Jump to content

rae.story

Members
  • Posts

    21
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by rae.story

  1. I am hoping someone may be able to shed some light in regards to the SBA’s “Three-In-Two” rule for Joint Ventures? 

    SBA’s current regulations provide that a joint venture can be awarded no more than three contracts over a two-year period. I understand that the SBA has proposed changes and is planning to keep the two-year lifespan for joint venture awards, however is planning to get rid of the three contract maximum. I don’t believe this has taken affect just yet?

    Could someone confirm as to whether or not delivery orders and task orders awarded under an IDIQ, BPA or MAC are considered contracts? I am fairly confident that I know the answer, however there is some confusion which leads to the understanding that a joint venture could be awarded three (3) IDIQs, BPAs or MACs, and that the individual task orders/delivery orders awarded under those would not be considered contracts?

    Thank you in advance for your time. 

  2. On 7/11/2018 at 5:14 PM, PepeTheFrog said:

    Seeking advice about important topics like this from strangers and frogs on the Internet is dangerous. You might get what you ask for. Will you act on it?

    Your scenario shows "the appearance of general affiliation." You listed several examples. However...

    PepeTheFrog assumes you're asking about the type of affiliation that can ruin your status as a small business. Did you review the SBA regulations on affiliation? Check out 13 CFR 121.103. There are also SBA guides out there on the Internet, but PepeTheFrog doesn't know if they're up to date. As an example, this one is from March 2014:

    https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/affiliation_ver_03.pdf

     

    PepeTheFrog; Now wouldn't I be a foolish peasant to act upon the guidance of a frog? While I understand that every situation is different, and thoughts and opinions are subjective to interpretation, I like to read other's insights.

    I greatly appreciate you taking the time to respond.

  3. I'd like to gather other's thoughts & opinions regarding the perception of the following scenario and whether or not the appearance of general affiliation exists and whether or not there are any ethical concerns?
     
    Company A had an employee who left approximately 3 years ago to start his own company, Company B.
    • Company B is in the same line of work as Company A;
    • Company A & Company B employ two (2) of the same employees (both employees provide contract support to Company A, while both employees provide security administration support to Company B);
    • While Company A has been approved to be a Mentor, a Mentor-Protege arrangement between Company A & Company B has yet to be finalized by the Government;
    • Company B does receive approximately 70% of its income from Company A.
  4. Cross Charging (Comingling of Contracts) as defined by the DoD IG's Office reads: Dishonest contractors can submit multiple bills on different contracts or work orders for work performed or expense incurred only once.  A contracting official can facilitate the scheme and share in the profits by writing similar work orders under different contracts and accepting the multiple billings.  (Source: International Anti-Corruption Resource Center, 2014)

    Fraud indicators related to cross charging (comingling of contracts) include, but are not limited to:

    • Multiple awards for similar work are given to the same contractor.
    • The contractor submits several invoices for the same or similar expense or work under different jobs or contracts.
    • The contractor submits the same or similar documentation to support billings on different contracts.
    • Similar work orders are issued to the same contractor under more than one contract.
    • Contractor receives multiple awards for similar work.
    • Frequent errors/corrections of errors on invoices and other documents.
    • Contractor costs on fixed priced contract are unusually low.
    • Costs on the cost plus contract are considerably higher than those expected or budgeted.
    • Same employee billed to more than one job for the same time period.

    Whereas, Industry defines cross charging as companies filling various fixed-price and cost-plus contracts simultaneously. While sometimes, shifting the costs and expenses associated with fixed-price contracts to a cost-plus contract in order to increase their profit.

    Based on the DoD IG's definition, one could interpret that that it would not matter what type of contract it is. Thus, could the following be deemed as cross charging? Is the following actually allowable?

    Company ABC identified one specific employee on three (3) separate proposals while proposing that said employee would be providing 3/4 of his time (1,410 hours) on the first contract and 1/4 of his time (470 hours per contract) on each of the second and third contracts. The Government awards all three contracts to Company ABC on a firm-fixed-price (FFP) basis for the delivery of services and the company submits fixed monthly invoices per contract. 

  5. Vern; The prime is requesting.

    I've received word from two others who have indicated that while it is unusual, some of the larger companies do this for buying power purposes with airlines, rental car companies, hotels, etc. and to save on paying the G&A on the subs travel costs. Essentially being viewed as a cost savings to the Government.

  6. I was hoping I could pick someone's brain, as I wanted to confirm as to whether or not there is some federal or accounting principle that would prevent the following or if there are any ramifications that I may not be aware of?



    Long story short, we are a Subcontractor to a contract in which the Prime is requesting to handle all travel for our employees. From making arrangements, to reimbursing and/or paying the employee. The CLIN associated with travel was awarded on a cost reimbursable basis not-to-exceed $350k.



    Not sure if it's such a big deal but logically it just doesn't make sense to me. My understanding is that should we ever be audited by DCAA, that the question would be raised of why the Prime elected to handle and issue a purchase order strictly for labor.



    Thank you in advance for your thoughts and expertise. :)


    Rae


  7. Government has released an RFP with a 100% SDVOSB set-aside. The Government has stipulated they anticipate awarding the contract strictly on a FFP basis where all Offerors will be responsible for including all costs associated with travel and ODCs into each of the specific CLINs.

    Does the 50 percent that is required to be performed by the SDVOSB Prime consists of only labor or is it inclusive of all costs (labor, travel, and ODCs) as a result of how the Government is anticipating on awarding the contract?

  8. Joel; No, the verbiage was not included in the solicitation. However, the following response was provided by the Contracting Office at the time Q&As were being answered.

    Question: The contract will be awarded as a FFP with reimbursable ODCs for a Base Year plus two Option Years. Is it the intent of the Government to pay the entire FFP at the start of the contract or in equal monthly amounts over each of the periods of performances? If equal amounts should the SUPPLIES/SERVICES be identified as "LABOR," the QUANTITY be 12, and the UNIT be Month?

    Answer: The Contractor will be authorized interim delivery payments on the basis of 1/12 the CLIN value per month or the value of conforming services performed, whichever is lesser for the FFP CLIN(s). For Travel, the Contractor may invoice not more often than monthly for costs incurred. Due to the design of the Army's entitlement system, GFEBS, any payment made on a variable and/or reoccurring basis, such as services and cost reimbursable line items must use the unit of measure "Job."

    I was clearly under the impression that a FFP contract provides for a price that is not subject to any adjustment unless otherwise stipulated?

    Appreciate the insight! :)

  9. Greatly appreciate anyone who doesn't mind taking some time to provide confirmation regarding the following.

    We recently were awarded a contract, where labor is on an FFP basis and travel is on a CR basis. Upon review of the contract, it was discovered that the Contracting Office inserted the following verbiage under Section G - Contract Administration Data, "The contractor is authorized partial delivery payments for services, CLINs 0001, 1001, 2001 under this contract. The Contractor may, not more often than monthly, invoice the lesser of 1/12 the total CLIN price or this amount minus the value of any non-conforming services. Specifically, the Contractor shall not invoice for the value of any services not performed due to uncompensated and otherwise unmitigated employee absences impacting services such as leave without pay, extended military leave, and position vacancies."

    For the underline to be binding, mustn't FAR 52.216-4 (Economic Price Adjustment - Labor and Material) be incorporated by reference into the contract?

    Thank you in advance for any assistance. ^_^

  10. What are the rules governing the timeline a Contracting Office has to respond to questions submitted by Offerors pertaining to an RFP prior to the proposal submission due date? Is there a specific FAR clause that specifies a duration?

    Scenario:

    Proposal due date: 10 December 2013

    Questions were due: 18 November 2013

  11. How do you derive "spending income" or "disposable income" to apply the differential?

    The COLA percentage is based on the Country & Post the individual is being assigned to.

    COLA is then derived by taking that percentage and multiplying it by the annual spendable income by salary and family size (http://aoprals.state.gov/Content/Documents/SpendableIncome.pdf).

    Example: The COLA percentage for Japan, Okinawa is 35%. For an individual who earns $92,000 and has a family size of 3, you would take $38,700 and multiply this by 35%. So, in a nutshell and in addition to obtaining their salary of $92,000, he/she would also rate $13,545 in COLA.

  12. The only authoritative source that I know of is the contract under which the allowance will be paid. If the contract is silent on that point, the question then becomes whether the allowance is reasonable. Remember, under FAR 31.205-6, compensation must be reasonable for the work actually done. What other contractors in the area pay for similar work is one factor that may be considered in determining reasonable compensation. Although not binding or applicable to contractors in general, many contractors base overseas allowances on the Department of State Standardized Regulation.

    A contract is yet not in place, however the solicitation states, "Personnel stationed overseas in support of this task will be eligible for "as available" services pursuant to their SOFA status and will be eligible for Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) at the permanent location." I gather it would behoove me to reach out to the Contracting Office and ask the question.

  13. There is no requirement that the subcontract be of the same type as the prime contract.

    The disadvantages of using a cost-reimbursement subcontract under a fixed-price prime contract ought to be obvious. Off-hand, I cannot think of any advantage in doing so, but I suppose under some circumstances there might be a necessity.

    Yes, the prime can cap the hours that the sub may bill for.

    Vern; First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to respond to my post.

    Understand that under the terms of the contract, the subcontractor must notify the prime when costs approach or exceed this total. Understand the prime

    then has the right—but not the obligation—to approve additional costs. Also understand that if the prime approves additional costs, the subcontractor must continue working until the funds are spent or performance is completed.

    Excuse my ignorance; However if the prime sets an NTE amount, caps the hours, and monitors the subcontractor during performance of the contract to ensure requirements are being met, is there some other disadvantages I may be overlooking?

    Thank you.

×
×
  • Create New...