PROCUREMENT How To Do It Right
Transcription
PROCUREMENT How To Do It Right
PROCUREMENT How To Do It Right Peggy Nagel - Project Director for Financial and Administrative Management Grant ICAA Training Conference Des Moines Iowa June 26 - June 28 2012 © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. Agenda • Difference between Procurement and Subgrant • Understanding guiding principles of Federal procurement regulations. • Specific OMB A-110 and A-122 requirements • Creating a policy • Implementing the policy • Sample Policies, procedures and forms © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 2 Subgrantee (OMB A-133)(.210) • Determines who is eligible to participate in program; • Performance measured against whether program objectives of the federal program met; • Responsible for programmatic decision making; • Responsible for complying with program requirements; and • Uses funds to carry out a program as compared to providing goods or services for a program. © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 3 Vendor (OMB A-133)(.210) • Provides the goods and services within normal business operations; • Provides similar goods or services to many different purchasers; • Operates in a competitive environment; • Provides goods or services that are ancillary to the operation of the federal program; and • Is not subject to compliance requirements of the federal program. © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 4 Procurement Rules Applicable to CAAs Requirements • Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) Circular A110 codified as 2 CFR 215.40 – 48 applicable to all direct federal grants, and may be applicable to CSBG • OMB Circular A-122, codified as 2 CFR Part 230 • Program specific requirements such as 45 CFR 74.40 48 (Head Start) • State and other contractual requirements Federal grantees are not subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), but may use for guidance © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 5 OMB Circular A-110 • Standards for Federal agencies in administration of direct grants and cooperative agreements with universities, hospitals, and non-profit organizations • Applicable to all Federal agencies • If any federal statute specifically prescribes policies or requirements that differ from A-110, the provisions of the statute govern 2CFR 215.43 © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 6 Guiding principles for all Federal procurement rules Competition: All procurement transactions shall be conducted in a manner to provide, to the maximum extent practical, open and free competition. Cost and Price analysis: Ensure that grantee receives best value, price and quality © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 7 Guiding Principles Most rules in OMB A-110 and A-122 derive from these basic concepts • All procurement transactions shall be conducted in a manner to provide, to the maximum extent practical, open and free competition. • A reasonable cost and good value must be obtained • Some form of cost or price analysis shall be made and documented in connection with every procurement action. © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 8 Practical Steps to ensure open competition and good value? To understand how to convert these concept into practical policies and procedures, it is helpful to go step by step through both: • An ideal procurement scenario • A typical real word scenario © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 9 Ideal Procurement Scenario A CAA facilities manager is charged with maintaining and replacing equipment. She reviews maintenance and equipment records and finds that the building's hot water heater is scheduled for replacement at the end of the year. She begins to plan how to procure a new hot water heater so as to ensure open competition and get the CAA the best value for the money © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 10 Steps to the perfect procurement • Do research on heaters, collect information, check out reviews from experts and finally narrow your choices to 2 or 3 top options. • Check prices on your top picks with several vendors and determine who would provide the best price, warranty, and service. • Weighing all factors, ask for price quotes from at least 3 vendors © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 11 Next steps to the perfect procurement • Do a cost analysis using a matrix to weigh the various benefits in service, quality and installation for each vendor against the price of each vendor. • Select the vendor whose product and service would give your CAA (and by extension the Federal government) "the best bang for the buck." • Document : – – – – Needs and requirements Information you gathered about quality and service Standards used for the final cost analysis final approval of the purchase of the product by the responsible manager © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 12 Real World Procurement Procurement often takes place on the fly, either because funds are suddenly available for a long planned purchase or a sudden unplanned need arises and decisions need to be made quickly © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 13 Typical Real World Procurement Scenario • You have no intention of buying a new water heater until suddenly it springs a leak, and begins to flood the basement. • You realize you have no water pressure and need to replace the heater immediately • You call the only plumber you know and ask him to deliver what ever he has on hand ASAP. • You pay whatever is takes to have the water heater replaced and installed in a timely manner © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 14 Next steps in a typical procurement The crisis is averted the new water heater installed and then : • You wonder whether you have followed the procurement policy. • You consult with your procurement staff to figure out how to make the purchase you have already completed be compliant with your procurement policy. © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 15 The best way to avoid the typical procurement scenario? • Have in place a practical, clearly written policy • Put into place simple processes, forms and procedure to implement the policy • Educate your employees about the policy and procedures required to successfully implement that policy. • Consistently follow those procedures • Document the procurement to demonstrate that procedures were followed © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 16 How to create an effective and compliant procurement policy ? Follow the rules set out in A-110 Adopt written procurement procedures that includes at least the following provisions: • Avoid purchasing unnecessary items. • Where appropriate, do an analysis of lease versus purchase options. • Solicitations must include certain required provisions © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 17 Solicitations must include: • Clear and accurate description of goods or services being solicited • Requirements that vendor must fulfill • Description of factors to be used in evaluating bids or proposals • Description, whenever practicable, of requirements in terms of functions to be performed and minimum acceptable standards © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 18 Solicitations must include (cont’d): • Specific features of “brand name or equal” descriptions • Acceptance, when possible, of products and services dimensioned in the metric system of measurement. • Preference, when possible, for products and services that conserve natural resources, protect environment and are energy efficient. • “Cost-plus-a-percentage-of-cost” or “percentage of construction cost” methods of contracting shall not be used. 2CFR 215.44 (a) (3) © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 19 Small, minority and women-owned businesses Positive efforts shall be made to utilize small businesses, minority-owned firms, and women's business enterprises, whenever possible. 2CFR 215.44 (a)(3) (B) © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 20 Employee Code of Conduct No CAA officer, employee, and/or agent will participate in the selection, award, and/or administration of any contract for equipment, materials, and supplies or consulting, professional services if a real or apparent conflict of interest would be involved. Such a conflict will arise when: a. the employee, officer, or agent; b. any member of his/her immediate family; c. his/her partner; or d. an organization which employs or is about to employ, any of the above e. has a financial or other interest in the firm or individual selected for award. 2CFR 215.42 © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 21 Code of Conduct- Gratuities • The officers, employees, and agents of the recipient shall neither solicit nor accept gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value from contractors, or parties to subagreements. • However, recipients may set standards for situations in which the financial interest is not substantial or the gift is an unsolicited item of nominal value. • The standards of conduct shall provide for disciplinary actions to be applied for violations of such standards by officers, employees, or agents of the recipient. 2CFR 215.42 © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 22 Vendor or Contractor Qualifications • Contracts shall be made only with responsible contractors who possess the potential ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of the proposed procurement. • Consideration shall be given to such matters as contractor integrity, record of past performance, financial and technical resources or accessibility to other necessary resources. • In certain circumstances, contracts with certain parties are restricted by agencies' implementation of E.O.s 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension.” 2CFR 215.44 (c)-(d) © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 23 Creating your policy Issues to consider • Who does the purchasing in your organization? Is procurement a centralized function or does it place throughout the organization? • Who approves the purchases? Program manager, a fiscal officer • What is your current process for approving the purchase of goods and services? Purchase Orders, Purchasing Cards, contracts © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 24 More Issues to Consider • What are the dollar thresholds in your organization that should trigger additional review and approval? Below 5K, above 25K above 100K? • What are the standards for a PO vs. Contract? Dollar threshold, complexity, type of service? • Who reviews and approves contracts? Executive Director, Board member? • Who will ensure that procedures are consistently followed and documentation is complete and available to auditors/ monitors? © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 25 Simplified Acquisition Procedures: Potential Approach to Micro-Purchases • Up to $3,000 (“micro-purchase threshold”): no requirement to solicit competitive quotations if price is considered reasonable • Need to verify price only if suspect that price is unreasonable or if purchasing a supply or service for which no comparable pricing information is available FAR 2.101 © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 26 Simplified Acquisition Procedures • Apply to purchases of $100,000 or less – sealed bidding or negotiated procedures specified in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) used for acquisitions over $100,000 • Thresholds adjusted periodically – review contracts carefully for additional requirements • States may require lower thresholds and/or additional procedures FAR 2.101 © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 27 Policy and Procedures are not the same thing Important to distinguish between procurement policy and procedures. • Policy is guiding principle used to set direction Used as guide to decision making under given set of circumstances. • Procedures are steps or processes put into place to ensure that policies are implemented. © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 28 Policy and Procedures (cont’d) Why separate policy document from procedures? • Policy needs to be approved by Board. • Procedures need to be updated and revised frequently to keep up with changes in organization • Well thought-out procurement policy should not need to be frequently changed. • Only revisions to policy will need to be reviewed by Board. © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 29 Procurement Challenges: Sole Source Procurements What is a sole source procurement? Sole source is a non-competitive purchase or procurement process accomplished after soliciting and negotiating with only one source, so-called sole source, thus limiting full and open competition Why is it a challenge? •Difficult to justify •Documenting reasons •Still must show cost/price analysis © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 30 Sole Source challenges Reasons listed in the FAR to justify sole source. • Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements • Unusual and compelling urgency. • Industrial mobilization; engineering, developmental, or research capability; or expert services • International agreement • 6.302-5 Authorized or required by statute • 6.302-6 National security • 6.302-7 Public Interest © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 31 Common Sole Source Procurements • Professional Services- Consultants • Specialized services performed by subject matter experts. • Last minute or emergency • Limited market procurements • Limited pool of qualified vendors • Specialized technical equipment, infrastructure © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 32 Sole Source Challenges - Documenting Important things to document • Reason for not competing the procurement • Logically demonstrate (possibly in narrative format) to outside observer that non- competitive procurement was required. • Cost analysis © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 33 Procuring Professional Services Federal grant funds may be used to pay costs of professional and consultant services provided by persons who are members of a particular profession or possess a special skill • – Professional service providers may not be CAA officers or employees • Costs must be reasonable in relation to services and not contingent upon recovery from government • In determining allowability of costs, look at a number of factors 2 CFR Part 230, App. B, pgh. 37 (OMB A-122) © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 34 Professional Services Costs, cont. • In determining allowability, certain factors are relevant under OMB Circular A-122: a. Nature and scope of service in relation to service required. b. Necessity of contracting for service vs. organization’s own capability. c. Past patterns of costs, particularly in years before federal award. d. Impact of government awards. e. Does proportion of government work to total organization work justify incurring cost? f. Can service be performed more economically by hiring employee? g. Qualifications of individual performing service and customary fees. h. Adequacy of contractual agreement. • Retainer fees must be supported by evidence of services available or provided. © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 35 Procuring Professional Services Things to remember • Contracts with consultants or independent contractors are subject to fair and open competition. • Consultants or independent contractors are subject to price and/or cost analysis. • A clear and accurate description of the scope of work for the service must be provided • The scope of work shall not be designed to limit competitive solicitation from multiple vendors. © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 36 Prequalifying Vendor and Consultants A Prequalified Vendor list streamlines the procurement process for contracting with service providers while maintaining compliance How to Prequalify 1. Create a general scope of work and a request for quote specific to a certain category of service. 2. Send RFQ to all vendors that might qualify in that category. 3. Require vendors submit standard prices in specified formats. Request that prices be fixed for a specified time frame © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 37 Prequalifying Vendor and Consultants • Require that all vendors accept the same standard terms and conditions. • Ask for references and verification of that non on the principal have been disbarred. Review Bids • Compare all bids for adherence to scope of work • Compare Price Analysis • Accept all competitive bids from qualified Vendors Create List • Make list available to all buyers © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 38 Why it Matters Funds can be disallowed: Beaver County Head Start, DAB Decision No. 2441 Feb 14, 2012 – ACF disallowed $19,000 claimed for building management contract due to violation of open competition rules. – Head Start program declined to compete contract because it already had a financial obligation to developer who was awarded contract. – DAB found that this did not relive the program of its obligation to “open and free competition” in procurement of services © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 39 Why it Matters • One of most common deficiencies cited in audits • Get the best value for CAAs funds • Be efficient and stay compliant © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 40 Final Thoughts Just creating a written procurement policy and having it approved by the Board and disseminated is not enough. Process and procedure must ensure: • Consistent adherence to policy • Ability to document and monitor procurement process © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 41 Peggy Nagel Project Director, Nonprofit Financial and Grants Management Training Program CAPLAW 178 Tremont Street Boston, MA 02111 617-348-6466 peggy.nagel@caplaw.org © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. © 2012 Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. 43