Government contracting has increasingly become a great business opportunity for the private sector, as governments increasingly rely on third-party companies to provide them with goods and services.
However, every business that wants to fulfill public contracts must adhere to specific regulations, as failure to do so can result in legal, financial, and/or reputational risks.
This article is structured to be a comprehensive compliance guide to facilitate understanding of both the scope of what contract compliance requires as well as how to take the necessary steps to ensure it.
Understanding government contract compliance
Key takeaways
- Governments have a lot of rules, and following them is known as “compliance.”
- Most government contracts have to adhere to legal frameworks and requirements.
- Other contract-specific obligations can include certifications, licenses, or reporting requirements.
To put it into the simplest possible terms, governments operate on a mandate by the people and must adhere to both their will as well as all existing legislation. This means that there are a lot of rules that public authorities must follow, and this also applies to businesses seeking to fulfill government contracts. Following these rules is what contract compliance is all about.
In some cases, each individual government contract will have a unique set of requirements. But generally speaking, most contracts follow previously established legal and regulatory frameworks. One example of such a framework is the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in the United States.
The core compliance areas that are most frequently seen when it comes to government contracts include:
- labor laws
- employment standards (which can include diversity, equity, and inclusion standards)
- environmental laws
- health regulations
- and safety requirements
Additionally, many government contracts mandate a specific level of financial transparency, due diligence, and audit readiness as further compliance assurance.
Occasionally, government contracts can include specific one-off obligations for that particular tender, including a roadmap of delivery schedules, quality standards, and reporting requirements. Other times, government contracts will mandate that the business fulfilling the contract has a specific certification, license, or qualification in order to be eligible.
Navigating public tender compliance requirements
Key takeaways
- It can be really challenging to navigate dozens of government websites.
- SaaS apps like Tenderwell aggregate all tenders on one platform.
- Tenderwell includes all of the contract compliance requirements.
Today, most government contracts are published via a mechanism known as public tendering. In a nutshell, it is the case of a government agency publicly announcing both what it needs in terms of goods and/or services and the necessary compliance requirements, inviting public sector companies to submit their offers (bids).
Navigating the dozens of different websites and formats that they use in order to both monitor tender publications as well as bid on those projects can be a formidable challenge.
Furthermore, registering with all these websites and ensuring continuous eligibility can be daunting even for the best-prepared teams.
Luckily, however, the Tenderwell platform exists to allow you to navigate and access all these public tenders in one place.
With a dedicated platform such as Tenderwell, gaining access to the full range of government tenders is simple and easy as they are all aggregated in one place and easily searchable according to a number of different filters and characteristics.
But Tenderwell isn’t just about finding government contracts; it also gives you access to all of the compliance requirements for those contracts.
Whether it’s deadlines, mandatory certifications, eligibility requirements, diversity requirements, or one-click access to the relevant legal frameworks needed to fulfill the contract, Tenderwell provides users with all of this information in a concise and easy-to-read format, greatly improving your company’s ability to comply with any given contract’s requirements.
Lastly, Tenderwell makes it simple to adhere to all post-award compliance requirements as well, including both the awarded contract’s terms as well as post-fulfillment reporting and monitoring requirements.
Strategies for effective compliance management
Key takeaways
- Make sure your staff is trained on compliance regulations and requirements.
- Invest in technology like Tenderwell to monitor your company’s awareness and adherence to requirements.
- Stay updated on regulatory and legislative changes so you can adapt accordingly.
What happens once you’ve selected Tenderwell to find potential government contracts and understand them?
- To begin with, it is a good idea that you invest the time and resources needed to train your staff on all of the relevant regulations and requirements for fulfilling government contracts. It’s also recommended that you designate a compliance officer or team as a backstop against incurring any legal, financial, or reputational risks.
- Finally, it is a savvy move to leverage technology such as Tenderwell to both understand the compliance requirements of a contract as well as to track your company’s adherence to them.
- As a long-term strategy for success, we also recommend conducting internal audits to help identify and/or address potential issues as well as make a committed plan to stay updated on any regulatory or legislative changes so that you can adapt your business plan accordingly.
In conclusion, we hope this short compliance guide has helped you better understand the basics of compliance and government regulations. By taking the steps to educate yourself ahead of time and then leverage technology such as Tenderwell, you can dramatically reduce your risk of non-compliance with government requirements as well as boost your company’s profitability.
If you’d like to learn more about how Tenderwell can help your organization understand and adhere to government contracting rules, do not hesitate to contact us today.