8(a) STARS Gets Clean Bill of Health GSA’s Small Business Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts Center has tightened controls over the 8(a) STARS contract, the agency’s inspector general said. The IG auditors commended the center for taking “appropriate corrective action” in response to a highly critical report issued two years ago. In that report the auditors found that some 8(a) firms had subcontracted more than 90% of their work in violation of regulations. They said the GWAC Center had been lax in reviewing subcontracting reports. Since then the IG said the center has stepped up reviews of subcontracting. The latest audit found no apparent violations. The 2006 audit also found several task orders that called for work outside the scope of the IT contract. The IG said the center has since begun new reviews of statements of work. The latest audit found no violations of scope in a sample of 10 large task orders. GSA officials have said that no companies were kicked off the contract because of violations uncovered in 2006. Instead, violators were ordered to submit “get-well plans.” The audit team concluded, “We commend the Center’s efforts to manage the risks of this program.” More than 200 8(a) firms participate in the STARS contract. GSA said $550 million was awarded under the contract in fiscal 2008. In January the GWAC Center said it had begun planning for the follow-on to STARS, which expires in 2011.