Chaedrol GAO Protest Log 20240826: E&Y (AI)

Ernst & Young, LLP - B-422469, B-422469.2

You should not care.

Categories: Evaluation, Discussions

Date: July 3, 2024

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-422469%2Cb-422469.2

In the matter of Ernst & Young, LLP, the GAO denied the protest challenging the agency's evaluation of quotations for a task order. The protester claimed the agency failed to assess strengths for several aspects of their proposal, arguing that these elements exceeded the solicitation requirements. However, GAO found the agency's evaluation reasonable and consistent with the established criteria. An argument about unequal discussions was a nice try, but this was a task-order competition under FAR subpart 16.5. Ultimately, the protest was denied, reaffirming the agency's discretion in evaluating proposals and highlighting the importance of adhering to solicitation criteria in competitive procurements.

Digest

1. Protest challenging agency's evaluation of quotations under technical capability factor is denied where the evaluation was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation's evaluation criteria.

2. Protest challenging agency's estimated labor hour allocations used in price evaluation is denied where the agency's basis for the labor hour estimates was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation's evaluation scheme.

3. Protest alleging that agency improperly conducted discussions with only awardee is denied where, even if the exchange constituted discussions, the protester has not shown that it was competitively prejudiced by the agency's action.

4. Protest challenging agency's comparative analysis and source selection decision is denied where the agency's best-value tradeoff and source selection decision were reasonable, adequately documented, and consistent with the terms of the solicitation.