Review of SBA Certificate of Competency Program

GAO reviewed the Certificate of Competency (COC) Program of the Small Business Administration (SBA). SBA is authorized to issue COC's for small businesses whose bids or proposals have been rejected by Government contracting officers because of lack of responsibility for any reason. A COC is a written instrument, issued to a Government contracting officer or officer engaged in the sale or disposal of Federal property, certifying that the small company named therein possesses the capability to perform a specific Government contract. The Government officer is required to accept such certification as conclusive and must award the contract to the firm in question without requiring it to meet any other requirement of responsibility or eligibility. GAO compared the performance of small businesses on contracts awarded by the General Services Administration (GSA) after COC's were issued with the performance of small businesses on contracts awarded by GSA without the issuance of COC's.