 Center Drive, Room 1B59, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
- ZIP Code
- 20892
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-SS-2015-162
- Archive Date
- 5/9/2015
- Point of Contact
- Andriani Buck, Phone: 3014021677
- E-Mail Address
-
andriani.buck@nih.gov
(andriani.buck@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- SOW SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE Solicitation Number:HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-SS-2015-162 Title: Internal Audit for the NINDS Purchase Card Program Classification Code: R - Professional, Administrative, and Management Support Services NAICS Code: 541 - Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services/541211 - Offices of Certified Public Accountants Description: This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Background: NINDS shall conduct an audit of the Cardholders (CH) and evaluate the effectiveness of the use of the government purchase card; this includes conducting audits of CH and Card Approving Officials (CAO) purchase files and evaluating the resources available for CH and CAO's to understand internal controls, policies and procedures regarding purchase card usage. Purchase cards provide federal agencies a flexible and efficient way of: (1) obtaining commercial goods and services through over-the-counter purchases, phone orders, mail/catalog orders, and Internet purchases; and (2) making vendor payments. When well controlled, purchase cards facilitate improved mission support and reduce transaction-processing cost. These operational instructions are a required as stated in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Purchase Card Program Guide Version 6.0. They are intended to provide guidance for use of the purchase card regarding the policies and procedures that are unique to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As such, the policies and procedures stated in this supplement must be used in conjunction with the policies and procedures stated in the HHS Purchase Card Program Guide Version 6.0. The contract will include the following tasks which are detailed in subsequent sections of the Statement of Work: 1. Understanding the Organizations Operations 2. Preliminary Analysis and Internal Control Environment 3. Identifying Relevant Risk Factors 4. Conducting an Internal Review for Compliance Requirements 5. Documentation of Findings and Recommendations Purpose and Objectives: TASKS 1.0 Understanding the Organizations Operations 1.1The contractor shall possess and demonstrate its understanding of government procurement regulations, Purchase Card program and the relevant laws, regulations and agency policies and procedures that govern the audited purchase card program. 2.0 Preliminary Analysis and Internal Control Environment 2.1 The contractor shall gain an understanding of how the IC's purchase card program operates, the flow of transactions from request to payment, and the key controls over the entire process including transaction authorization, approval, review, and reconciliation. (See attachment A for suggested key controls.) 2.2 The contractor shall interview key program officials responsible for managing the IC's purchase card program to gain an understanding of changes in the program or deviations from laws, regulations, and policies, if any. 2.3 The contractor shall obtain IC transaction information from the Contracting Officer's Reprehensive (COR) containing the transactions for a certain period of time (4 - 6 months). Government regulations, policies, procedures, and audit checklist shall be utilized by the contractor when conducting the audit. 3.0 Identifying Relevant Risk Factors 3.1 The contractor shall identify high-risk transactions and set data mining parameters. Examples of high-risk transactions include; •Potential split purchases to circumvent micro-purchase or other single-purchase limits; •Repetitive buying pattern - even dollar amounts, amounts near purchase limits; •CH buying fewer than 5 purchases from a specific vendor; •A purchase for a number of items that seems out of the ordinary; and •High-risk factors shall be provided to the NINDS EO & IC Purchase Card Coordinator, including a remediation plan of correction. 4.0 Conducting review for compliance requirements 4.1 The contractor shall conduct a review/audit of the NINDS Purchase Card Program, specifically auditing a random sampling of CH and transactions/files (TBD) of the 65+ CHs within NINDS. 4.2 The contractor shall contact CH and gather purchase card transaction supporting documentation directly from cardholder. (See Attachment A with checklist) 4.3 The contractor shall asses the quality of the acquisition file for compliance with regulations and policies. In performing the audit, the following key controls must be considered as prescribed by the (HHS) Purchase Card Program Guide Version 6.0; •Current practices are in compliance with formal policies and procedures. •CH obtained approval before making a purchase. •Orders exceeding 3k had quotes from two or more suppliers to justify the vendor that was used. •Purchases were tax exempt. •CH did not exceed their threshold authority. •Receiving reports or receipt confirmations for purchases were included in supporting documentation retained by the CH. •Partial deliveries were not charged the full amount. •Disputed transactions had the appropriate supporting documentation. •CH did not use the purchase card to procure prohibited items. 5.0 Documentation of Findings and Recommendations 5.1 The contractor shall develop a report of findings to include: executive summary; detailed results of the file reviews including individual checklists from all file reviews; trend analyses; detailed results of interview with cardholders/staff; risk assessment and recommendations for improvements. DELIVERABLES Description of Tasks and Associated Deliverables: The contractor shall initiate an in-person meeting with NINDS Purchase Card Coordinator within 7 business days of receipt of award to review requirements. All charges should be included in the cost proposal. The contractor shall complete internal audit within 60 days from the date of the award. The contractor shall deliver a weekly progress reports to the Executive Officer and NINDS Purchase Card Coordinator. The final product of this internal audit will be a written summary report describing the evaluation process, conclusions, and recommendations. NINDS senior leadership and purchase card coordinator will review and provide feedback on a final draft of the report within 14 calendar days of receipt from contractor, and the contractor will present the final draft report to the NINDS Executive Officer for approval. Reporting Requirements The contractor shall provide a written progress report Bi-weekly. Written reports should be delivered electronically. The progress report shall cover all work completed during the specified period and shall present the work to be accomplished during the subsequent period. The reports shall also identify any problems that arose and a statement explaining how the problems were resolved. Similarly the progress reports shall identify any problems that have arisen but have not been completely resolved and provide an explanation. If problem is identified, contractor shall explain issue and provide recommendation for correction. CERTIFICATIONS, LICENSE, PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OR OTHER EXPERTISE REQUIRED The contractor shall have; •Minimum of 3-5 years of related experience. •Knowledge of contracting principles, laws, statutes, Executive Orders, regulations and procedures applicable to pre-award and post-award actions sufficient to procure and administer contracts for a variety of specialized services. •Knowledge of price/cost analysis techniques, such as cost estimating techniques, sufficient to evaluate contractor proposals and prepare a pre-negotiation position. •Knowledge of contract types, methods and techniques including Simplified Acquisitions; i.e., GSA Schedule, NITAAC, FAR Parts 12 and 13. In addition, contractor shall be proficient with FAR Part 15 and fixed price, time and materials, and cost reimbursement type contracts. •Strong communications skills, both oral and written. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE The place of performance is the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Building 31, Room 2A52, Bethesda, MD 20892 and/or 6001 Executive Blvd, Bethesda, MD 20892. Anticipated period of performance: One year after award or until completion of project. Key Personnel Please list Key Personnel below in order of importance, their duty location, primary phone number, alternate phone number, email and an alternate Lead POC and their data in case of emergencies. Capability statement /information sought: The respondent's response shall also include any other specific and relevant information related to the requirements of this project that will enable the Government to determine the capabilities of the company to perform the specialized requirements described in this synopsis. Interested organizations must demonstrate and document in any response submitted, to this market survey extensive experience with and the ability to perform all of the specialized requirements elsewhere described. The respondent must also provide their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HubZone, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code and any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements. The information submitted must be must be in an outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required. The response is limited to fifteen (15) page limit. The 15-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested. The response must include the respondent's technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically (facsimile responses are NOT accepted ) to: Andriani Buck Contract Specialist NIH/NIDA/SSSA Andriani.buck@nih.gov The response must be received on or before April 24th, 2015, 8:00 AM (EST). Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NIDA-2/HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-SS-2015-162/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Building 31, Room 2A52, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
- Zip Code: 20892
- Zip Code: 20892
- Record
- SN03698316-W 20150415/150413235433-d3342ae54f6201299fe5aac47e5c6a1a (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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