CORB FINAL EXAM 2026/2027 QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔You are the Contracting Officer on a large aircraft program. When you arrived at
work this morning you are greeted with a notification that your contractor has been
placed on the System for Award Management Exclusions list. What are the rules on
continuation of your current contracts with the Contractor? - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR
9.405-1 Unless the agency head directs otherwise, you may continue a contract or
subcontract with a firm that is debarred, suspended or proposed to be debarred. If you
decide to terminate, the FAR recommends seeking review by contracting and technical
personnel, and by counsel to ensure the propriety of the proposed action. Additionally,
unless the agency head makes a determination of the compelling reasons for doing so,
you must not: (1) Place orders exceeding the guaranteed minimum under indefinite
quantity contracts, (2) place orders under FSS contracts, BPAs, or BOAs, or (3) add
new work, exercise options, or otherwise extend the duration of the contract.
✔✔Under a current contract, Contractor A is to do testing, evaluation and validation of
items to determine their use in a particular area. You are the Contracting Officer on a
new source selection that will have the successful offeror submitting items to be tested
by Contractor A under the current contract. Contractor A is one of many contractors who
have expressed interest in the new source selection. As a CO what should you consider
when determining if Contractor A may be allowed to bid as a prime contractor on this
new source selection? - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR 9.502(c); FAR 9.504; FAR 9.505;
DFARS 209.571 ANSWER: FAR 9.502(c) states "an organizational conflict of interest
may result when factors create an actual or potential conflict of interest on an instant
contract, or when the nature of the work to be performed on the instant contract creates
an actual or potential conflict of interest on a future acquisition. In this latter case, some
restrictions on future activities of the contractor may be required." First, I would apply
common sense here. Since Contractor A is doing all the testing, evaluation, and
validation on an active contract, is there a conflict of interest if they submit items on a
separate contract that they will then have to test, evaluate, and validate? It appears that
they might have an advantage because they would know how to design the product in
advance so that it passes test/eval/validation more easily. Knowing there might be a
conflict of interest here, I must comply with FAR 9.504, which says I must avoid,
neutralize, or mitigate significant potential conflicts before contract award. To do so, I
would consult with legal counsel and technical specialists to see if Contractor A's role in
test/eval/validation is reason enough to exclude them from the new acquisition. Perhaps
the test/eval/validation is only a minor piece of the new acquisition and it would still be in
the best interest of the Government to award to Contractor A. I could also include a
requirement/provision for conflict of interest mitigation plans to be submitted with the
proposal. If, after analyzing all the evidence, I do not believe the risk can be sufficiently
mitigated or neutralized, I would avoid going with Contractor A. If I do choose to go with
Contractor A, I would document appropriately and alert the HCA of my decision.
,✔✔Describe some examples of sources of information the contracting officer should
use in determining contractor responsibility? - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR 9.105; FAR
9.104-6 ANSWER: The most obvious sources that PCOs check on every acquisition
and modification are the SAM Exclusion List and the FAPIIS websites. Review of
FAPIIS is required if over SAT per FAR 9.104-6. PCOs shall also consider any relevant
past performance information when determining responsibility. FAR 9.105-1(c) lists
some other sources of information: Records and experience data, including verifiable
knowledge of personnel within the contracting office, audit offices, contract
administration offices, and other contracting offices. 2. The prospective contractor:
including bid or proposal information, questionnaire replies, financial data, information
on production equipment, and personnel information. 3.Commercial sources of supplier
information of a type offered to buyers in the private sector. 4.Pre-award survey reports.
5. Other sources such as publications; suppliers, subcontractors, and customers of the
prospective contractor; financial institutions; Government agencies; and business and
trade associations.
✔✔When dealing with potential organizational and consultant conflicts of interest, what
are the two underlying principles? - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR 9.505 ANSWER: The two
underlying principles are: (1) Preventing the existence of conflicting roles that might bias
a contractor's judgment; and (2) Preventing unfair competitive advantage.
✔✔You have been assigned as the Contracting Officer for a new acquisition and the
requirement has just been briefed by the Colonel as the Wing's number one priority. The
Program Manager approaches you with a draft sole-source J&A and asks for your
review and comment. Upon review you note that no mention of Market Research is
made and the PM later confirms that none was accomplished as the Wing wants to use
their "usual" contractor; she also tells you that she isn't really sure why any would be
necessary or where to begin the research. What should you do? - ✔✔REFERENCE:
FAR 10.002 ANSWER: You should inform her that market research is usually the
foundation for sole-source or limited competition and without it (unless one of the other
exceptions in FAR 6.302 applies) you cannot process the J&A. You should also ensure
that she understands that the market research will demonstrate if a commercial item is
available, or could be modified, to meet the Government's requirement, thereby saving
time and money in the development and delivery of the item. Bottom line, we won't be
proceeding with the J&A without performing market research and exploring all options
first. You should direct her to FAR Part 10 which provides several avenues of
conducting market research, some of which are: 1. Contacting knowledgeable
individuals in Government and industry regarding market capabilities to meet
requirements. 2.Reviewing the results of recent market research undertaken to meet
similar or identical requirements. 3.Publishing formal requests for information in
appropriate technical or scientific journals or business publications. 4.Querying the
Government-wide database of contracts and other procurement instruments intended
for use by multiple agencies available at www.contractdirectory.gov and other
Government and commercial databases that provide information relevant to agency
acquisitions. 5.Participating in interactive, on-line communication among industry,
acquisition personnel, and customers. 6.Obtaining source lists of similar items from
,other contracting activities or agencies, trade associations or other sources.
7.Reviewing catalogs and other generally available product literature published by
manufacturers, distributors, and dealers or available on-line. 8.Conducting interchange
meetings or holding pre-solicitation conferences to involve potential offerors early in the
acquisition p
✔✔In what ways does market research influence pre-award program management?
Why must a pre-award team perform market research? (Could also go under FAR Part
7) - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR Part 10 ANSWER: It can help determine if the requirements
are realistic; identify program risks; provide information to help decide acquisition
strategy; better define the RFP (model contract, Sections L & M, and evaluation
criteria); and prepare the evaluators for better proposal evaluation. The pre-award team
must perform market research because the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act
(FASA) of 1994 and the Clinger Cohen Act of 1996 require us to go to the commercial
market first before developing a new product. The most significant tool we have to get to
the commercial market place is through market research. Market research is critical to
developing both knowledge and understanding of the products, services, and practices
of industries that make up the global commercial market; and, besides, it only makes
good business sense to take advantage of products, services and infrastructure that
already exist. Basically, it's the law, and it's the smart thing to do.
✔✔You are the PCO on a new competitive program that is preparing for the System
Development and Demonstration phase (SDD), and you are very close to issuing the
RFP. The Captain, who is also the PM, comes up to you and says that the Colonel at
the requirements office has asked that a few significant last minute requirements be put
into the RFP, and he wants to know what your thoughts are. What do you tell the PM? -
✔✔REFERENCE: No clear guidance/regulations ANSWER: This is always tricky. The
Captain here will most likely not say "no" to the Colonel. The correct response,
however, is two-fold: First, the Program Manager should tell the Colonel that there will
most likely be a cost, schedule, and/or performance impact from adding the new
requirement. The impact may be as simple as a delay in contract award or more
complex than that. The Captain has an obligation to tell the Colonel that he/she will
obtain that information and provide it to the Colonel so that the Colonel can make an
informed decision. The PM should also ask the Colonel if the new requirements can be
inserted at a planned future date, perhaps along with other new or changed
requirements. These new/changed requirements could be added at a later date as a
planned "block" or separate increment of capability in a planned, organized, and less
disruptive manner after the current contract is in performance. Most importantly, the
Colonel must be made aware of the fact that in most situations, changing requirements
this late in the acquisition process will undoubtedly lead to delays in the pre-award
acquisition schedule and could have significant impact on the planned contract award
date.
✔✔You are the PCO on a major competitive aircraft program that is preparing to issue
the RFP to start source selection. What types of requirements documents would you
expect to see in the RFP? - ✔✔REFERENCE: AFLCMC Standard Process A02:
, Acquisition Strategy/RFP; FAR Subpart 11.1 ANSWER: There are a variety of
acceptable answers, but normally at AFLCMC we would expect to see these two types
of requirements documents in this major program RFP: 1.A Statement of Objectives
(SOO) specifies all the objectives for the program in terms of business and technical
outcomes and management emphasis. The government normally would ask each
offeror, as part of their proposal, to submit a proposed Statement of Work (SOW) in
response to the RFP SOO to be evaluated as part of source selection and for eventual
inclusion in the offeror's final contract if they were to be the winning offeror. 2.A Systems
Requirements Document (SRD) would specify the aircraft technical details that would
be required of all offerors in source selection. Normal, LCMC practice is that each
offeror would respond to the RFP SRD with a proposed system and/or air vehicle
specification that would capture both the required features from the SRD as well as the
unique features of the aircraft to be proposed. The system and/or air vehicle
specifications would be evaluated as part of the source selection evaluation, then would
become the unique contractual specification for the winning offeror's contract.
Regardless of format, the requirements documents should specify: the tasks, how they
should be done under the contract, what characteristics the product should have, how it
should perform, how it will be tested and supported, etc.
✔✔What are some factors to consider when establishing contract delivery or
performance schedules? - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR 11.401 and 11.402 ANSWER:
Contracting officers shall ensure that delivery or performance schedules are realistic
and meet the requirements of the acquisition. If too short, it might restrict competition,
limit small business, and may cost more. Some factors to consider are: 1. Urgency of
need; 2. Industry practices; 3. Market conditions; 4. Transportation time; 5. Production
time; 6. Capabilities of small business concerns; 7. Administrative time for obtaining and
evaluating offers and for awarding contracts; 8. Time for contractors to comply with any
conditions precedent to contract performance; 9. Time for the Government to perform its
obligations under the contract (e.g. furnishing GFP).
✔✔You are the Contracting Officer for a commercial item acquisition. The Program
Manager comes to your office and asks you to explain how a commercial item is
supported for reasonableness. You tell the PM that FAR has an order of pREFERENCE
that involves three steps. Please explain what these three steps are and provide
examples of each step. - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR 12.209; FAR 15.402; DPAP Memo (4
Feb 15) - Commercial Items and the Determination of Reasonableness of Price for
Commercial Items ANSWER: Commercial items are exempt from the requirement of
certified cost or pricing data. However, we must still determine reasonableness of the
offered price. FAR 15.402 says that we shall obtain other than certified cost or pricing
data as necessary, in the following order of pREFERENCE: (1) No additional data from
the offeror if price is based on adequate price competition, (2) Data other than certified
cost or pricing data, such as (A) Data related to prices, or (B) Cost data to the extent
necessary to determine a fair and reasonable. Within (2)(A), there is a three step flow of
retrieving the data: First - Determine if information is available within the Government.
Examples - prices from other Government contracts, AFLCMC/PKF historical
information, government independent cost estimates, historical data from other
SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔You are the Contracting Officer on a large aircraft program. When you arrived at
work this morning you are greeted with a notification that your contractor has been
placed on the System for Award Management Exclusions list. What are the rules on
continuation of your current contracts with the Contractor? - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR
9.405-1 Unless the agency head directs otherwise, you may continue a contract or
subcontract with a firm that is debarred, suspended or proposed to be debarred. If you
decide to terminate, the FAR recommends seeking review by contracting and technical
personnel, and by counsel to ensure the propriety of the proposed action. Additionally,
unless the agency head makes a determination of the compelling reasons for doing so,
you must not: (1) Place orders exceeding the guaranteed minimum under indefinite
quantity contracts, (2) place orders under FSS contracts, BPAs, or BOAs, or (3) add
new work, exercise options, or otherwise extend the duration of the contract.
✔✔Under a current contract, Contractor A is to do testing, evaluation and validation of
items to determine their use in a particular area. You are the Contracting Officer on a
new source selection that will have the successful offeror submitting items to be tested
by Contractor A under the current contract. Contractor A is one of many contractors who
have expressed interest in the new source selection. As a CO what should you consider
when determining if Contractor A may be allowed to bid as a prime contractor on this
new source selection? - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR 9.502(c); FAR 9.504; FAR 9.505;
DFARS 209.571 ANSWER: FAR 9.502(c) states "an organizational conflict of interest
may result when factors create an actual or potential conflict of interest on an instant
contract, or when the nature of the work to be performed on the instant contract creates
an actual or potential conflict of interest on a future acquisition. In this latter case, some
restrictions on future activities of the contractor may be required." First, I would apply
common sense here. Since Contractor A is doing all the testing, evaluation, and
validation on an active contract, is there a conflict of interest if they submit items on a
separate contract that they will then have to test, evaluate, and validate? It appears that
they might have an advantage because they would know how to design the product in
advance so that it passes test/eval/validation more easily. Knowing there might be a
conflict of interest here, I must comply with FAR 9.504, which says I must avoid,
neutralize, or mitigate significant potential conflicts before contract award. To do so, I
would consult with legal counsel and technical specialists to see if Contractor A's role in
test/eval/validation is reason enough to exclude them from the new acquisition. Perhaps
the test/eval/validation is only a minor piece of the new acquisition and it would still be in
the best interest of the Government to award to Contractor A. I could also include a
requirement/provision for conflict of interest mitigation plans to be submitted with the
proposal. If, after analyzing all the evidence, I do not believe the risk can be sufficiently
mitigated or neutralized, I would avoid going with Contractor A. If I do choose to go with
Contractor A, I would document appropriately and alert the HCA of my decision.
,✔✔Describe some examples of sources of information the contracting officer should
use in determining contractor responsibility? - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR 9.105; FAR
9.104-6 ANSWER: The most obvious sources that PCOs check on every acquisition
and modification are the SAM Exclusion List and the FAPIIS websites. Review of
FAPIIS is required if over SAT per FAR 9.104-6. PCOs shall also consider any relevant
past performance information when determining responsibility. FAR 9.105-1(c) lists
some other sources of information: Records and experience data, including verifiable
knowledge of personnel within the contracting office, audit offices, contract
administration offices, and other contracting offices. 2. The prospective contractor:
including bid or proposal information, questionnaire replies, financial data, information
on production equipment, and personnel information. 3.Commercial sources of supplier
information of a type offered to buyers in the private sector. 4.Pre-award survey reports.
5. Other sources such as publications; suppliers, subcontractors, and customers of the
prospective contractor; financial institutions; Government agencies; and business and
trade associations.
✔✔When dealing with potential organizational and consultant conflicts of interest, what
are the two underlying principles? - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR 9.505 ANSWER: The two
underlying principles are: (1) Preventing the existence of conflicting roles that might bias
a contractor's judgment; and (2) Preventing unfair competitive advantage.
✔✔You have been assigned as the Contracting Officer for a new acquisition and the
requirement has just been briefed by the Colonel as the Wing's number one priority. The
Program Manager approaches you with a draft sole-source J&A and asks for your
review and comment. Upon review you note that no mention of Market Research is
made and the PM later confirms that none was accomplished as the Wing wants to use
their "usual" contractor; she also tells you that she isn't really sure why any would be
necessary or where to begin the research. What should you do? - ✔✔REFERENCE:
FAR 10.002 ANSWER: You should inform her that market research is usually the
foundation for sole-source or limited competition and without it (unless one of the other
exceptions in FAR 6.302 applies) you cannot process the J&A. You should also ensure
that she understands that the market research will demonstrate if a commercial item is
available, or could be modified, to meet the Government's requirement, thereby saving
time and money in the development and delivery of the item. Bottom line, we won't be
proceeding with the J&A without performing market research and exploring all options
first. You should direct her to FAR Part 10 which provides several avenues of
conducting market research, some of which are: 1. Contacting knowledgeable
individuals in Government and industry regarding market capabilities to meet
requirements. 2.Reviewing the results of recent market research undertaken to meet
similar or identical requirements. 3.Publishing formal requests for information in
appropriate technical or scientific journals or business publications. 4.Querying the
Government-wide database of contracts and other procurement instruments intended
for use by multiple agencies available at www.contractdirectory.gov and other
Government and commercial databases that provide information relevant to agency
acquisitions. 5.Participating in interactive, on-line communication among industry,
acquisition personnel, and customers. 6.Obtaining source lists of similar items from
,other contracting activities or agencies, trade associations or other sources.
7.Reviewing catalogs and other generally available product literature published by
manufacturers, distributors, and dealers or available on-line. 8.Conducting interchange
meetings or holding pre-solicitation conferences to involve potential offerors early in the
acquisition p
✔✔In what ways does market research influence pre-award program management?
Why must a pre-award team perform market research? (Could also go under FAR Part
7) - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR Part 10 ANSWER: It can help determine if the requirements
are realistic; identify program risks; provide information to help decide acquisition
strategy; better define the RFP (model contract, Sections L & M, and evaluation
criteria); and prepare the evaluators for better proposal evaluation. The pre-award team
must perform market research because the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act
(FASA) of 1994 and the Clinger Cohen Act of 1996 require us to go to the commercial
market first before developing a new product. The most significant tool we have to get to
the commercial market place is through market research. Market research is critical to
developing both knowledge and understanding of the products, services, and practices
of industries that make up the global commercial market; and, besides, it only makes
good business sense to take advantage of products, services and infrastructure that
already exist. Basically, it's the law, and it's the smart thing to do.
✔✔You are the PCO on a new competitive program that is preparing for the System
Development and Demonstration phase (SDD), and you are very close to issuing the
RFP. The Captain, who is also the PM, comes up to you and says that the Colonel at
the requirements office has asked that a few significant last minute requirements be put
into the RFP, and he wants to know what your thoughts are. What do you tell the PM? -
✔✔REFERENCE: No clear guidance/regulations ANSWER: This is always tricky. The
Captain here will most likely not say "no" to the Colonel. The correct response,
however, is two-fold: First, the Program Manager should tell the Colonel that there will
most likely be a cost, schedule, and/or performance impact from adding the new
requirement. The impact may be as simple as a delay in contract award or more
complex than that. The Captain has an obligation to tell the Colonel that he/she will
obtain that information and provide it to the Colonel so that the Colonel can make an
informed decision. The PM should also ask the Colonel if the new requirements can be
inserted at a planned future date, perhaps along with other new or changed
requirements. These new/changed requirements could be added at a later date as a
planned "block" or separate increment of capability in a planned, organized, and less
disruptive manner after the current contract is in performance. Most importantly, the
Colonel must be made aware of the fact that in most situations, changing requirements
this late in the acquisition process will undoubtedly lead to delays in the pre-award
acquisition schedule and could have significant impact on the planned contract award
date.
✔✔You are the PCO on a major competitive aircraft program that is preparing to issue
the RFP to start source selection. What types of requirements documents would you
expect to see in the RFP? - ✔✔REFERENCE: AFLCMC Standard Process A02:
, Acquisition Strategy/RFP; FAR Subpart 11.1 ANSWER: There are a variety of
acceptable answers, but normally at AFLCMC we would expect to see these two types
of requirements documents in this major program RFP: 1.A Statement of Objectives
(SOO) specifies all the objectives for the program in terms of business and technical
outcomes and management emphasis. The government normally would ask each
offeror, as part of their proposal, to submit a proposed Statement of Work (SOW) in
response to the RFP SOO to be evaluated as part of source selection and for eventual
inclusion in the offeror's final contract if they were to be the winning offeror. 2.A Systems
Requirements Document (SRD) would specify the aircraft technical details that would
be required of all offerors in source selection. Normal, LCMC practice is that each
offeror would respond to the RFP SRD with a proposed system and/or air vehicle
specification that would capture both the required features from the SRD as well as the
unique features of the aircraft to be proposed. The system and/or air vehicle
specifications would be evaluated as part of the source selection evaluation, then would
become the unique contractual specification for the winning offeror's contract.
Regardless of format, the requirements documents should specify: the tasks, how they
should be done under the contract, what characteristics the product should have, how it
should perform, how it will be tested and supported, etc.
✔✔What are some factors to consider when establishing contract delivery or
performance schedules? - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR 11.401 and 11.402 ANSWER:
Contracting officers shall ensure that delivery or performance schedules are realistic
and meet the requirements of the acquisition. If too short, it might restrict competition,
limit small business, and may cost more. Some factors to consider are: 1. Urgency of
need; 2. Industry practices; 3. Market conditions; 4. Transportation time; 5. Production
time; 6. Capabilities of small business concerns; 7. Administrative time for obtaining and
evaluating offers and for awarding contracts; 8. Time for contractors to comply with any
conditions precedent to contract performance; 9. Time for the Government to perform its
obligations under the contract (e.g. furnishing GFP).
✔✔You are the Contracting Officer for a commercial item acquisition. The Program
Manager comes to your office and asks you to explain how a commercial item is
supported for reasonableness. You tell the PM that FAR has an order of pREFERENCE
that involves three steps. Please explain what these three steps are and provide
examples of each step. - ✔✔REFERENCE: FAR 12.209; FAR 15.402; DPAP Memo (4
Feb 15) - Commercial Items and the Determination of Reasonableness of Price for
Commercial Items ANSWER: Commercial items are exempt from the requirement of
certified cost or pricing data. However, we must still determine reasonableness of the
offered price. FAR 15.402 says that we shall obtain other than certified cost or pricing
data as necessary, in the following order of pREFERENCE: (1) No additional data from
the offeror if price is based on adequate price competition, (2) Data other than certified
cost or pricing data, such as (A) Data related to prices, or (B) Cost data to the extent
necessary to determine a fair and reasonable. Within (2)(A), there is a three step flow of
retrieving the data: First - Determine if information is available within the Government.
Examples - prices from other Government contracts, AFLCMC/PKF historical
information, government independent cost estimates, historical data from other
