Breakout Session # 1005 Patricia Downing GSA Account Manager Aronson & Company

2. The Rules are Changing: Are You Prepared to Survive Your GSA IFF Audit? Breakout Session # 1005 Patricia Downing GSA Account Manager Aronson & Company Date Tuesday, April 26, 2005 Time 1:30 – 2:30 NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

3. Contractor Assessment Initiative (CAsI) • Began in October 2002 • Designed to direct Federal procurement to exceptional firms • Provides contractor performance record to contracting officers NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

4. Objectives Long-term objectives: • Assess each MAS contractor on a regular and recurring basis • Make the performance information available to prospective Federal customers, to FSS and to the contractor NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

5. CAsI Components • Internal/Administrative Compliance • Customer Dialogue NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

6. CAsI Components (continued) • Internal/Administrative Compliance • Assist FSS contracting personnel decisions on exercising contract options • Assisting FSS contracting personnel in review of new proposals from established schedule contractors • Provide a reporting mechanism for FSS Contracts Management Personnel to review regarding contractor compliance in over 20 specific areas NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

7. CAsI Components (continued) • Customer Dialogue • Provides Federal community with customer feedback from previous buyers of supplies and services from the MAS program • Customer satisfaction surveys conducted by an independent firm on GSA’s behalf • Evaluations consistent with past performance guidelines established by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

8. CAsI Components (continued) • Contractor’s will have an opportunity to review and respond to their evaluations prior to electronic posting • Will become part of the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) • Contractor’s will have access to their own performance data at all times through PPIRS • GSA will use PPIRS data regarding schedule contractors • Data will be summarized at the contract level • Summaries will be available to schedule customers through GSA Advantage! NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

9. Purpose • Each contract will be reviewed • First review to occur soon after contract award • Initial review is to ensure the contractor has a system in place to track and report GSA sales • Assist contractor with questions regarding the Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) reporting requirements NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

10. Initial Contact for Review • Contract administration point of contact as listed in the GSA schedule contract will be contacted via e-mail • The GSA Industrial Operations Analyst (IOA) will send the e-mail • Suggested date and time for review will be included in e-mail NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

11. Initial Contact for Review A contractor is not obligated to accept the IOA’s suggested date and time. Rescheduling for a more convenient date and time for the contractor will not result in an unsatisfactory review. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

12. Initial Contact for Review • Who should be present for the review? • Contracts Administrator is only required attendee • Other attendees may be present if their assistance is needed to communicate a clear understanding of the method used for tracking, collecting and reporting the sales data NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

13. General Organization Information • General background information on the contractor • Brief history of organization • Brief synopsis of firm’s capabilities • Business size classification • Type of business For example: Is the firm large or small? Is it a dealer, reseller or manufacturer? Does it sell products or services? NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

14. General Sales Information • Provide the overall sales volume per year • Provide detail to include % of MAS and non-MAS Federal Government sales • And % of non-Federal Government sales • Identify annual substantial sales of non-MAS products and/or services by agency NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

15. General Contractual Information • Provide details of teaming arrangements • List contract numbers for all team members • Provide copies of all team agreements • Provide information on teams arrangements for solving service and warranty issues, if applicable NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

16. General Contractual Information • Provide information on Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA) • List dollar amounts by agency • Provide listing of additional discounts associated with BPA • Listing of criteria for obtaining additional discount • Provide discount amounts NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

17. General Marketing Information • Provide IOA with latest GSA MAS pricelist • Provide date of last revision and statement as to whether or not all modifications are included in latest pricelist • If latest version does not include latest information and modifications provide explanation as to why and provide timeline of when it will be updated NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

18. General Marketing Information • Are all the contractor’s products and services available on their GSA Schedule? • If not, provide listing of items/services not offered • Provide reasoning for not offering these items/services on schedule • Be prepared to discuss other MAS contracts awarded through other agencies with IOA NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

19. Tracking of Sales Initial review conducted to ensure that a mechanism is in place to distinguish MAS sales from other non-MAS sales. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

20. Sales Tracking System • No required standard format for tracking established • Lack of standards allows organizations to custom fit a tracking and reporting system that is consistent with its current accounting and sales practices NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

21. Sales Tracking System • Contract Administrator to provide written description of sales tracking system to IOA • Contract Administrator shall demonstrate their knowledge of this system through verbal discussion with IOA NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

22. Sales Tracking System A new GSA MAS contractor who has yet to receive their 1st order must have the basic outline and design of the system to be used once the 1st order is received. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

23. Basic Required Information • What is the system being used? • Is it an accounting system, project management system, etc? • Is it manual or automated? NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

24. Basic Required Information • How are orders received? • Who is responsible for receiving orders? • Once an order is received what happens to that order? • How is it initialized in the system? • How is a GSA MAS sale distinguished from a non-GSA MAS sale? • Once a GSA MAS sale is determined how are the sales for each Special Item Number (SIN) separated? NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

25. Basic Required Information • How are non-GSA MAS sales (Open Market Items) included on a GSA MAS order handled? • How are the prices verified and who or what checks are made at initialization and throughout the reporting period to assure compliance? NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

26. Basic Required Information • Are trade-ins accepted? • How are trade-ins treated? • What warranties are offered? • How are warranties handled in relation to sales? • How are returns handled? NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

27. Basic Required Information • If there are dealers on the contractors schedule, how do the dealers report their sales? • How does the contractor control this process? • What agreements, if any, does the contractor have in place with dealers regarding the contractor’s GSA MAS schedule? NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

28. Basic Required Information • Dealers should provide answers to the same questions on the previous slides • Answering these questions will provide the basic information necessary for creating written procedures NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

29. Supporting Documentation The following should be on hand for the review: • Sales journals • Invoices • Warranty agreements • Records related to over billings, billing errors and corrections • General ledger • Computerized documents • Purchase orders • Any other documentation necessary to demonstrate that GSA MAS sales are properly tracked to enable timely and accurate reporting of sales to GSA NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

30. Determining a Sale What constitutes a GSA MAS sale requiring tracking and reporting varies by contractor depending on several factors. Sales should be tracked in a manner consistent with the contractor’s accounting system and current sales practices. The procedure a contractor utilizes to determine a sale for purchases other than GSA MAS sales is a good benchmark for determining GSA MAS sales. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

31. Determining a Sale • Sales can be recorded when: • An order is received • A shipment is made • An invoice is prepared • Payment has been received, etc. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

32. Determining a Sale • When determining sales the type of award should also be considered • Sales on a Fixed Price award and a Time and Materials award may be recorded differently which could result in the under or over-reporting of sales to GSA NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

33. Determining a Sale • Other considerations • Under running a contract • Overrunning a contract When establishing procedures for tracking and reporting sales these types of occurrences should be considered. A plan for handling these issues should be established in advance. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

34. Recording a GSA MAS Sale Once a sale has been determined it must be recorded in a way that it is easily separated from all other sales by the contractor. How a sale is separated and recorded will determine the ease or difficulty of reporting sales to GSA quarterly. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

35. Recording a GSA MAS Sale • At a minimum each GSA MAS sale should be recorded so that • GSA MAS sales are separated from non-GSA MAS sales • Each GSA MAS sale is separated by SIN NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

36. Recording a GSA MAS Sale • Open Market products or services • These items if added to a GSA MAS sale should be separated from the GSA MAS sale • These items should be recorded separately • These items should be a separate line item on the invoice, with a distinguishing description • These items may also require a separate recording of the receipt for payment, depending on how the contractor defines, records and reports sales NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

37. Determining a Sale Determining, tracking and recording a GSA MAS sale can be confusing. If done properly the reporting of sales to GSA each quarter should be a simple task. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

38. Reporting of Sales Each calendar year quarter, all GSA schedule contractors are required to report the total sales for the quarter. Sales are reported by contract number and by SIN. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

39. Recording of Sales When developing the tracking and recording procedures, reporting procedures should be considered. Minimum information for reporting: • Information for reporting quarterly sales • Information for the annual review NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

40. Recording of Sales • Minimum information for quarterly report: • GSA MAS sales by contract • Sales by SIN This basic information will enable a contractor to report sales directly form the report NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

41. Recording of Sales Sales are reported on Form 72A online at: http://72a.gsa.gov The report AND payment are due within 30 days of the quarter end. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

42. Payment of IFF Upon completion of the online reporting of sales, a document is generated stating the amount of the Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) to be paid to GSA for the quarter. The IFF is ¾% of the quarterly reported sales. Payment should be remitted either by check or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). EFT is the method preferred by GSA. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

43. Additional Information • For a listing of orders reported against your contract go to: http://www.fpdc.gov/fpdc/ContractsByNumber.htm Enter your GSA schedule contract number WITHOUT dashes. The IOA will check this website prior to the Assessment visit. NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

44. Documentation Additional Documentation the IOA will ask to review include: • Current listing of all customers • Approved GSA Pricelists including terms and conditions • Requests for quotations • Open Market Government orders • Any authorized dealers sales records • Other supporting documentation for the calculation of reported 72A sales and IFF submission NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

45. Administrative Report Card Upon completion of the review the IOA will prepare and Administrative Report Card (ARC) to accomplish the following: • Assist FSS contracting personnel decisions on exercising contract options • Assisting FSS contracting personnel in review of new proposals from established schedule contractors • Provide a reporting mechanism for FSS Contracts Management Personnel to review regarding contractor compliance in over 20 specific areas NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

46. Administrative Report Card • A copy is available at the GSA Vendor Support Center http://vsc.gsa.gov and has been provided on the CD made available to all conference participants • The Contractor Assessment Team at GSA may be reached via e-mail for additional information: contractor.assessment@gsa.gov NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

47. IG Audits – Lessons Learned • MFC & Basis of Award – do you know what this is for your contract? • MOT – do you know what this is for each awarded SIN? • Price Reductions – do you know how this is invoked? Are you at risk? • Services – Minimum Education & Experience – are you meeting the requirements? NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”

48. Resources • GSA website http://www.gsa.gov • Vendor Support Center: http://www.vsc.gsa.gov Patricia DowningAronson & Company(301) 222-8227 NCMA World Congress 2005 “Prime Time: Contract Management at the Core of the Enterprise”