Affiliation: The Dirtiest Word in Federal Small Business Contracting

Description

As many of you know, “affiliation” is a dangerous word in federal small business contracting.  A finding of affiliation can destroy a business’ small business size status, and render you ineligible for future set-aside contracts. The good news is, in most cases, “affiliation” is entirely avoidable.  In this session, we explain what affiliation is, why it matters, and how to avoid it.  Experienced Federal government contracting attorney Maria Panichelli will explain specific types of affiliation recognized by the SBA such as identity of interest affiliation, affiliation based on common ownership or management, and ostensible subcontractor affiliation.   We will also discuss general affiliation, and walk you through the tests used by the SBA when analyzing affiliation. Finally, we will highlight the most common affiliation mistakes that companies make, and provide strategies for avoiding them.