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TITLE XVI--INDUSTRIAL BASE MATTERS

Subtitle B--Department of Defense Activities Related to Small Business Matters

P. L. 112-

House Conference Report 112-705

SEC. 1612. SMALL BUSINESS OMBUDSMAN FOR DEFENSE AUDIT AGENCIES.

(a) Small Business Ombudsman- Subchapter II of chapter 8 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`Sec. 204. Small Business Ombudsman for defense audit agencies

`(a) Small Business Ombudsman- The Secretary of Defense shall designate within each defense audit agency an official as the Small Business Ombudsman to have the duties described in subsection (b) and such other responsibilities as may be determined by the Secretary.

`(b) Duties- The Small Business Ombudsman of a defense audit agency shall--

`(1) advise the Director of the defense audit agency on policy issues related to small business concerns;

`(2) serve as the defense audit agency's primary point of contact and source of information for small business concerns;

`(3) collect and monitor relevant data regarding the defense audit agency's conduct of audits of small business concerns, including--

`(A) data regarding the timeliness of audit closeouts for small business concerns; and

`(B) data regarding the responsiveness of the defense audit agency to issues or other matters raised by small business concerns; and

`(4) make recommendations to the Director regarding policies, processes, and procedures related to the timeliness of audits of small business concerns and the responsiveness of the defense audit agency to issues or other matters raised by small business concerns.

`(c) Audit Independence- The Small Business Ombudsman of a defense audit agency shall be segregated from ongoing audits in the field and shall not engage in activities with regard to particular audits that could compromise the independence of the defense audit agency or undermine compliance with applicable audit standards.

`(d) Defense Audit Agency Defined- In this section, the term `defense audit agency' means the Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Defense Contract Management Agency.'.

(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter II of chapter 8 of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 203 the following new item:

`204. Small Business Ombudsman for defense audit agencies.'.

 Small Business Ombudsman for defense audit agencies (sec. 1612)

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 1613) that would require the Secretary of Defense to designate a small business advocate within the Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Defense Contract Management Agency.

The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes with an amendment that would require the designation of small business ombudsmen and clarify the duties of the position to ensure that the activities of the new ombudsmen do not compromise audit independence or undermine compliance with applicable audit standards.

House Report 112-479

SECTION 1613--SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCATE FOR DEFENSE AUDIT AGENCIES

This section would require the Secretary of Defense to designate an official in each defense audit agency to: advise the director of the respective agency on all issues related to small business concerns; serve as the agency's primary point of contact and source of information for small business concerns; collect relevant data and monitor the agency's conduct of audits of small businesses; and develop and implement processes and procedures to improve the performance of the agency related to the timeliness of audits of small businesses.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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