POTS23-005098

Submitted by fratecm on
Post Date/ Solicitation Issue Date
Closing Response Date
Proposed Award Date
Project Title
Financial Monitoring Activities Support for NIMH Studies
Contracting Office
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Contact Points

Primary Contract Specialist

Tam
Ngo
ngot@mail.nih.gov
As part of its oversight responsibilities, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is seeking support in reviewing and summarizing results from financial monitoring activities and preparing NIMH responses to detailed research related transaction reports.
Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the Statement of Work below.

• Review quarterly transaction reports of research expenses for appropriateness, allowability and allocability determinations and summarize findings.
• Recommend further documentation of transactions that need additional details for a determination.
• Review additional documentations to determine if the expense is reasonable,allocable, and allowable according the NIH Grants Policy.
• Review a comprehensive financial audit report convering expenses from from 2016 to present, related to approximatey 150 NIH grant awards.
• Draft NIMH’s response to both the comprehensive financial audit as well as quarterly transaction reports.

Please note that the Contractor is expected to be available to meet with the Government COR and or his or her designees for scheduled, as well as short-notice meetings for urgent situations.
Small Business Size Standard
Open Market
FPDS Classification Code
25102
Estimated Period of Performance
POP 12 months
Delivery of Goods
No more than 30 business days for quarterly financial audit report, the contractor must provide a concise summary detailing key findings, the adequacy of the recommendations to address the findings, and associated plan to address deficiencies identified a
Set-Aside Status
Not Set Aside
Background/Description of Requirement
    1. Review and summarize individual audit reports, as well as cumulative results of an Institutional financial audit of NIMH funded studies.

 

The contractor will review the comprehensive retrospective financial audit reports of NIMH funded grants from April 1, 2016- March 31, 2022, as well as, quarterly audit reports beginning October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023 to ensure compliance with as follows.

  • Federal Cost Principles outlined in 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E
  • NIH Grants Policy Statement ensuring allowability and allocability
  • NIH NIMH policies and procedures as applicable

 

The contractor shall provide a summary for each audit finding reports - both the comprehensive retrospective audit (April 1, 2016- March 31, 2022) and the quarterly audit reports beginning October 1, 2022 through at least September 30, 2023 - for all NIMH funded studies and any final report provided by the grantee organization.  The contractor may be tasked to provide further review and responses as directed by the NIMH Chief Grants Management Official.

 

  1. Financial Audit Review Personnel

    The Contractor shall provide personnel with appropriate training and expertise to carry out the audit report review and financial evaluation functions.

The Contractor shall provide a cadre of financial auditors with the appropriate training, experience, and capabilities to review detailed financial reports of expenditures related to NIH grant awards.

Specifically, auditors must have

      • A current Certified Public Accountant license and specialize in government grant accounting.
      • Current knowledge of Federal Grant Award Regulations (2 CFR 200 UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS, COST PRINCIPLES, AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL AWARDS; and
      • Current knowledge of NIH grant policies.

 

    1. Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resource Requirements
       

The Contractor shall provide all facilities, equipment, and other resources necessary to carry out the requirements detailed in this Statement of Work.  This includes the following.
 

  1. Equipment or other resources to conduct financial audit report review.
  2. Information technology systems for secure electronic file transfer and teleconference capacities.

 

    1. Personnel Training and Oversight

      The Contractor shall ensure that all personnel working under this requirement are appropriately trained with the skills and abilities relevant to this requirement. Toward this end, the Contractor shall provide a Training Plan for audit reviewers and other contractor personnel for Government review and approval. A draft training plan shall be submitted with the Contractor’s proposal for inclusion in technical evaluation.

 

Please note that HHS policy requires Contractors and Subcontractors to receive security training commensurate with their responsibilities for performing work under the terms and conditions of their contractual agreements.  The Contractor will be responsible for assuring that each Contractor or Subcontractor employee has completed the NIH Computer Security Awareness Training prior to performing any contract work, and thereafter completing the NIH-specified fiscal year refresher course during the period of performance of the contract.  The successful offeror shall maintain a listing of all individuals who have completed this training and shall submit this listing to the COR each year.

Additionally, Contractor employees and Subcontractors shall be required to receive ethics training.  The Contractor will be responsible for assuring that each Contractor or Subcontractor has completed ethics training prior to performing any contract work.  The successful offeror shall maintain a listing of all individuals who have completed this training and shall submit this listing to the COR. 

Contract Management

The Contractor shall provide sufficient project management support to ensure adequate management and coordination of all monitoring activities. This effort shall include responsibility for technical and administrative support, financial management, reporting and deliverables, and proper invoicing. The Contractor shall ensure that all contractor personnel safeguard intellectual property, the confidentiality of human subjects and other data, and other information provided by third parties or by the Government, as well as data generated through this contract. Contract management shall also oversee quality assurance and control.
 

Interested parties may identify in writing their interest and capability in response to this requirement. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.

All responses must be received by closing date and must reference the announcement. Responses may be submitted electronically to the attention of the contract specialist. Fax responses will not be accepted.

All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency.