TINA - SWEEP
Defective pricing could result, if any person in the contractor's organization knew that cost or pricing data submitted by the offeror were not accurate, complete, and current, when price negotiations were concluded and price agreement was reached or (if applicable) on another agreed-upon date. For example, defective pricing could occur if a subcontract buyer knew that a subcontractor intended to revise its proposal downward by $50,000, and failed to advise others in the prime contractor's organization. To assure compliance with TINA requirements, many contractors have instituted programs for conducting extensive reviews of available cost or pricing data after negotiations are complete, but before submitting the Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data.
- These reviews are commonly known as "sweeps."
- The objective is to identify any new or revised data required to assure that all cost or pricing data are accurate, complete, and current.
- The offeror then submits the new or revised data to the Government with the Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data.
A TINA Sweep is the process where each person who compiled a portion or section of a proposal, goes back to make sure nothing has changed since the estimate was prepared, and the information is still current, complete, and accurate. If additional cost or pricing data is identified and is considered relevant to the price negotiation, the data must be provided to the company negotiator or negotiating team so that they may also give that information to the customer, after determining that information is relevant. That data also needs to be disclosed to the other party (government or higher tier contractor).
TINA Sweeps are not required by FAR or other regulations, but are normally done so that contractors can ensure that the information being certified to is current, complete, and accurate.
Items that alert the Government to potential problems with Certified Cost or Pricing Data
- Taking several months to complete a sweep for a single contract,
- Reluctance or unwillingness to submit a certification.
