Foreign Aid: Improvement Needed in Management of Technical Services Contracts
NSIAD-87-183
Published: Aug 18, 1987. Publicly Released: Sep 17, 1987.
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Highlights
In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Agency for International Development's (AID) procurement practices and management controls for centrally managed contracts to determine whether AID complied with the laws and regulations applicable to those contracts.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Agency for International Development | The Administrator, AID, should ensure that competitive opportunities are fully publicized. |
AID has issued instructions to its contract activities. In June 1988, it reemphasized the publicizing requirements and has continued to monitor compliance.
|
| U.S. Agency for International Development | The Administrator, AID, should discuss the status of all actions previously proposed and provide an analysis of the trends in number and percentage of competitive procurement actions, since 1985, in reports to Congress on competition. |
AID discussed the status of all actions, past and present, in its fiscal year (FY) 1988 report to Congress on competition, and performed its first analysis of contracting trends involving contract amendments executed in FY 1987.
|
| U.S. Agency for International Development | The Administrator, AID, should issue instructions on managing centrally funded procurements, including procedures for: (1) project officers to ensure contractor compliance with billing requirements; (2) missions to provide information on services received; and (3) contracts to require contractors to bill AID by funding organizations. |
In May 1987, AID issued guidance to program managers on monitoring contractor compliance with billing requirements. Also, it has provided billing instructions to contractors in all new contract awards.
|
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AccountingCompetitive procurementContract administrationFederal aid to foreign countriesInternal controlsProcurement practicesProcurement regulationsService contractsContract modificationsProcurement