ATTESTATION ENGAGEMENT SERVICES

Synopsis The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is conducting market research for an upcoming procurement requirement for Attestation Engagement Services. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to conduct attestation engagements in accordance with the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) Government Auditing Standards and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Audit and Attest Standards. Small Businesses are encouraged to respond. Background The Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT) is an office within the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). OCFT activities include research on international child labor; supporting U.S. government policy on international child labor; administering and overseeing cooperative agreements with organizations working to eliminate child labor around the world; and raising awareness about child labor issues. Since 1995, the U.S. Congress has appropriated over $720 million to USDOL for efforts to combat exploitive child labor internationally. This funding has been used to support technical cooperation projects to combat exploitive child labor in more than 80 countries around the world. Technical cooperation projects funded by USDOL range from targeted action programs in specific sectors of work to more comprehensive programs that support national efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor as defined by ILO Convention 182. USDOL-funded child labor elimination projects generally seek to achieve five major goals: 1. Withdrawing or preventing children from involvement in exploitive child labor through the provision of direct educational services; 2. Strengthening policies on child labor and education, the capacity of national institutions to combat child labor, and formal and transitional education systems that encourage children engaged in or at risk of engaging in exploitive labor to attend school; 3. Raising awareness of the importance of education for all children and mobilizing a wide array of actors to improve and expand education infrastructures; 4. Supporting research and the collection of reliable data on child labor; and 5. Ensuring the long-term sustainability of these efforts. The approach of USDOL child labor elimination projects - decreasing the prevalence of exploitive child labor through increased access to education - is intended to nurture the development, health, safety, and enhanced future employability of children engaged in or at-risk of entering exploitive labor. USDOL reports annually to Congress on a number of indicators. As these programs have developed, an increasing emphasis has been placed on ensuring that the data collected by grantees is accurate and reported according to USDOL definitions. Since 2001, the US Congress has provided over $230 million to USDOL to support the Child Labor Education Initiative (EI), which focuses on the elimination of the worst forms of child labor through the provision of education opportunities. These projects are being implemented by a wide range of international and non-governmental organizations as well as for-profit firms. USDOL typically awards EI cooperative agreements through a competitive bid process. These cooperative agreements may be awarded to a single grantee, or to a lead grantee with associate grantees. EI projects are designed to ensure that children in areas with a high incidence of child labor are withdrawn and integrated into educational settings, and that they persist in their education once enrolled. In parallel, the program seeks to avert at-risk children from leaving school and entering child labor. The EI is based on the notion that the elimination of exploitative child labor depends, to a large extent, on improving access to, quality of, and relevance of education. Without improving educational quality and relevance, children withdrawn/prevented from child labor may not have viable alternatives and could resort to other forms of hazardous work. EI projects may focus on providing educational services to children removed from specific sectors of work and/or a specific region(s) or support a national Timebound Program that aims to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in multiple sectors of work specific to a given country. The Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking of the Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs is interested in awarding a contract for the conduct of project-specific attestation engagements of USDOL-funded Education Initiative technical assistance projects implemented internationally through the award of cooperative agreements. These attestation engagements must be in accordance with the most recent U.S. Government Auditing Standards and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Audit and Attest Standards. The objectives of each attestation engagement are to: determine whether grantees are in compliance with the terms of their respective USDOL-funded cooperative agreements and applicable Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars; assess whether financial reporting is accurate and complete; and assess the accuracy and reliability of the grantee's performance data as stated in semi-annual progress reporting to USDOL. Purpose and Objectives The goal of the proposed program is to determine whether grantees are complying with the terms of their OCFT cooperative agreements and with the Department of Labor's regulations for grants as promulgated under 29 CFR, part 95 (June 2007 or subsequently updated versions) as well as applicable Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars; ensure that financial reports are accurate and complete; and assess the accuracy and reliability of the grantees performance data from their progress reports in support of the OCFT performance goals and measures as stated in the USDOL's performance budget and Annual Report on Performance and Accountability. Project Requirements 1. General Planning a. Update the most recent version of OCFT's Examination Guide for conducting the attestation engagements required under the award. 2. Planning for Attestation Engagements a. Obtain and review relevant single audits and internal/external evaluation and monitoring reports of organizations implementing OCFT projects to understand potential project issues and avoid duplication of oversight coverage. The attestation engagements shall build upon these and identify previous findings that have not been corrected. 3. Conducting and Reporting on Attestation Engagements a. Build upon and expand on the compliance testing conducted by the single audits or other relevant audits, as applicable, focusing on the activities of each Grantee specific to the USDOL-funded project. These compliance requirements include, but are not limited to: activities allowed or unallowed; allowable costs/cost principles; cost determination/indirect costs; cash management; eligibility; equipment and inventory management; matching costs; procurement; program income; construction; compensation and fringe benefits; financial and performance reporting; sub-contractor selection and monitoring; OCFT policy requirements; and special tests and provisions. b. Assess the financial management of the project, including the effectiveness of financial procedures, the accounting system, budget management, and internal financial controls, and the accuracy and reliability of the project's financial reports. c. Identify questioned costs resulting from non-compliance with USDOL regulations or cooperative agreement provisions. d. Assess the project's effectiveness in reporting accurately the performance data required by OCFT to measure its Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 goals related to withdrawing and preventing children from exploitative child labor through provision of education services. e. Rely extensively on alternative procedures, including site visits to a sample of schools and other project locations, interviews with children, parents, teachers and other project stakeholders as necessary and appropriate, in order to: (1) validate reported performance data; (2) verify compliance with regulations and the provisions of the cooperative agreement; and, (3) confirm project expenditures, particularly in situations where documentation is inadequate. f. Based on physical observations, report information on whether or not schools and their related facilities (including restroom facilities and drinking water) that serve project beneficiaries are safe and free from obvious threats to the physical well-being of beneficiaries. g. Develop findings in the examination report which include a condition, criteria, cause, effect, and recommendations for each problem noted during the engagement. h. Provide an examination report including an opinion on the financial reports, compliance, and performance data with findings. 4. Analyze and Disseminate Findings a. Prepare a report that analyzes and describes trends across all attestation engagements b. Present findings to ILAB staff as requested Capability Statement OCFT is interested in soliciting capability statements from all qualified Offerors demonstrating their ability to perform attestation engagements. At a minimum prospective Offerors must document capabilities in the following areas. - Capacity to perform the attestation engagements as described above, including any affiliation with an international audit firm and a list of clients - Internal quality control system - External quality control review - Ability to provide auditors or translators fluent in the local language of the countries visited (may include Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish among others) - Explanation of internal management and quality control systems to be used to identify, contract, and assist in the planning and deployment of qualified individuals to assist in the tasks required by this contract, including Continuing Professional Education program (CPE) - Experience with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 and the U.S. Government's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars - Experience in applying American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Standards and the July 2007 Revision of the Government Auditing Standards published by the Comptroller General of the United States in conducting examination level attestation engagements in international settings/ implementing environments - Experience of personnel in designing and implementing international project/program attestation engagements RESPONSES: All interested parties who believe they meet the above mentioned criteria are invited to respond to this RFI, with an indication if their ability to fulfill the above requirements. A Statement of Qualifications/Capabilities Statement package must be transmitted under a cover letter. The cover letter must cite the following information at a minimum: 1. Response to RFI Number DOL099RI20730; 2. Vendor's Company Name, Address, Contact Person Information; 3. Vendor's DUNS Number; 4. Business Size and Size Standard / Classification We ask that the capability statement not exceed 20 single sided pages in length. Please identify your size classification relative to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code of 541211 for this requirement. Include whether or not you are a small business; HUBZone small business; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small business; women-owned small business; or small disadvantaged business in order to assist the government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. This Sources Sought is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Government to issue a Request for Proposal or award a contract. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted, for the vendor-sponsored demonstration or the Government's use of such information. Sources responding to this Sources Sought should submit the minimum information necessary for the government to make a determination that the source is capable of satisfying the requirements Acknowledgment of receipt of responses will not be made, nor will respondents be notified of the Government's evaluation of the information received. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Request For Information or the Government's use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. Responses should be identified with DOL099RI20730, and are due no later than 4:00 P.M. (EST) on July 8, 2009. Responses must be submitted via email stevens.william@dol.gov and brown.devone@dol.gov. Questions regarding this RFI may be submitted via email to Mr. William Stevens or Mr. Devone Brown. Telephone calls regarding this RFI will not be accepted. The government reserves the right to compete any acquisition resulting from this survey among small businesses or to make an award to an 8(a) firm, based on the responses received. This sources sought notice is for planning purposes only and does not commit the government to pay for the information requested, issue a solicitation, or award a contract. No solicitation document exists at this time.