The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in its 2024 updates to the Uniform Guidance, re-emphasized the importance of selecting responsible contractors when procuring goods and services with federal funds. Areas of specific focus included:

• Ability to Perform: Ensuring contractors possess the necessary skills, experience, and technical resources to execute a proposed contract successfully.
• Contractor Integrity: Assessing the integrity of contractors, including their ethical conduct and compliance with laws and regulations.
• Cybersecurity: Evaluating contractors’ cybersecurity practices, including data encryption, secure networks, and comprehensive incident response plans.
• Financial Resources: Assessing the contractor’s financial stability and capability to fulfill the contract requirements.
• Past Performance Record: Reviewing the contractor’s past performance, including their history of meeting deadlines, quality of work, and ability to stay within budget.
• Public Policy Compliance: Verifying contractors comply with relevant public policies, including labor laws and environmental regulations.

So What Should You Do?

Evaluate the adequacy of your contractor risk assessment and due diligence practices. Your review should include policy decisions, such as when due diligence is required, as well as procedural roles and responsibilities for conducting diligence, analyzing risk, and documenting final contractor selection.

How Vendor Centric Can Help.

Our advisors have extensive experience developing compliant procurement and risk management procedures for organizations receiving federal funding. We provide affordable options to assist you in modernizing your procurement methods and training your employees to choose reliable contractors.

Schedule a call to learn more.