[30817] in Zephyr_Bugs
GSA: Guard Against Audits
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Fedmarket)
Sun Nov 6 23:11:17 2005
Date: Sun, 06 Nov 2005 21:04:55 -0700
From: "Fedmarket" <noreply@fedmarket.com>
To: bug-zephyr@mit.edu
Reply-To: "Fedmarket" <noreply@fedmarket.com>
Content-type: text/plain
Message-Id: <20051107040455.76F393CDFF1@wrtlnx07.wrtech.com>
*** GSA Schedules ****
Welcome to our series called "GSA Schedules." This newsletter is the latest installment in a series of rotating weekly email newsletters about GSA Schedules, Proposal Writing and Federal Sales.
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Installment 18 - Guard Against Audits
The General Services Administration (GSA) is increasing the number of pre-award audits of vendors with GSA schedule contracts up for renewal. What should vendors do to guard against adverse pre-award audit findings?
* Disclose your discounting practices accurately.
* Establish written corporate discounting policies and discuss the new policies with your sales team. Management should then monitor the sales staff closely to confirm that the written policies are being followed. After award of your GSA Schedule contract, a procedure should be put in place to ensure that any price reductions to the basis of award group are reported to your GSA contracting officer and that corresponding price reductions are offered to GSA.
* Implement written procedures to make certain that your accounting department is able to (i) accurately track GSA contract sales, (ii) calculate the Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) owed at the end of each quarter, and (iii) pay the IFF on or before its quarterly due date.
Additional Preventive Measures to Avoid Having Problems If An Audit Occurs
We recommend taking steps to protect your company in the event that the government decides to audit your business prior to or after the award of a GSA Schedule contract. In many instances, a number of months may have elapsed between the time you submit your company's offer to GSA and the time the final review of your proposal occurs. For this reason, it is critical to make sure that your original discounting disclosures are still accurate at the time of the contract's final negotiation stage. Write down your current discounting practices and compare them to those disclosed in the original submission. This comparison may reveal that your discounting practices have changed and that the original disclosures are no longer accurate. Take corrective action, if necessary. A similar analysis should be done after the award of your contract. If you have offered your product or services to basis of award customers at a lower price than your awarded GSA prices, the contract's price
adjustment clause is triggered and you must notify your contracting officer accordingly
.
GSA contract administration is not complex. To summarize, it is critical that vendors make accurate disclosures, monitor price reductions to the basis of award group, and pay their Industrial Funding Fee on time. Don't cut corners. If you discover problems, correct them immediately and communicate the problem and corrective action taken with the Contracting Officer.
/------------------------ Your Ad Here ----------------------------
Advertise with Fedmarket.com
Reach Small Business Owners, Government Contractors and Top Decision Makers Reach over 500,000 readers weekly
Call 888.661.4094 ext. 14 for details
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** Become a GSA Schedule Holder
Get inside the contracting world of GSA Approved Vendors; a world where over $32.5 billion in federal contracts is spent each year.
Becoming a GSA Schedule holder will open the door to a whole new way of doing business with the government.
Start the process before the year is up and begin 2006 with all the advantages of being a GSA Approved Vendor.
Come to our intensive proposal preparation laboratory and complete your GSA schedule proposal in 3 days or less.
Upcoming Dates: December 6 - 8, 2005
Location: The Federal Sales Academy
3 Bethesda Metro Center
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
Cost: $3,900
Details:
http://www.fedmarket.com/seminars/gsa-proposal-elab.shtml
On-line Registration:
http://www.fedmarket.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=28
To Register by phone or for more information call 301.652.9504.
Fedmarket.com also offers full service proposal preparation and do-it-yourself software. Call Matt Hankes at 301.652.9507 to learn more about the GSA Solutions Fedmarket.com has to offer you.
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Thanks for reading and, as always, best of luck in your business. Feel free to contact me with thoughts or suggestions. If you need help with product sales, call or write as follows:
(888) 661-4094 Ext. 8 or sales@fedmarket.com.
Regards,
Richard White, President
Fedmarket.com
The Federal Sales Academy
rwhite@fedmarket.com
(301) 652-9506
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