TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING SURVEY
Transparency in government spending has been a cornerstone of the Chief Financial Officer. Under the Chief Financial Officer's leadership, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) launched a searchable database of DFS contracts on the agency’s website.
The CFO joined with the Governor to explore the possibility of providing on-line general contract and expenditure information by state agencies for the purchase of commodities or services and grants. This is in line with the Governor’s Executive Order 07-242 requiring agencies to provide easier access to public documents.
This survey has been developed to assess how agencies currently retain contract and expenditure information in determining what information could be more easily provided to the public through web-based access. Please contact Bill DuBose at 413-4627 or Bill.DuBose@myfloridacfo.com if you have any questions or concerns .
The following guidelines are provided to assist in the completion of the survey:
Ø Definitions
o Contract or purchase order is a legally binding agreement executed by a state agency and a corporation or an individual for the purchase of commodities or contractual services.
o Corporation is defined as all corporations registered to do business with the Department of State whether for profit or not for profit; foreign corporations qualified to do business in this state or actually doing business in this state, whether for profit or not for profit; limited liability companies under chapter 608; partnerships under chapter 620; a sole proprietorship as defined in s. 440.02; or any other legal business entity, whether for profit or not for profit.
o Expenditure is a payment that a state agency makes to a corporation or an individual under a contract.
o Individual is a person, but excludes an employee of a state agency or an employee of the Federal Government while acting in the capacity as employee.
o Grant is an award of financial assistance, the principal purpose of which is to transfer a thing of value from a federal or state agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States. A grant is distinguished from a contract, which is used to acquire property or services for the federal or state government's direct benefit or use.
o Sub-recipient agreement is the legal entity to which a sub-award is made and which is accountable to the recipient for the use of the funds provided. Further, it is a non-Federal entity that expends Federal awards received from a pass-through entity to carry out a Federal program, but does not include an individual that is a beneficiary of such a program. A sub-recipient may also be a recipient of other Federal awards directly from a Federal awarding agency.
Ø Potential On-line reporting requirements
o Name of State Agency and corporation or individuals that is party to contract or grant
o Execution Date of original contract or grant
o Total amount of contract or grant
o Total expenditures for contract or grant
o Purpose of Contract
o Electronic image of contract or grant documents
Please complete one survey per agency and submit it online by July 31, 2008. Each question on this survey will have multiple choice answers from which to select and several will also require numerical data; please select the answer that accurately reflects your Agency’s status.
Accessing the Survey:
Begin by clicking the hyperlink to the survey below. When the webpage opens select “Create New Account” on the left hand navigation bar and fill in each of the fields (Company = your Agency). You will be asked to create a username and password, then click “Create Account”. Once you have completed the registration process you will be sent and email containing a link to validate your registration. After selecting the validation link a webpage is displayed where “Continue to the System” is displayed. Click the “Continue to the System” link and you are taken directly to our survey. Be sure to click the submit button once you have completed it or all information will be lost. Thanks again!
Survey URL:
https://apps.fldfs.com/Survey/default.aspx?qid=76&pre=DAA
