CFCM Ethics, Compliance & Risk Assessment 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Standards of Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 C.F.R. Part 2635) are enforced by which body?
- The Office of Inspector General of each agency
- The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) and designated agency ethics officials (Correct answer)
- The Office of Special Counsel (OSC)
- The Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Correct answer: The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) and designated agency ethics officials
The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) oversees the executive branch ethics program, and each agency has Designated Agency Ethics Officials (DAEOs) who enforce 5 C.F.R. Part 2635.
Question 2: Under FAR 9.405, a contractor listed on the System for Award Management (SAM) as suspended may:
- Continue performing existing contracts but may not receive new awards
- Receive new awards only with agency head approval citing compelling urgency (Correct answer)
- Neither receive new awards nor continue performance on existing contracts
- Receive new awards under simplified acquisition procedures only
Correct answer: Receive new awards only with agency head approval citing compelling urgency
A suspended contractor may continue performing existing contracts but may receive new awards only if the agency head determines there is a compelling reason.
Question 3: Which clause requires contractors to display the hotline poster for reporting fraud, waste, and abuse on contracts exceeding the applicable threshold?
- FAR 52.203-6 (Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales)
- FAR 52.203-14 (Display of Inspector General Hotline Poster) (Correct answer)
- FAR 52.203-7 (Anti-Kickback Procedures)
- FAR 52.203-12 (Limitation on Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions)
Correct answer: FAR 52.203-14 (Display of Inspector General Hotline Poster)
FAR 52.203-14 requires contractors to display the agency IG hotline poster in a prominent location for contracts exceeding $5.5 million (as adjusted).
Question 4: Anti-kickback provisions under 41 U.S.C. § 8701 et seq. prohibit a subcontractor from:
- Submitting lower prices to win a subcontract in a competitive process
- Providing a payment to a prime contractor's employee in exchange for preferential treatment in subcontract award (Correct answer)
- Negotiating terms and conditions with the prime contractor directly
- Requesting that the prime contractor submit a proposal on its behalf
Correct answer: Providing a payment to a prime contractor's employee in exchange for preferential treatment in subcontract award
The Anti-Kickback Act prohibits providing, receiving, or attempting to obtain any money, fee, or compensation to improperly obtain or reward favorable treatment in subcontract awards.
Question 5: When conducting a pre-award compliance review, the contracting officer should verify SAM.gov exclusions because:
- SAM.gov also contains the contractor's financial statements for review
- Awards to excluded parties are generally prohibited and may be unenforceable (Correct answer)
- Excluded parties must re-register in SAM before any negotiations begin
- SAM exclusions automatically trigger a mandatory price audit
Correct answer: Awards to excluded parties are generally prohibited and may be unenforceable
FAR 9.405 prohibits contracting officers from awarding contracts to parties listed as excluded in SAM, and such awards may be void or unenforceable.
Question 6: A risk response strategy of 'risk acceptance' in federal contracting means the project team has decided to:
- Transfer the risk entirely to the contractor via a fixed-price contract
- Acknowledge the risk and deal with its consequences if it occurs, without proactive mitigation (Correct answer)
- Accept the risk on condition that insurance is purchased by the contractor
- Eliminate the risk by descoping that portion of work
Correct answer: Acknowledge the risk and deal with its consequences if it occurs, without proactive mitigation
Risk acceptance means the team consciously decides not to change the plan to deal with the risk, choosing instead to address consequences if and when the risk occurs.
Question 7: Under the Byrd Amendment (31 U.S.C. § 1352), contractors are prohibited from using appropriated funds to pay for lobbying in connection with:
- Marketing materials submitted to federal agencies
- Influencing congressional action on the award of a federal contract, grant, or cooperative agreement (Correct answer)
- Preparing technical proposals or white papers for unsolicited procurements
- Paying for attorneys who represent the contractor in bid protests
Correct answer: Influencing congressional action on the award of a federal contract, grant, or cooperative agreement
31 U.S.C. § 1352 (Byrd Amendment) prohibits the use of appropriated funds to pay any person for lobbying Congress or executive branch officials in connection with awarding a federal contract, grant, or cooperative agreement.
CFCM Ethics, Compliance & Risk Assessment 5
The Standards of Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 C.F.R.
Part 2635) are enforced by which body?