(a) General policy. (1) Do not contract for audit services unless—

(i) The cognizant DoD audit organization determines that expertise required to perform the audit is not available within the DoD audit organization; or

(ii) Temporary audit assistance is required to meet audit reporting requirements mandated by law or DoD regulation.

(2) See 215.101-2-70(b)(3) for the prohibition on the use of the lowest price technically acceptable source selection process when acquiring audit services.

(3) See PGI 237.270 for a list of DoD publications that govern the conduct of audits.

(b) Contract period. Except in unusual circumstances, award contracts for recurring audit services for a 1-year period with at least 2 option years.

(c) Approvals. Do not issue a solicitation for audit services unless the requiring activity provides evidence that the cognizant DoD audit organization has approved the statement of work. The requiring agency shall obtain the same evidence of approval for subsequent material changes to the statement of work.

(d) Transparency requirement for firms used to support DoD audits.

(1) This paragraph (d) implements the requirements of section 1006 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) and section 1011 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Pub. L. 116-92) for transparency of accounting firms used to support DoD audits; and extends the statutory requirement, as a matter of DoD policy, to firms other than accounting firms in order to ensure consistent availability of data for contracting officer evaluation and appropriate use.

(2) This requirement applies to solicitations and contracts for—

(i) Financial statement auditing required under 31 U.S.C. 3521(e); or

(ii) Audit remediation services in support of the Financial Improvement and Audit Remediation Plan described in 10 U.S.C. 240b.

(3) Any firm responding to a solicitation or awarded a contract for the acquisition of the services described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section is required to represent with regard to whether it has been subject to disciplinary proceedings within the last 3 years and, if the offeror represents that it has, to disclose to DoD before any contract action (including award, renewals, and modifications)—

(i) The details of any disciplinary proceedings, with respect to the firm or its associated persons (including principals and employees), before an entity with the authority to enforce compliance with rules or laws applying to audit services or audit remediation services offered by accounting firms or firms other than accounting firms; and

(ii) For subsequent contract actions after contract award, whether there has been any change with regard to previously reported disciplinary proceedings since the last contract action.

(e) Solicitation provisions and contract clauses. (1) Use the provision at 252.237-7000, Notice of Special Standards of Responsibility, in solicitations for audit services.

(2) Use the clause at 252.237-7001, Compliance with Audit Standards, in solicitations and contracts for audit services.

(3) Use the provision at 252.237-7025, Preaward Transparency Requirements for Firms Offering to Support Department of Defense Audits—Representation and Disclosure, in solicitations, including solicitations using FAR part 12 procedures for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services, that include the clause at 252.237-7026, Postaward Transparency Requirements for Firms that Support Department of Defense Audits.

(4) Use the clause at 252.237-7026, Postaward Transparency Requirements for Firms that Support Department of Defense Audits, in solicitations and contracts, including solicitations and contracts using FAR part 12 procedures for the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services, that—

(i) Exceed the simplified acquisition threshold; and

(ii) Are for the acquisition of financial statement auditing or audit remediation services as described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section.