Authority/Reference(s) DFPS Management
Revision Date April 15, 2024

Policy

The Internal Control Structure Questionnaire (ICSQ) is designed to assess whether a contractor has accounting systems and procedures in place to reduce incidents of fiscal errors and/or reduce the opportunity for dishonesty. The ICSQ does this by requiring contractors to respond to questions related to the organization's policies and systems for collecting, recording, storing, and reporting financial information, as well as, the safeguarding of business assets.

DFPS requires client services contractors to respond to these questions during the procurement phase or by completing an ICSQ prior to contract execution. An ICSQ must not be older than the life of the contract and must not exceed seven years. Life of the contract includes the initial contract period and any amendments and waivers. Contract staff must review the ICSQ and document the results.

Contract staff must require the contractor to either submit an Internal Control Certification (ICC) to certify the accuracy of a previously submitted ICSQ or complete a new ICSQ every two years. Updated financial information must be included with the ICC or new ICSQ.

Fee for Service contracts are not required to be certified by an ICC; however, contract staff must require an ICC for Fee for Service contracts where an ICSQ will be shared by multiple contracts with the same provider.

An ICSQ is not required for interagency contracts or SSCC contracts. SSCC contracts are required to submit an accounting manual for review and approval by DFPS.

Shared ICSQ

At the discretion of contract leadership, a contractor with  two or more DFPS contracts using the same payment methodology may use a previously submitted ICSQ across multiple contracts.

DFPS contract leadership may require a contractor to submit one ICSQ per contract depending on the services contracted. Documentation of this approval should be uploaded with the ICSQ.

An ICSQ may be shared when all the following conditions are met:

  • The contractor is the same;
  • The ICSQ is still valid; and
  • The contracts each have the same payment methodology (i.e., all cost reimbursement or all fee-for-service).