Audit Of The School Construction Authority’s Contractor Prequalification Practices

Audit Report In Brief

This audit determined whether the School Construction Authority (SCA) adheres to its prequalification procedures for awarding contracts.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

Overall, the SCA adheres to its procedures for prequalifying firms. Contractor Qualification Unit (CQU) and Office of the Inspector General (OIG) officials reviewed the applications to determine whether the firms were qualified to bid. SCA officials also ensured that references were checked, licenses, if applicable, were placed in the files, and that firms’ performance histories were recorded in the SCA’s database. In addition, SCA officials ensured that Vendor Information Exchange System, Occupational Safety and Health Act, and Dun & Bradstreet reports were reviewed and placed in the files. Our review of these reports revealed that the SCA included the findings from these reports in the applicants’ files.

However, there were instances in which we saw no evidence that a manager reviewed the files, indicating that a complete review of applicant files may not have been performed. There were also instances in which we saw no evidence of a recent Statement of Findings from OIG, indicating a lack of current SCA authorization prior to requalification of these firms. In addition, the SCA does not have procedures that address the disposition of firms with a history of wage and labor violations or OSHA violations.

Based on our findings, we make the following three recommendations:

The SCA should:

•  Ensure that all applications are reviewed and signed by a manager.

• Ensure that all applicant files contain a current Statement of Findings as evidence of OIG review.

•  Consider establishing procedures for determining the degree of wage and labor law violations and/or OSHA violations that should prevent a firm from being included on its prequalification list.