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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRFP of Auditing Services 2023 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS OF AUDITING SERVICES RFP #2023-FIN-001 Proposals for: Auditing Services (the “Project”) RFP Number: 2023-FIN-001 Will be received by: County of Newell (the “County”) at: hansons@newellmail.ca or upload Auditing Services RFP #2023-FIN-001 Time and date for Proposal Closing is: August 28, 2023, 1:00 PM. MST (the “RFP Closing”) 1.Proponents shall submit one (1) unlocked PDF copy to email address or URL listedabove. 2.It is the Proponents responsibility to ensure the County receives the proposal. 3.Proposals may be delivered by another means of electronic file transfer if arrangedwith the County. Table of Contents 1.Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4 2.Invitation Details .................................................................................................................... 5 2.1. Closing Date and Time ................................................................................................................... 5 2.2. Delivery Method............................................................................................................................... 5 2.3. Contact Person ................................................................................................................................ 5 2.4. RFP Schedule ................................................................................................................................. 5 3.Instructions to Proponents .................................................................................................. 6-7 3.1. Submission Details .......................................................................................................................... 6 3.2. Addenda .......................................................................................................................................... 6 3.3. Discretion, Rejection and Cancellation ........................................................................................... 6 3.4. Contractual Agreement ................................................................................................................... 6 3.5. Submission Costs ........................................................................................................................... 6 3.6. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act .................................................................. 7 4.Scope of Expectations ........................................................................................................... 8 4.1. Main Objective ................................................................................................................................. 8 4.2. Secondary Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 8 5.Requirements for Proposals ............................................................................................. 9-10 5.1. Professional Information ................................................................................................................. 9 5.2. Transition ......................................................................................................................................... 9 5.3. Audit Approach ................................................................................................................................ 9 5.4. Costs .......................................................................................................................................... 9-10 5.5. References .................................................................................................................................... 10 5.6. Conflict of Interest Statement ........................................................................................................ 10 5.7. Proposal Submission Form .......................................................................................................... 10 5.8. Other .............................................................................................................................................. 10 6.Evaluation Procedure .......................................................................................................... 11 7.Selection Criteria ................................................................................................................. 11 8.Acceptance .......................................................................................................................... 11 9.Proposal Submission Form ................................................................................................. 12 10. Appendix A .......................................................................................................................... 13 1.Introduction The County of Newell (“County”) is a rural municipality located in southeastern Alberta. As part of its obligation to the public, County Council has adopted the process of reviewing professional services on a regular basis, thus auditing service proposals are being requested for the County for the period January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2025. There will be an option to renew the agreement for an additional two years. The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is for accounting firms, with the appropriate qualification and experience, to prepare and submit a formal response to this request in accordance with the requirements outlined within. The submitted information will be reviewed by the County and evaluated to select a firm to perform the auditing services for the County. The County of Newell Administration Office is currently at 183037 RR 145 in the County of Newell (located one mile south of the City of Brooks on Range Road 145, just south of the Centennial Regional Arena). Telephone: (403) 362-3266. Page 4 of 13 2. Invitation Details 2.1. Closing Date and Time Proposals will be received until 1:00:00 p.m. MST Monday, August 28, 2023. The clock on the County of Newell outlook server will be referenced as the time of delivery. Any submissions received after the advertised closing time will be rejected. 2.2. Delivery Method Submissions in response to the RFP shall be submitted via email or uploaded via the URL below, titled: 2023RFP – Accounting Firm Name Upload URL: Auditing Services RFP #2023-FIN-001 2.3. Contact Person Questions or inquiries related to this RFP can be directed to in writing to Mrs. Stephanie Hanson, Controller for the County of Newell at: hansons@newellmail.ca . The phone number that Mrs. Hanson can be reached at Is; 403-794-2330 The County reserves the right to make any or all questions and answers available to all other Accounting Firms at its discretion. The County will respond to requests for clarification as soon as is reasonably possible. The County will respond in writing or orally as deemed appropriate in the circumstances. Generally, only substantial questions and answers of a clarification nature will be distributed. No oral response or clarification will be binding on the County. 2.4. RFP Schedule The following outlines the County’s anticipated schedule for this RFP Process. The schedule is subject to change at the County’s discretion. Issuance of RFP: July 24, 2023 RFP Closing: August 28, 2023 Award to Successful Proponent: September 21, 2023 Page 5 of 13 3. Instructions to Proponents 3.1. Submission Details Proponents shall submit one (1) unlocked PDF to the County by the stated date and time noted. 3.2. Addenda Should questions or inquiries lead to the need to modify or clarify any portion of the RFP documents, the modifications or clarifications will be issued in writing to all interested parties by addenda. The County, its agents and employees shall not be held responsible for any information given by way of verbal or oral communication. Any addenda issued prior to closing date and time will form part of the RFP documents. 3.3. Discretion, Rejection and Cancellation The County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or parts thereof and the lowest priced proposal will not necessarily be accepted. All proposals shall be and remain irrevocable unless withdrawn prior to the designated closing time. Late proposals will be rejected. The County may, at its discretion, select any one proposal or reject all proposals, and in so doing develop additional evaluation criteria. In selecting any proposal, the County is not obligated to select the one with the lowest price. No adjustments to the submitted proposals will be allowed. Accounting Firms may however withdraw their proposal prior to the closing date and time for the submission for proposals. After the closing date and time, the proposal is binding on the Auditor. Incomplete proposals will not be entertained. 3.4. Contractual Agreement The Accounting Firm must be prepared to include in the contract for services any oral or written representations that are made prior to the final agreement, including the entire response to this RFP, or parts thereof. The selection of any Accounting Firm by the County as the preferred Firm shall not constitute a contract between the County and the Accounting Firm. Any contractual relationship to be established between the parties will be governed by the provisions of the engagement letter. 3.5. Submission Costs All costs and expenses incurred by the Accounting Firm in the preparation and submission of their response to this RFP are the responsibility of the Accounting Firms. The County is not responsible for these costs, or any liability incurred by the Accounting Firm. Page 6 of 13 3.6. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act By submitting a proposal, the auditing firm acknowledges and agrees that the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applies to all records relating to, obtained, generated, compiled, collected or provided under, or pertaining to, this RFP to provide auditing services. Confidentiality of Request for Proposals The access and privacy provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act govern all documents submitted to the County. While this Act allows the right of access to County records, it also prohibits the County from disclosing the personal information or confidential business information contained in the RFP. As defined in sections 16 and 17 of the Act, this prohibition takes effect if disclosure would be significantly harmful to your business interests or would be an unreasonable invasion of your personal privacy. Firms are encouraged to identify those portions of their submitted proposals which they are submitting in confidence, which if released, would harm their business interests. Specific portions of the proposal which are identified as confidential will be treated as obtained in confidence and will not be released unless required by law. County of Newell may release the following information upon request by any interested party and/or post the following information on their website from the proposals obtained from all firms: - List of Firms that participated in the request for proposal process, price/cost quoted and information of successful firm. Evaluation and Selection Criteria Records The evaluation and selection criteria for this Request for Proposal are public information. Individual evaluation and selection of the firms are considered confidential. Specific information will only be provided, upon request, to the firm to whom it relates, and to others, within the constraints of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Personal Information About Firms’ Partners or Employees The purpose of collecting the personal information that must be provided in this RFP is to assist the County in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the proposal during the evaluation process. Page 7 of 13 4. Scope of Expectations The County’s auditing service expectations consist of the following main objective and secondary objectives. 4.1. Main Objective Pursuant to Section 280(1) of the Municipal Government Act, an auditor is appointed to conduct an annual audit of the County’s financial records that will enable the auditor to express, on the basis of sufficient appropriate audit evidence, an objective opinion on the fairness of the presentation of the financial position and results of the financial activities of the County in accordance with Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards. The deadline for presenting the audited annual financial statements to Council is the first council meeting in April (typically the first Thursday of the first full week in April). 4.2. Secondary Objectives (a) The auditor will be required to provide a report on any significant weaknesses in internal control systems noted during the audit in order that the County can improve its operations on an ongoing basis. (b) Provide accounting advice, as requested. (c) Provide other financial advice, as requested. In order to provide timely and appropriate auditing services the County expects a system of service delivery, which responds to the following requirements: - Ease of accessibility to County. - Preparedness to respond to limited time frames. - Direct consultation with the Council. - Consistency and continuity of advice. - To be available to attend meetings of Council, if required, reporting on the annual audit or other specific matters on which advice was requested. Page 8 of 13 5. Requirements for Proposal 5.1. Professional Information Proposals must include information of a general nature on the firm and the current total staffing and clients of the firm. For comparative purposes, proponents are requested to describe their experience and resources as it relates to Municipal audits. In addition, specific information shall be included with respect to those staff members who are proposed to have direct responsibility for the County including: o Name and credentials o Training and experience o Position in the firm o Proposed relationship to the client o Availability for other work on the client’s behalf o Individual fee scale o Area of practice in the firm 5.2. Transition Proposals should include a description of the proponent’s requirements to assume work on behalf of the County. State in detail all assumptions and recommendations about the manner in which the County’s audit will be transferred. Include resources and time requirements for the proponent. 5.3. Audit Approach Proposals should include a description of the firm’s audit approach that will be used for the County’s audit. 5.4. Costs Proposals should include a detailed description of all costs and recommended methods of billing and payment. Where applicable, proposals must include all taxes, rates, and charges applicable at the time the proposal is awarded. For comparative purposes it is preferable that cost information be reported in the following manner: Annual Audit o Fee scales associated with various members for the firm who will be assigned to the audit. o Anticipated hours required to complete the audit. o Total audit cost. o Items, which would be assumed to be provided by the County’s staff in order to reduce costs. o Whether or not the total audit costs above are fixed or whether they will vary as the actual hours vary. Page 9 of 13 Subsidiary Audits o Local Authorities Pension Plan (triennial) – for the year ending December 31, 2024. o Financial Information Return Other Services o Services to be charged at a flat rate and fee requested for each. o Services to be charged at an hourly rate and the rates to be charged. General Information o Disbursement items charged. o Other charges or charging methods proposed. 5.5. References At least 5 (five) references of which 3 (three) must be Municipal Government clients. Please provide the name of the contact person, phone number and position within the organization and with your submitted proposal. 5.6. Conflict of Interest Statement Proposals must disclose to the County any potential conflict of interest that might compromise the performance of the services provided. If such a conflict of interest does exist, the County may, at its discretion, refuse to consider the proposal. It should also be disclosed if the firm is aware of any County employee or Councillor having a financial interest in their firm and the nature of the interest. If such an interest exists or is discovered during the evaluation process, the County may refuse to consider the proposal or withhold the awarding of the auditing services to the firm until such time the interest is resolved to the County’s satisfaction. 5.7. Proposal Submission Form A signed proposal submission form is a requirement of this submission. The County has the right to reject any submission that does not contain the complete submission form or if there are irregularities, erasures, or any other ambiguity in interpreting it on behalf of the County. 5.8. Other The County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, not necessarily accept the lowest priced proposal, or accept any proposal that it may consider not to be in its best interest. In the event that none of the proposals are satisfactory to the County, the County reserves the right to re-advertise. Should the County exercise its right to re-advertise, any party submitting a proposal may either leave its proposal as is or resubmit a new proposal. The County reserves the right to waive formality, informality or technicality in any proposal. Page 10 of 13 6. Evaluation Procedure Submissions meeting the Requirements for Proposal will be evaluated using a weighted evaluation scoring method as outlined below: - Previous Relevant Experience - /20 • Firm size, years in business, previous auditing experience, ability to meet deadlines, ability to meet County demands, value added services. - Proposed Team - /20 • Availability, key staff experience, serviceability (location, etc.), local knowledge. - Pricing - /40 - References - /20 • One evaluator will contact references. A “Preferred Accounting Firm” will be selected and recommended to the Council of the County. All proposals will be evaluated for completeness and suitability for the requirements. Accounting Firms will be contacted, if necessary, to clarify any major items in question. Further discussions will be required during the proposal evaluation stage. Based on the analysis of the proposals, a ranking of Accounting Firms will be established. Overall, the Accounting Firm will be ranked on their ability to meet the present and future needs of the County. The final evaluation process may include interviews with short-listed Accounting Firms. 7. Selection Criteria We will put emphasis on the following criteria to determine the quality of the proposed services: o Ability of the firm to meet functional expectations defined herein. o Technical qualifications i.e., municipal government audit expertise and experience. o Reputation of service to existing customers. o Audit approach. o Availability of personnel resources to manage the assignment. o Staff who are assigned to this project. o Transition plans. o Cost 8. Acceptance Your response to the RFP will indicate your acceptance to the conditions outlined in this RFP. Page 11 of 13 9. RFP Form RFP Number: RFP #2023-FIN-001 RFP Title: Request for Proposals of Auditing Services I/WE hereby submit my/our proposal for Auditing Services as described within the Request for Proposal document. I/WE have examined the document and have a clear and comprehensive knowledge of the requirements and have submitted all pertinent information. I/WE agree, if selected, to provide services to the County of Newell in accordance with the terms, conditions and specifications contained in the proposal document and in the my/our submission. I/WE agree the undersigned is/are authorized to sign and submit this proposal. THE COUNTY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT ANY OR ALL PROPOSALS, NOT NECESSARILY ACCEPT THE LOWEST PRICED PROPOSAL, OR ACCEPT ANY PROPOSAL THAT IT MAY CONSIDER NOT TO BE IN THE BEST INTERST. Legal Name of Accounting Firm Street Address City/Town, Province Postal Code Print Name & Title of Authorized Person Signing on behalf of Accounting Firm E-mail Address Phone Number Signed at this day of 2023. Signature of Authorized Person Signing on behalf of Accounting Firm Page 12 of 13 10. Appendix A General Information Prior years’ Annual Reports, Audited Financial Statements and Budget Documents online at: https://countyofnewell.ab.ca/p/financial-reports The Organization  Payroll: Full Time Equivalent 86 Councillors 10 Bi-Weekly Pay Periods (26) Direct Deposit Financial Software The County’s current municipal financial software is supported by Diamond Municipal Solutions – Microsoft Dynamics GP 2018. The County utilizes Pearl/WorkTech for job costing of its operations and Questica for the preparation of the organization’s operating and capital budgets. Financial Information  Accounts Payable Approx. 2,250 Vendor Accounts Approx. 2,640 accounts payable EFT/cheques generated annually. EFT/Cheques are generated weekly.  Accounts Receivable Approx. 1,180 invoices generated annually (excl. tax notices) Invoices are processed throughout the month.  Utilities  General Ledger  Deposits  Direct Debits  Property Taxes Approx. 2,140 Customer Accounts Approx. 5,150 invoices generated annually. Invoices are processed bi-monthly and annually. Approx. 1,620 Accounts Includes cash receipts, direct deposits and interac deposits Approx. 4,230 deposits per year Deposits prepared & reconciled daily. Includes annual payroll batches Approx. 480 debits per year. Approx. 16,700 Tax Rolls Page 13 of 13