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DARS PART 42 -- CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES



PART 42 -- CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUBPART 42.1-90 -- INTERAGENCY CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES

42.9000 Audit resolution and disposition

SUBPART 42.15 -- CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

42.1502 Policy

42.1503 Procedures

PART 42 -- CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES

SUBPART 42.1-90 — INTERAGENCY CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND

AUDIT SERVICES

42.9000 Audit resolution and disposition.

(a) Policy. Contracting officers shall use contract audit advice provided by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) and promptly act to resolve DCAA audit recommendations. This requires --

(1) Full consideration of audit findings and recommendations;

(2) Prompt and proper resolution of differences between contracting officers and auditors on proposed disposition of audit findings and recommendations;

(3) Expeditious disposition (including fund recovery actions);

(4) Documentation of differences between audit recommendation and dispositions thereof; and

(5) Open dialogue between contracting, auditing, and audit follow-up personnel to establish and maintain an effective audit resolution system.

(b) System structure. The contract audit follow-up system shall be structured in consonance with the contracting officer’s independent decision making role and the contract auditor’s financial advisory role. Resolution of audit reports (other than pre-award) is required by law within six months of report issuance. Disposition shall take place as soon as possible after resolution.

(c) Responsibilities.

(1) PL is the contract audit follow-up official responsible for managing DISA’s contract audit follow-up program. PL ensures that the DISA contract audit follow-up system is implemented in accordance with DoD Directive 7640.2, as amended, and that system operation results in timely and appropriate resolution and disposition of audit reports.

(2) HCOs must ensure that:

(i) Contracting officers fully consider contract audit advice in the course of determining pre-negotiation positions.

(ii) Audit findings and recommendations are resolved and disposed of effectively and in a timely manner, while fully protecting the Government’s interest.

(iii) Up-to-date records are maintained on all applicable audit reports from receipt through disposition. For open reports, this includes written milestone plans comprised of target dates for resolution and disposition, and planned actions to accomplish those dates. When an audit is resolved, it must be supported by specific contract file documentation.

(iv) The semiannual contract audit follow-up status report submission is-

Prepared in accordance with DoD Directive 7640.2, as amended;

Verified against prior status report submission and the applicable DCAA control logs, and

Submitted to PL within 15 calendar days after the end of the 31 Mar and 30 Sep reporting periods. PL coordinates submittal of the Agency report to the DoD Inspector General within 30 calendar days after the end of the reporting period.

(v) Adequate training is provided.

(vi) Procedures are established for documenting and reviewing:

Proposed pre-negotiation objectives that provide the independent review for internal control purposes. This will be accomplished as part of the business clearance review and approval process. In documenting the pre-negotiation position, the contracting officer shall indicate whether the audit recommendations were accepted or, if not, whether the auditor revised them. When the contracting officer disagrees with the audit position, the contracting officer’s pre-negotiation documentation shall include the rationale for not accepting the audit advice. The post-negotiation documentation shall include a summary of the field pricing report recommendations and reasons for any pertinent variances from these recommendations.

Objections from the contractor to the administrative contracting officer (ACO) for auditor-determined indirect cost rates. This will be accomplished as part of the business clearance review and approval process. If the contractor submits a written objection to the ACO, the ACO may communicate further with the contractor in order to reach agreement. If the ACO disagrees with the audit recommendation, the ACO shall comply with the business clearance procedures for documentation and review before disposition. If the ACO agrees with the audit recommendations, the ACO shall issue a final decision, after complying with the clearance review and approval procedures.

(vii) Provided a copy of the post-negotiation business clearance is to the cognizant contract auditor so the report may be closed.

(viii) Any recovery of funds is accomplished in accordance with DoD Directive 7640.2, as amended, FAR 32.6, and DFARS 232.6.

SUBPART 42.15 — CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

42.1502 Policy.

(a) The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) is a web-based application used for collecting, recording, and forwarding past performance information (PPI) to the Federal Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS). The CPARS provides real-time capability to record PPI for use in future source selections.

(S-90) The DISA CPARS Agency POC is the Policy Branch (PL21) and has overall responsibility to provide agency strategy to Senior Command Officials (SCO) and Focal Points (FP). Thereafter, FPs at the DITCO contracting offices are to provide training to all new users at their respective site. Upon successful completion of training and the registration of a contract by a FP, all user roles will have established accounts. CPARS is located at http://www.cpars.csd.disa.mil/cparsmain.htm

(S-91) DISA contracting officers are required to ensure that annual Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPARs) are prepared for a contractor’s performance when the contract value (base period and all option periods) is $1,000,000 or greater.

(S-92) This threshold applies to all contracts, task/delivery orders, orders under GSA schedules, Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs), Communication Service Authorizations (CSAs), etc. Contracting officers are encouraged to use the CPARS for collecting and reporting contractor past performance less than $1,000,000 if appropriate. Entering a Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR) makes the data available to all registered PPIRS users.

(S-93) The threshold applies to the “as-modified” contract value. If a contract value is less than $1,000,000, but is later modified and the “new” contract value is $1,000,000 or greater, then a CPAR should be made beginning with the first anniversary that the contract’s value reaches $1,000,000.

(S-94) As soon as it is anticipated that the threshold will be met or exceeded (e.g., modification), initiate the CPAR process by entering the required data into CPARS.

(S-95) Frequency of CPARs. The Assessing Official (AO) establishes CPAR-reporting frequency. A CPAR MUST be completed at least every 12 months. The contracting officer determines if a CPAR will be completed on the basic contract vehicle or on individual task orders and will notify the AO as appropriate. Once established, the frequency should remain consistent throughout the performance of the contract. Types of CPARs are:

(i) Initial Report. An initial report is required if the Period of Performance (PoP) exceeds 365 days. An initial report is not required if the PoP is less than 365 days. However, a final CPAR should be written. The initial report should assess no more than 12 months of actual performance. The assessment period may begin after the contract award date due to protests or other delayed starts.

(ii) Intermediate Reports. Intermediate reports are required every 12 months. It is recommended that the intermediate reports be completed with other reviews which may include options, award fee determinations, or program milestones. An intermediate report is required upon the transfer of program management responsibility outside of the original buying activity. An intermediate report is not cumulative. It assesses only the performance occurring after the last assessment period.

(iii) Out of Cycle Report. An out of cycle report is optional and is written only if there is a significant change in performance. It addresses those areas that have changed. There should not be more than 2 out of cycle reports completed per year.

(iv) Final Report. A final report is required at contract completion or contract termination. For contracts less than one year, the final CPAR is the only record. For contracts with performance periods exceeding one year, the final CPAR addresses only the last performance period, and may not be used to “roll up” a contractor’s performance under the entire contract.

(v) Addendum Report. An addendum report is optional and is prepared for a post physical contract completion (i.e., warranty administration; contract closeout problems, conversion of a Termination for Default (T for D) to a Termination for Convenience (T for C) of the Government, or other administrative requirements such as submitting final reports, final indirect cost proposals, technical data, etc.).

(S-96) The AO should consider the below factors in deciding frequency for assessments:

(i) Contract type

(ii) Period of performance

(iii) Deliverable vs. level of efforts

(iv) Milestones

(v) Risk associated with performance

(S-97) Upon completion of a CPAR, current performance assessment reports become past performance information used in source selections. A completed CPAR is automatically uploaded into PPIRS. Completion of CPARs improves the amount and quality of past performance information available to source selection teams.

(b) When developing a method of contracting (i.e., IDIQ, BOA, BPA, CSA, etc.) for use by DISA and other agencies, ensure the contract instructs agencies placing orders to use an approved web-based system for collecting PPI that feeds into PPIRS. The order-issuing agency is responsible for following their agency procedures to report PPI.

(c) When placing orders on another agency’s contract, follow DARS Part 42 for using, collecting, and entering PPI into CPARS.

42.1503 Procedures.

(a) Refer to the Introduction to CPARS Deskbook and CPARS Policy Guide located at http://www.ditco.disa.mil/hq/cpars.asp. Past performance assessments are a combined responsibility of the AO (program office representative), Assessing Official Representatives (AOR) (AO/AOR may be the Contracting Officer Representative (COR), Task Monitor (TM), or evaluator), Contracting Officer (KO), Contract Specialist (CS), Reviewing Official (RO), and Contractor Representative (CR).

(b) Prepare CPARs timely to ensure the integrity of the PPI. The KO and FP from the contracting office appoint AOs (PM, CORs, TMs, or evaluators) and the AORs to write the CPAR. If the AO/AOR is the COR or TM, then the AO/AOR designation will be included in the COR or TM appointment letter.

(S-90) The FP can register contracts automatically or manually. The Contract Data Entry (CDE) is an optional role. CDEs can only register contracts manually. The FP registers the AO, AOR, and CR while registering the contract for CPARS. When the CPAR record is established, all applicable users are notified via email with account information. When the CPAR is ready for contractor review, CPARS sends an email notice to the CR.

(S-91) CRs have 30 calendar days to respond to the CPAR and 7 days to request a meeting to discuss the CPAR if necessary. CRs may concur or non-concur by providing responses or additional information. If the CR does not respond within 30 days, an electronic notice is sent to the AO. The AO can then decide to grant an extension for the CR’s response or close the CPAR which is then uploaded into PPIRS. Once the CR concurs / non-concurs, the CPAR is sent back to the AO.

(S-92) If the contractor non-concurs, the AO can modify the CPARs based on clarifications received and/or send to the Reviewing Official (RO). The RO provides comments if the CPAR is contentious and has the authority to make a unilateral final decision.

(c) Access.

(S-90) The DISA CPARS Agency POC has access to all DISA records in CPARS. Senior Command Officials (SCO) are Contracting Branch Chiefs or Contracting Section Chiefs and only have access to CPARs assigned to their particular branch or section.

(S-91) Access to CPARS is restricted to authorized Government personnel and contractors registered and approved for access. Contractors cannot assume the FP, AO, AOR, or RO roles. However, contractors may assume the role of Contract Data Entry (CDE). CDE personnel register contracts only and are to work in conjunction with the FP. Contractors with government awards subject to CPARS serve as CRs and provide the contractor comments within CPARS.

(S-92) See the DoD Guide to Collection and Use of Past Performance Information (May 2003) located at http://www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/Docs/PPI_Guide_2003_final.pdf for additional guidance on protecting PPI.

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