INTRODUCTION
The Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground, 6515 Integrity Court, APG, MD on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Financial Operations and Information (ODASA-FOI) & Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) (ASA(FM&C)) is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support the requirement to provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, other items and non-personal services necessary to provide Army Financial Improvement (AFI) Program support to the ODASA-FOI and ASA(FM&C).
BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. All Small Business Set-Aside categories will be considered. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Incumbent: Ernst & Young, LLP
5 Times Sq
New York, NY, 10036-6527
Contract number: W91CRB-18-F-0238
Contract Value: $152,925,135.45
Incumbent: Kearney & Company, P.C
1701 DUKE ST STE 500
ALEXANDRIA, VA, 22314-3492
Contract number: W91CRB-19-C-0030
Contract Value: $4,561,267.90
DISCLAIMER
THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) TO BE SUBMITTED. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. RESPONSES WILL NOT BE RETURNED TO THE RESPONDER. NOT RESPONDING TO THIS NOTICE DOES NOT PRECLUDE PARTICIPATION IN ANY FUTURE REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ) OR INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) OR RFP, IF ANY ISSUED. IF A SOLICITATION IS RELEASED, IT WILL BE SYNOPSIZED ON THE GOVERNMENT-WIDE POINT OF ENTRY (GPE). IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF POTENTIAL OFFERORS TO MONITOR THE GPE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMMATION PERTAINING TO THIS REQUIREMENT.
PROGRAM BACKGROUND
Over the past several years the Department of the Army has established robust Accountability, Risk Management, and Financial Reporting programs that encompass all Army Major Commands and cross numerous functional components including service provider interface and coordination. The goal of these programs are (1) to improve the accuracy, reliability and timeliness of Army financial data and information, (2) establish effective financial internal control environment, processes and procedures, (3) sustain those internal control reliability, and (4) provide a reliable financial environment capable of successfully supporting independent attestation and audit engagements of the Army financial statements.
The current program has matured from a Discovery phase to an audit response/sustainment-centric program. The financial environment and related key internal controls are thoroughly tested for effectiveness, reliability and to determine the sustainable design of the internal controls to achieve their intended assurances. These efforts require a substantial investment in time and resources to assist the Army and its Commands with the overall goal of achieving a financial environment that is accurate, reliable, timely and auditable.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Operations and Information) (ODASA-FOI) & Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) (ASA(FM&C)) is responsible for the monitoring and execution of the Army's Accountability, Risk Management and Internal Control (RMIC), and Financial Reporting programs. Contractor support is required in the following areas: 1) Accountability and RMIC; 2) Program Management Support; 3) Financial Management and Accounting Operations; 4) Systems Support, and 5) Financial Statement Preparation and Publication. It is expected that the preceding areas of support will be necessary throughout the ARMY, other DOD Services, and Shared Service Providers (SSP) such as Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) office locations.
The Army requires an accounting firm's expertise to provide an audit infrastructure to interact with external financial statement auditors, improve Army's financial reporting processes, monitor financial reporting controls and validate the corrective actions, and communicate and coordinate change management with Army's Senior Leadership, to comply with Section 1002, paragraph 204d(b) of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), as well the Chief Financial Officer Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-576) and 10 U.S.C. 240a et seq.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Personnel and Facility Security Clearances- All contractors must either possess an active secret security clearance or be in process for a secret clearance prior to work on this contract.
ELIGIBILITY
The applicable North American Classification (NAICS) code is 541211 (Office of Certified Public Accountants). The small business size standard for this NAICS code is $22 million dollars. The Product Service Code is R704 Support Management: Auditing. Businesses of all sizes are encouraged to respond; however, each respondent must clearly identify their business size in their capabilities statement.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SUBMISSION DETAILS (CAPABILITIES STATEMENT)
Interested parties are requested to submit a capabilities statement of no more than ten (10) pages in length (including any attachments) in Times New Roman font of not less than 10 pitch that clearly details the firm's ability to perform the aspects of the requirement described within this Sources Sought and the attached Performance Work Statement (PWS).
The deadline for response to this request is no later than 0900, 13 July 2021. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be e-mailed to michael.c.james78.civ@mail.mil
This documentation must address at a minimum the following items:
What type of work has your company performed in the past in support of the same or similar requirement?
Can or has your company managed a task of this nature? If so, please provide details.
Can or has your company managed a team of subcontractors before? If so, provide details.
What specific technical skills does your company possess which ensure capability to perform the tasks?
Please note that under a Small-Business Set-Aside, in accordance with FAR 52.219-14, the small business prime must perform at least 50% of the work themselves in terms of the cost of performance. Provide an explanation of your company's ability to perform at least 50% of the tasking described in this DRAFT PWS for the base period as well as the option periods.
Provide a statement including current small/large business status and company profile to include number of employees, annual revenue history, office locations, DUNs number, etc.
Respondents to this notice also must indicate whether they qualify as a Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, HUBZone, or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern.
Does this Performance Work Statement (PWS) provide sufficient information for you to bid? If not, what additional information is required? What recommendations or edits do you have for the government on how to strengthen or improve the PWS?
Are there any ambiguities that need clarification? If so, please identify them clearly.
Are the standards of performance clear?
Is the vendor aware of any other contract vehicles such as the General Services Administration (GSA) Schedules or Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) that could satisfy this requirement?
Provide your business size for (NAICS) code 541211, socioeconomic status as a small business, or other than small. Is another NAICS code more appropriate? Please provide rational for using another NAICS code.
What is your firm's intent on this requirement, providing a proposal as a Prime or as a Subcontractor?
What experience does your firm have performing financial statement audits, Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 18 examinations, or audit remediation in the U.S. federal government?
What experience does your firm have performing financial statement compilation and analysis in the U.S. federal government?
What experience does your firm have researching and developing financial and accounting policy in the U.S. federal government?
Do you have the capacity to conduct audit liaison and audit remediation efforts on a large scale? The Army has assets all over the world. During the 2019 financial statement audits, the Army supported over 200 site visits in the United States, including some to Germany, Kuwait, and Romania while simultaneously developing and executing hundreds of corrective action plans to address prior year audit findings.
What would be your overarching strategy to address the material weaknesses identified Army's financial statements given that they've only ever received disclaimers of opinions for decades?
What is your estimate for the number of labor hours that would be required?
Has your firm had any representation on the Federal Accounting Standards Advisor Board (FASAB) Task Force over the last five to ten years? If so, please provide details.
What does a typical audit remediation team typically look like for your firm? What would be the mix of junior personnel and management?
Explain your firm's approach on handling big data from intake to housing (including security), to application of analytics? What software applications have you used for data management and analytics?
If you were awarding this contract how would you evaluate it? What parameters would you use to evaluate it?
What recommendations for the acquisition strategy would you have?
Do you have recommendations for Key Personnel?
What experience has your firm had with problem disbursements and accounting exceptions such as in-transits, undistributed, and unmatched disbursements in the DoD environment?
What experience does your firm have with any type of effort to improve Fund Balance with the Treasury reporting?
What experience does your firm have in performing Office of Management and Budget Circular A-123, Risk Management and Internal Control requirements and management of a Governance, Risk, and Compliance tool?
Upon evaluation of the capability statements, if it is determined that this requirement will be an unrestricted competition, the Government intends to evaluate the Small-Business responses and conduct further market research to identify a subcontracting goal.
Your response to this Sources Sought, including any capabilities statement, shall be electronically submitted to the Contract Specialist, Michael C. James in either Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format (PDF), via email michael.c.james78.civ@mail.mil.
All data received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government.
No phone calls will be accepted.
All questions must be submitted to the contract specialist identified above. The Government is not committed nor obligated to pay for the information provided, and no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought.
