Contractor shall: Conduct all examinations as assigned in the examination packages which will be incorporated into any contract resulting from this RFQ. Use only the authorized personnel listed in an Authorized Personnel form which will be incorporated as an attachment to any contract resulting from this RFQ, as shown in Attachment B to the Sample Contract, to perform the assigned examinations. Comptroller, in its sole discretion, may allow substitutions of authorized personnel if: a. the original authorized individual cannot work on the contract due to either health reasons or because he or she is no longer employed by the firm; and b. the substituted individual has at least the equivalent number of months of professional experience, educational background, and position level within the firm as the original authorized individual. Complete the required status reports (“Status Report”) and hours reports (“Hours Reports”) which are due on the first working day of every month. The last Status Report and Hours Report are due on August 12, 2026. Forms of the Status Report and Hours Report are available to Respondents upon request. Contractor understands that the submission of each periodic Status Report and Hours Report warrants that no conflict exists that would jeopardize the interest of Comptroller or cause Contractor to not be in compliance with all provisions of the contract. Have and maintain all required equipment, materials, and other resources necessary for the successful and timely completion of all assigned examinations, including but not limited to: 1) a laptop personal computer equipped with secure connection capability; 2) internet access; 3) software that enables Contractor to encrypt and password protect all taxpayer information; and 4) Microsoft Word and Excel for drafting reports and data compilations. Only Comptroller may authorize limited exceptions to the foregoing resource requirements based on extenuating circumstance or good cause if, in Comptroller’s sole judgment and discretion, such exception would be in the best interests of Comptroller or the State of Texas (“State”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, Comptroller has determined that it is in the best interests of Comptroller and the State to provide all independent tax examiners with a Comptroller-issued email address and associated IT hardware and software (collectively, “State-issued Property”) to use when performing tax examination services under the contract resulting from this RFQ. Contractor hereby acknowledges and agrees to the following: Contractor must use the Comptroller-issued email address when performing services under the contract resulting from this RFQ. Contractor must not contact taxpayers from a personal email address. Contractor must not use State-issued Property for any purpose other than performing services under the contract resulting from this RFQ. State-issued Property includes, but is not limited to, Comptroller-issued email addresses, Comptroller information technology equipment and networks (e.g., peripherals, external hard drives, data storage devices, any Comptroller-issued software, and the Comptroller Virtual Private Network (VPN client)), and any other resources of Comptroller. Contractor must not remove State-issued Property from the continental United States. In addition, Contractor may not use any computing device to access Comptroller’s network or e-mail while outside of the continental United States. Contractor must not perform any maintenance services on State-issued Property.
