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Government Contractor’s Blog

Giving small minority owned businesses a fair shake

The Small Business Administration and the General Services Administration have launched an initiative to improve the identification of minority-owned contractors. The aim is to simplify the process for federal procurement officials to connect with small, disadvantaged businesses across sectors. As part of President Biden’s goal to direct $100 billion in expanded contracting opportunities to historically marginalized firms by 2025, the initiative focuses on increasing federal contracting opportunities for small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs). (Nextgov May 30, 2023)

In the announcement released on May 25th, the General Services Administration and the Small Business Administration will establish a pool of SDBs participating in the 8(a) Business Development Program. This program will assist selected firms in gaining better access to federal contracts under the GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule Program. The SBA’s 8(a) program has proven successful in fostering partnerships between the government and SDBs while providing support to minority-owned businesses seeking federal contracts. (ibid)

The establishment of the pool of 8(a) firms aims to make it easier for procurement officials to locate and contract with small, disadvantaged businesses across industries. Historically, this has been a challenge due to a lack of centralized resources for identifying and engaging SDBs throughout the federal government. However, the May 25th announcement lacks details on acceptance requirements and the process for directing solicitations and contracting opportunities to the selected firms. Further information is yet to be provided by the SBA and GSA. (ibid)

The success of the initiative will depend on specific factors, according to Courtney Fairchild, president of the government contracting consulting company Global Services. Fairchild suggests that analyzing individual awards and the dollar value of aggregate awards through the pool will help determine the effectiveness of the effort. If successful, similar MAS Pools for Woman-Owned, HubZone, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses could be implemented to increase opportunities across all SBA-certified socio-economic groups. (ibid)

Experts recommend additional metrics for measuring the program’s effectiveness, such as the size and scope of available opportunities, the length of engagement, and the relevance of North American Industry Classification System codes. These metrics can help determine if the pool successfully recruits firms from a wide array of sectors. (ibid)

Whichever approach is taken to evaluate its success, the new program provides an opportunity to showcase the strengths, diversity of thoughts, and varied technological capabilities within the SDB community, according to Earl Stafford, CEO of Aperio Global, an SDB specializing in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence solutions. (ibid)

President Biden announced the plan in June 2021 to allocate $100 billion in federal contracting opportunities to SDBs over a five-year period, representing an almost 50% increase in set-asides for minority-owned businesses. Federal agencies seem on track to meet this goal after awarding $62.4 billion in federal contracts to SDBs last year, accounting for at least 11% of all federal contracting opportunities. The Office of Management and Budget has since raised contracting goals for all agencies and directed the SBA to award at least 12% of all federal contracts to SDBs in fiscal year 2023. (ibid)

Would you like to know more about the initiative to connect SDBs to federal agencies? Give us a call.

The SBA is serving our entrepreneurial veterans

Last Friday, the Small Business Association (SBA) announced that it would invest $3.5 million in grant funding to create veterans business outreach centers (VBOCs) in seven new locations, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, and South Carolina. The purpose of this investment is to expand entrepreneurial training and counseling services for veterans and military spouses who own and operate small businesses. (ExecutiveGov April 24, 2023)

The VBOCs will assist veteran-owned small business in various aspects such as business planning, loan application, marketing and outreach efforts. Additionally, grants will be set up to support Boots to Business classes to help active duty service members transition and determine whether entrepreneurship is a practical transition strategy.(ibid)

Isabella Casillas Guzman, administrator of the SBA, stated that “with this expansion of our veteran-focused network of small business centers, we can help more transitioning service members, veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses start and grow their businesses and advance our economy.” (ibid)

Interested in grant funding for your veteran owned small business? Give us a call.

Is being good enough, good enough?

With fierce competition for government contracts, one must ponder if meeting the minimum standards, is enough to win some of the most coveted contracts with the Federal Government. Vendors are finding they must set themselves apart from the competition. Compliance excellence is one way to do this.

According to a GOVCON Expert, the Defense Contract Audit Agency connected with approximately 5,800 contractors in fiscal 2021. They learned that not all contractors maintained accounting compliance. Using compliance gives contractors an edge. (GOVCONWire March 2, 2023)

The Gauge Report from 2022 gives an indication of how compliance gives contractors an edge:

  1. Nearly 66% of all solicitations call for adequate accounting systems.
  2. Government contracting firms put adequate accounting systems second on their list of top auditing challenges.
  3. Labor floor checks have increased. (ibid)

The six business systems relevant to the audit process are accounting, estimating, material management and accounting systems, purchasing, government property, and earned value. Contractors that show they have adequate business systems in these areas may have an advantage over the competition. According to the Gauge Report, accounting systems are one of the most frequent requirements in new solicitations. (ibid)

How does a contractor get an “adequate” rating? When a solicitation requires documentation, bidders must provide some form of evidence, such as a letter from the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCAA) stating that the system has been approved for use on government contracts. Many contractors do not have assessed systems, which excludes them from solicitations. (ibid)

There are three possible ways a firm can turn compliance into a competitive edge:

  1. Your company has been examined by an agency and it is determined to be “adequate.” Keep a copy of the report/determination and provide the documentation as part of the bid. (If however, deficiencies are found, fix them and obtain a follow-up audit), once an adequate determination is made, use the determination when bidding.
  2. Request a system review. Since DCAA or DCMA do reviews based on contractor requests, a strong relationship with a PCO is necessary to work on your behalf to “push” a request through. To note, the examination process can take months due to the current backlog
  3. Your company pays a commercial firm, such as a CPA, to conduct an independent examination. Some government solicitations will only accept examination findings performed by government agencies.

The government appears to be making progress. In a recent OASIS+ solicitation, the solicitation language is more flexible by following the latest procurement trend, a self-scoring system. In a self-scoring system, companies earn points for systems, clearances, certifications, and past performance, and all bidders meeting the minimum points requirement are eligible to win an OASIS+ contract. (ibid)

Your company can stay proactive by:

  1. Advocate for your company. When necessary, object to the restriction limiting SF1408 examinations be performed by “government officials.”
  2. Ask for clarification of vaguely worded compliance sections. Make certain you are clear on all sections as it may be the difference between winning or losing a contract.
  3. Make sure your company and the accounting department are knowledgeable and up-to-date with new accounting standards.
  4. Invest in cybersecurity, it will carry more weight than ever before. (ibid)

Questions concerning compliance excellence or how to get an adequate rating? Give us a call.

Green is the new kid in town

Last week the General Services Administration (GSA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Defense (DoD) to make sustainable technology products more easily available in the federal marketplace. (Washington Technology March 24, 2023)

Under the MOU, GSA will use DoD’s Sustainable Technology Evaluation and Demonstration (STED) Program information on product performance and pricing to simplify the acquisition process and make sustainable technology alternatives more readily available to federal agencies. (GSA.gov March 21, 2023)

“This partnership is an important step in strengthening our sustainable acquisition offerings, it’s so important that we help agencies more easily find and buy products that not only meet mission needs but are also better for the environment,” said Sonny Hashmi, Federal Acquisition Service commissioner. (ibid)

In accordance with the agreement, once a sustainable product that meets or exceeds DOD requirements is identified by STED, GSA will work with vendors in obtaining a new Federal Supply Schedule. (Washington Technology March 24, 2023)

Officials at GSA said they would help vendors obtain National Stock Numbers, allowing agencies to obtain sustainable products directly from GSA through the GSA Global Supply requisition process. The GSA Global Supply requisition process is currently certified in the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (ibid)

In addition to the Global Supply requisition process, agencies can also buy through the GSA Advantage! Environmental Aisle to assist in meeting federally-mandated acquisition requirements. Products identified through STED will soon have access to GSA Advantage! providing an even larger market for vendors to market their products. (ibid)

Questions about the MOU or the STED program? Give us a call.