SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EVALUATION METHOD FOR PROCUREMENT OF AUDIT OR AUDIT READINESS SERVICES.

SEC. 894. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EVALUATION METHOD FOR PROCUREMENT OF AUDIT OR AUDIT READINESS SERVICES. (a) Findings.—Congress finds the following: (1) Given the size, scope, and complexity of the Department of Defense, the statutory deadline to establish and maintain auditable financial statements, starting with the fiscal year 2018 financial statement, is one of the more challenging management tasks that has ever faced the Department. (2) As the military services have never received a clean opinion on their consolidated financial statements and only recently begun auditing portions of their financial statements, the audits of military service financial statements will also be a complex challenge for companies selected to provide audit services. (3) The acquisition of services by the Department abides by many rules and parameters, one of which is the lowest price, technically acceptable (LPTA) evaluation method. LPTA is generally appropriate for commercial or noncomplex services or supplies where the requirement is clearly definable and the risk of unsuccessful contract performance is minimal. (b) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that, before using the lowest price, technically acceptable evaluation method for the procurement of audit or audit readiness services, the Secretary of Defense should establish the values and metrics for evaluating companies offering audit services, including financial management and audit expertise and experience, personnel qualifications and certifications, past performance, technology, tools, and size.