Contract Processing at OSC 1 Contract Approval Process

Contract Processing at OSC 1

Contract Approval Process • What happens at OSC? • How are contracts processed? 2

• OSC processes approximately 43, 000 transactions annually. – New Contracts – Amendments to existing contracts – Purchase Orders – AC 340’s 3

In addition, OSC staff… • Reviews and assists agencies with the development of their RFP’s or IFB’s • Reviews and resolves protests in conjunction with our legal staff • Responds to telephone calls from agencies to assist them in the contracting process • Participates in various work groups in order to advance technological and process improvements 4

• Upon arrival in OSC all transactions are delivered to the Contract Control Unit. • Mail is opened and all transactions are datestamped. • Each contract transaction is then logged in to the Central Accounting System (CAS) in order to acknowledge receipt by OSC 5

New Transactions: • The Contract Control Unit sorts transactions by batch type and distributes them to the appropriate teams for audit – Since the batch type identifies the method of procurement, it is VERY important that you use the correct identifying batch type to avoid delays in processing (see bulletin G-194 for batch types. ) 6

Amendments to Contracts • A list of contracts being amended is generated by the CAS. • Our warehouse staff in Menands (Riverview) pulls the contracts on the list. • Pulled contracts are sent by courier to the Contract Control Unit where – They are matched with the correct amendment – They are sorted by batch type and distributed to the teams 7

New Transactions & Amendments • Contracts are assigned to auditors in the appropriate team by the Workflow Coordinator – Contract information is downloaded to the Contract Management System (CMS) to allow tracking of the transaction upon receipt. – Workflow Coordinator updates the CMS and provides the auditor with the contract/purchase order batch. – Auditor sorts by priority: • Emergency & time sensitive • Contracts with Not-For-Profits • “Quick” contracts, etc. – Auditor begins auditing the transaction 8

New Transaction Audit • Review RFP/IFB – To assure compliance with the Procurement Stewardship Act • Review Procurement Record to assure compliance with the RFP/IFB 9

New Transaction Audit • Review contract terms and conditions to assure that: – The contract is in line with what was published in the RFP/IFB – The terms are reasonable and are not unfavorable to the state • Review for required clauses, control agency approvals and authorized signatures 10

New Transaction Audit • Assure that the contract package contains a complete record of the transaction • Verifies information on AC 340/Purchase Order • Completed package is forwarded to authorized OSC signatory for review and final approval 11

Amendment Audit • Verify that the transaction is in compliance with the original contract’s terms and conditions • Review the terms and conditions of the amendment • Verify agency signatures, control agency approvals and AC 340 • The completed package is forwarded to the appropriate authorized OSC signatory for review and final approval 12

All Audits • During the audit process, the CMS is used to perform an interactive audit using a decision tree which standardizes audit questions and updates the status of the transaction. 13

Approval Levels • Depending on the dollar value, the transaction may go through multiple levels of review before it is approved. 14

Approved Transaction • Once the transaction has been signed (approved), it is released using CMS. • After release, the paperwork is sorted into what OSC keeps as a record and what is to be returned to the appropriate agency. 15

End of Tale……. . Happy Customer!! Unless…. 16

DELAYS IN THE PROCESS 17

Common Problems • An incorrect batch type is used • An incomplete package is submitted • The AC 340 is set up with an incorrect contract amount OR the agency did not encumber money for the fiscal year’s obligation • The contract has not been approved by the Attorney General’s office. 18

Common Problems • All proposals received are submitted with the package (see bulletin G-175). • All copies of the executed contract are submitted instead of the original contract and signature pages (see bulletin G-111, which has recently been updated to reflect new procedures regarding contract copies). 19

QMT Team • “Quick” Contracts • Architect, Engineering & Surveying Contracts • Negotiated Agreements • Revenues: Negotiated or Statutory • Leases • Land Transactions • Repayment Agreements • Intergovernmental Agreements 20

Grants Team • Grants 21

IFB Team • Contracts let by an Invitation for Bid, except for “Quick” contracts – Construction – Commodities – Services – Revenues • Single/Sole Source Commodities 22

RFP Team • Contracts let by a Request for Proposals – Technology – Services – Revenues • Single/Sole Source Services 23