Intent to Sole Source - Services to Assist with the Quarterly Financial Reports for the Company Statistics Division

THIS IS AN INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE ANNOUNCEMENT PURSUANT TO FAR 6.302-1. NOTE THAT AS PART OF MARKET RESEARCH A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT WAS ISSUED FOR THE SAME WORK UNDER YA1323-08-KC-0723 ON JULY 25, 2008. NO OTHER NOTICE OR SOLICITATION SHALL BE ISSUED AS A RESULT OF THIS NOTICE. The U. S. Census Bureau is the primary source of statistics about the population and economy of the Nation. These statistics assist the Congress, the executive branch of the Federal Government, state and local governments, the general public, and the private sector in the development and evaluation of social and economic activities. The Census Bureau's Company Statistics Division (CSD) produces the Quarterly Financial Report (QFR). The main purpose of the QFR is to provide timely, accurate data on business financial conditions for use by Government and private-sector organizations and individuals. The QFR program is a principal economic indictor. It provides financial data essential to the calculation of key U.S. Government measures of national economic performance including the Gross Domestic Product. The complexity of the financial information collected by the QFR program require staff and others to possess a set of skills that include a current and thorough knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles and consolidation theory in order to effectively review the data. The objective of the contract is to provide the QFR program staff with expert accounting knowledge and advice to assist them with the collection, review and tabulation of the financial data collected by the program; and participate, as a program expert, in cognitive interviews that are being conducted to expand the QFR program into the services sector. The period of performance will be September 16, 2008, through September 15, 2012. The Contractor shall provide QFR staff with expert accounting advice and assistance to accomplish the publication of the QFR program press releases and publications. These services shall include the following tasks: 1. Provide professional expertise to staff and companies in understanding and complying with the accounting consolidation requirements of the QFR program. QFR's domestic-only consolidation requires corporations to fully consolidate their in-scope domestic subsidiaries and carry their foreign and out-of-scope domestic subsidiaries as investments - on either the cost or equity basis of accounting for investments. This area of accounting is highly specialized and generates perhaps the most issues with respondents. 2. Develop contact strategies to improve non-response. This includes documentation and development of strategies to improve the collection of chronic non-respondents. Contractor will review program contact information and the availability of public data to gather legitimate corporate contact information. Using negotiation skills, contractor will contact chronic non-respondents to discuss issues of non-compliance, explain program purpose, legal requirements, and attempt to convince them to file reports. 3. Resolve material deficiencies and reporting errors detected during the analytical review of the data. Contractor will also work with QFR staff to resolve material deficiencies, and reporting errors. Contractor will review Security and Exchange Commission submissions; financial footnotes; press releases and other documentation available or submitted by respondent in support of their filing. As requested by staff, Contractor will participate or initiate telephone conferences between staff and respondents. 4. Assist in the review of aggregated data for preliminary tabulations and final products. Contractor will provide expert review of tabulated and published data and assist staff in resolving material errors. 5. Assist in the QFR instrument design team. Contractor will assist with the design and testing of both the paper and electronic collection instruments being proposed for the QFR service expansion. Contractor will be the subject matter expert for the cognitive testing of the survey. 6. Educate and train QFR staff on the program's background, history, and rationale behind the policies and procedures employed by the program. THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS OF ONLY ONE SOURCE: Robert T. Reiley, 15900 Philmont Lane, Bowie, MD 20716. Interested parties may submit responses that demonstrate its ability to provide services in accordance with this announcement, which will be considered within 3 days of the posting of this notice. For questions concerning this procurement, please contact Donna Lehmann, Contract Specialist at +1 (555) 000-0000.