The U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation's Contracting With Individual Consultants
RCED-84-106
Published: Feb 07, 1984. Publicly Released: Feb 23, 1984.
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Highlights
In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation's contracting activities with individual consultants.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation | The Chairman of the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation should require the Corporation to follow the Board of Directors' policy and award individual consultant contracts on a noncompetitive basis only after it determines that the consultant has the unique expertise needed to perform the service or a time-critical situation makes competition unfeasible. |
Closed – Not Implemented
On March 15, 1984, the Corporation's Board of Directors stated that it was not its intent to require the Corporation to compete contracts awarded to individual consultants.
|
| United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation | The Chairman of the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation should require the Corporation to provide a written justification demonstrating that competition is not feasible for contracts costing $25,000 or more. |
Closed – Not Implemented
On March 15, 1984, the Corporation's Board of Directors stated that individual consultant contracts are excluded from this requirement.
|
| United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation | The Chairman of the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation should require the Corporation to follow its guidelines by: (1) comparing consultants' charges with the cost of hiring permanent employees before awarding contracts to individual consultants, recognizing that for some contracts the documentation may be brief; and (2) monitoring consultants' performance over the life of the contracts. |
Closed – Not Implemented
The Corporation stated that it considers relative costs before contracting for consultants but that it has no pre-set formula. It stated that cost comparison must be made only for major contracts. It also agreed to place greater emphasis on monitoring consultants performance over the life of the contracts.
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Topics
Bid evaluationConflict of interestsConsultantsCost analysisFederal corporationsMonitoringProcurement regulationsSole source procurementSynthetic fuelsProcurement