Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Meeting the definition of a small business concern — A checklist

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This is a  Checklist for existing or prospective federal government contractors to determine whether they can meet the definition of a small business concern (SBC) under the Small Business Act (SBA).

This Checklist includes the definitional thresholds and size standards for SBCs.

This Checklist can also be used to determine if an SBC can qualify under a specific small business category, including:

  • the 8(a) Business Development Program,
  • a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB),
  • a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB),
  • a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB),
  • an Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), and
  • a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) SBC.

See the Checklist and related details at: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/meeting-the-definition-of-a-small-42284/ 

SBA’s IG questions eligibility of women-owned small businesses to receive contract set-asides

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Federal contracting officers, along with firms representing themselves as woman-owned small businesses (WOSBs) did not comply with federal regulations in 50 instances of sole-source contract awards.  As a result, there is no assurance that the contracts were awarded to firms eligible to receive sole-source awards under the WOSB program administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA).

That’s the conclusion reached by the SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) in a report issued on June 20, 2018.

The OIG undertook its review of SBA’s WOSB program to determine whether the sole-source provisions that Congress included in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) were being effectively implemented.   Congressional intent was to expand the number of federal contracts being awarded to WOSBs and streamline the process by which WOSB status could be validated.  Thus, in its review, the OIG wanted to determine whether sole-source contract awards comply with program requirements, and whether firms that receive the set-asides conform to the self-certification requirements.

The OIG selected a sample of 56 contracts, worth $55.7 million, to review.  The sample represented 81 percent of the sole-source contracts awarded to WOSBs between the period of Jan. 1, 2016 and Apr. 30, 2017.  The OIG determined that federal regulations were not followed by federal officials or the WOSB firms themselves in connection with 50 of the 56 contracts.  The 50 contracts were valued at $52.2 million.  Based on its findings, the OIG determined that there “was no assurance that these contracts were awarded to firms that were eligible to receive sole-source awards” under the WOSB program.

The weaknesses noted in the OIG’s report are similar to those noted in a review conducted in 2015.  Then, the OIG recommended that SBA should increase its training and outreach to both federal contracting officials and businesses regarding their responsibilities under the WOSB program.

Once again, in its latest report, the OIG makes a series of recommendations to SBA administrators to remedy the newly-identified problems.  Among them:

  • The SBA should prevent contracting personnel from awarding contracts to ineligible firms by implementing a certification process that includes “reviewing, analyzing, and making an affirmative decision that applicants are eligible to participate” in the WOSB program.
  • SBA also should strengthen controls in FPDS-NG to preclude agencies from using ineligible NAICS codes for the WOSB program’s contracts.

Overall, the OIG is recommending that the WOSB program should be operated more in line with other certification programs operated by the SBA.  In response to these recommendations, however, the SBA estimates that it will take at least another year before it implements a WOSB certification process.  SBA management also states it does not have the responsibility for improving the integrity of data in FPDS-NG.

The OIG concludes that since errors are likely to continue to be made in NAICS code selection and that WOSB firms will be allowed to continue to self-certify, the program is subjected to “unnecessary risks of fraud and abuse.”  In light of this condition, the OIG’s recent report offers six specific recommendations the SBA should take now to expand oversight and prevent agencies from awarding contracts to ineligible firms.

Woman-owned small business webinar to be held June 13th

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The Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) is conducting a free webinar on the morning of June 13, 2017, covering all aspects of the Small Business Administration’s Woman Owned Small Business Program.

The webinar will discuss the differences between women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs).  Also to be covered includes:

  • the ownership, control, and financial net worth standards;
  • the NAICS codes eligible under the WOSB Program;
  • the set-aside rules;
  • third-party certifier and self-certification procedures;
  • SBA’s new Certify.SBA.GOV website where WOSB/EDWOSB documentation is to be uploaded;
  • the documentation and registration that WOSBs and EDWOSBs are expected to maintain;
  • limitations on subcontracting;
  • the SBA’s “eligibility examinations”; and
  • penalties.

To register for this webinar, go to https://gtpac.ecenterdirect.com/events/8304 and click on the “Sign Up” button.

Women-owned small businesses still underrepresented on government’s biggest contracts

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Taken as a whole, the Government-wide performance metrics for small business utilization are encouraging.

The Small Business Administration’s FY2015 report card shows that the Government exceeded its prime contracting goals across four of the five socioeconomic categories measured. Moreover, the amount of federal spend going to small businesses reached an all-time high of over 25%.

These numbers do not tell the whole story, however. The 5% goal for WOSBs has been in place since 1994, and since at least 2008, major campaigns have aimed to bridge the gap. In 2014, WOSBs became eligible for sole-source awards, an important means of gaining a foothold in the federal marketplace.

 

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/govcon-voices/govconvoices-women-owned-small-businesses-still-underrepresented-on-governments-biggest-contracts/

Cost realism: Using offeror’s actual rates was unobjectionable

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GAO-GovernmentAccountabilityOffice-SealIn conducting a cost realism evaluation, an agency was entitled to use an offeror’s historic approved indirect rates and current incumbent direct labor rates to upwardly adjust the offeror’s evaluated cost, in a case where the offeror’s proposed rates were significantly lower.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently held that an agency did not err by adjusting a protester’s rates to better align with the protester’s historic indirect rates and current direct rates, where the agency was unable to determine that the protester’s significantly lower proposed rates were realistic.

In AM Pierce & Associates Inc., B-413128 et al. (Aug. 22, 2016), GAO considered a protest by a disappointed offeror challenging the Navy’s evaluation under a solicitation seeking program management support services for the H-60 Helicopter Program Office. The solicitation was completely set-aside for EDWOSBs. The resulting contract was to be awarded on a cost-plus-fixed-fee basis, under a best-value evaluation.

DCAA_EmblemThe solicitation said that offerors’ proposed costs would be evaluated for realism, to determine whether the overall costs were realistic for the work to be performed, reflective of the offeror’s understanding of the requirements, and/or consistent with the technical proposal. To facilitate the evaluation, the RFP required offerors to substantiate their proposed direct and indirect labor rates through payroll verification, contingent offer letters, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) rate verification or approval letters, or other detailed justification methods. The cost realism analysis would then involve a calculation of each offeror’s evaluated costs, to reflect the estimated most probable costs. This determination would include an evaluation of the offeror’s cost information — including its substantiated labor rates.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/cost-realism-using-offerors-actual-rates-was-unobjectionable/

WOSB repository to be replaced with new SBA portal

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SBA logo smallOn Wednesday, March 23, 2016, the U.S. Small  Business Administration (SBA) posted a notice on its website indicating that the on-line repository where women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) upload ownership and control documentation has been inactivated.  SBA’s notice indicates that the WOSB repository will be replaced within “several weeks” by a new portal in support of the WOSB certification program.

The new portal is located at https://certify.sba.gov however, as of March 25, the site is labeled as follows: “This site is a work in progress.”   SBA says that documents previously uploaded to the repository are to be migrated to the new site.

Small businesses that are interested in submitting an offer on a solicitation that has been set aside for WOSBs under the WOSB Program must submit a checklist of certification documentation prior to responding to a federal bid or proposal solicitation.   Before SBA’s new portal is functional, it is unknown what options WOSBs have for submitting their documents.  Once certification uploads are complete, agency Contracting Officers are responsible for checking the repository to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

SBA says that it has notified Contracting Officers (COs) that the WOSB system may be unavailable for several weeks and has instructed COs to contact the SBA with individual requests to verify self-certification compliance for specific WOSBs.

More information on the WOSB program and the features of the new portal can be found at: https://www.sba.gov/content/women-owned-small-business-program.

SBA seeks comments on WOSB certification process until Feb. 16, 2016

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SBA sealThe Small Business Administration (SBA) released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on Friday, December 18, 2015, which would change the certification process for the Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program.  Public comments on SBA’s new rules are due not later than February 16, 2016.

Background

In the 2015 version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress directed the SBA to end self-certification for WOSBs and EDWOSBs and take on a formal certification process.  Section 825 of the 2015 NDAA specifically authorizes certification by a federal agency, a State government, SBA, or a national certifying entity approved by SBA.  In the ANPR, the SBA is seeking comments on how to best implement this Congressional directive.  In essence, the SBA is requesting the public to suggest the most appropriate way to structure the WOSB/EDWOSB certification process before SBA engages in a formal rulemaking process.

The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR)

Four significant areas of change to the WOSB certification process are under consideration:

  • The SBA wants comments on the four certification approaches specified in the 2015 NDAA.  Specifically, SBA requests comments on whether each of the four types should be pursued.
  • SBA also requests comments on whether there should be a grace period after implementation of a formal certification process to give self-certified WOSBs and EDWOSBs firms enough time to complete the new certification process.
  • SBA also wants public comment on what should become of the current WOSB repository and whether or not it should be maintained.
  • Lastly, the SBA is asking for comments on the existing SBA-approved third-party national certifying entities as well as on the WOSB certification programs available through the SBA’s 8(a) Program and by state governments that certify women to be DBEs for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program.
Who Should Comment

SBA’s ANPR is extremely relevant to all businesses currently self-certified as a WOSB or EDWOSB, as well as those who intend to pursue WOSB/EDWOSB certification in the future.  The ANPR, including instructions for commenting can be found at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-12-18/pdf/2015-31806.pdf

New rule allows sole source awards to women-owned small businesses

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The Small Business Administration (SBA) published a rule today (Sept. 14, 2015) allowing sole source awards to Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) or Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSBs) in appropriate circumstances.

SBA logo smallThe new rule changes existing SBA regulations in order to conform to section 825 of the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The rule is effective October 14, 2015.  The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) will need to be amended to include the sole source authority so that there is no conflict between the SBA’s rules and the FAR.

The sole source authority can only be used where a contracting officer (CO) conducts market research in an industry where a WOSB or EDWOSB set-aside is authorized, and the CO cannot identify two or more WOSBs or EDWOSBs that can perform at a fair and reasonable price, but identifies one WOSB or EDWOSB that can perform. In addition, the sole source authority for WOSBs and EDWOSBs is limited to contracts valued at $6.5 million or less for manufacturing contracts and $4 million or less for all other contracts.

The rule is published in the Federal Register at: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/09/14/2015-22927/women-owned-small-business-federal-contract-program#h-16

WOSB sole source contracts — one step closer

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Women-Owned Small Business sole source contracts have moved one step closer to becoming a reality.

SBA logoOn May 1, 2015, the SBA issued a proposed rule implementing the WOSB sole source authority contained in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act.  The relative speed with which the proposed rule was issued suggests that WOSBs could begin receiving sole source awards later this year.

The proposed rule provides that EDWOSBs may receive sole source awards in industries designated by the SBA as “underrepresented” by women.  WOSBs may receive sole source awards in industries designated as “substantially underrepresented.”  The industry-by-industry limitations are the same as those applicable to competitive EDWOSB and WOSB set-asides.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/women-owned-small-business-program/wosb-sole-source-contracts-one-step-closer/

Lax oversight allows women-only contracts to go to men

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Jennifer Dickerson spent more than 40 hours of work over three months to get her Orlando environmental consulting company certified as a women-owned business, a designation that would help her win federal contracts intended to go to disadvantaged businesses. She and her assistant assembled legal documents and tax records, responded to multiple questions, and paid a $275 processing fee to a third-party agency to prove that her small company is majority woman-owned and operated.

“It was important to me to make sure I adhered to all the requirements” of the federal program established in 2000 to set aside a percentage of government contracts for women-owned small businesses, Dickerson says.

Not every business owner shares Dickerson’s sense of responsibility. A recent report critical of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s program revealed that more than 40 percent of companies that got government contracts as women-owned businesses in the last two years were not actually eligible.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-20/lax-oversight-lets-men-pose-as-women-to-win-government-contracts

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