Sole-Source Versus Competitive Contracting: Why a GAO Audit Guide Is Needed

This article, which appeared in the GAO Review, Vol. 19, Issue 1, Winter 1984, discusses the fact that, although Congress requires the Government to purchase its goods and services by using competition whenever practical, many contracts have been awarded sole-source unnecessarily. As a result, GAO has issued an audit guide for reviewing the feasibility of competition on sole-source contracts which summarizes the conditions that justify a noncompetitive decision, identifies unacceptable sole-source justifications, and summarizes the most important criteria for evaluating noncompetitive decisions.