TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING
SURVEY
Transparency in government spending has
been a cornerstone of Chief Financial
Officer Alex Sink’s administration.
Under Sink’s leadership, the Department
of Financial Services (DFS) in June
launched a searchable database of DFS
contracts on the agency’s website.
Now the CFO is joining with Gov. Charlie
Crist 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
