REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR AUDIT SERVICES
ANDERSON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS ONE AND TWO
CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Anderson County School Districts One and Two Career and Technology Center (the Center) recognizes its fiscal responsibility to appropriately receipt and expand public funds available for the education of our citizens. In order to fulfill this responsibility we are presenting this request for proposals for audit services of fiscal year 2014-15 (with renewal available for fiscal years 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18), for your consideration and response.
INSTRUCTIONS
· The deadline for submission of proposals is 2:00 p.m. local time, Thursday April 23,, 2015. Two copies of your proposal are required and should be delivered or addressed to: Business Office, The Career and Technology Center, 702 Belton Highway, Williamston, SC 29697. Please indicate on the envelope that a “Proposal for Audit Services” is enclosed. Any proposals received later than the specified time will not be considered and will be returned unopened to the bidder regardless of when it was mailed. Evaluation of each proposal will be made as soon as possible with the award contingent upon approval of the Career and Technology Center Board of Trustees.
· The Center reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or to cancel this request in its entirety.
· All proposals will be treated as public information unless it is specifically requested that portions of the bid be treated as Trade Secrets under the Freedom of Information Act.
· Any questions relating to this proposal must be submitted in writing (fax is acceptable (864) 847-3539), through Thursday April 9, 2015.
· The 2014-15 fiscal year is the year to be audited under this contract.
· The Center may cancel the contract at any time; in the event services prove to be unsatisfactory.
· The Center reserves the option to renew the contract for three additional years, in increments of one year, under the same terms, charges, and conditions as contained in the original contract. Contract renewals are subject to availability of fiscal year funds and satisfactory performance.
· The decision of The Career and Technology Center will be final.
· Evaluation considerations will include the following:
° Comprehensiveness of audit work plan
° Reasonableness of time estimates.
° Timeliness of expected completion
° Technical experience of the Firm (Especially S.C. School District Audit Experience)
° Knowledge of GASB requirements and new GASB 67 & 68 requirements
° Qualifications of Staff
° Cost
° All proposals must be submitted to The Career and Technology Center not later than
2:00 p.m., Thursday April 23, 2015.
° The Center may elect to interview representatives from selected firms.
° The contract should be awarded no later than Thursday April 30, 2015.
Contractual Arrangements:
1. The 2014-15 fiscal year is the year to be audited under this contract. The fiscal year begins July 1 and ends on June 30.
2. The contract may be renewed for up to three additional years. The audits will cover the fiscal years from July 1, 2014– June 30, 2015, from July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016, July 1, 2016 - June 30, 2017 and from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. Contract renewals are subject to the availability of fiscal year funds and satisfactory performance.
I. REQUEST FOR AUDIT SERVICES
A. General Requirements:
1. The Center requires an audit of its total financial program. Revenues for fiscal year 2013-14, were:
Fund Amount
General $ 5,555,527.00
Special Revenue 739,374.00
School Building 0.00
Pupil Activity (expendable trust fund) 71,171.00
2. The Center requires a financial and compliance audit. Specifically, the reporting method will be the
“Single audit concept” as detailed in the Single Audit Act of 1984, Public Law 98-502, OMB Supercircular (Uniform Grant Guidance) and and the South Carolina Department of Education’s (SDE) Audit Guidelines. A copy of the SDE’s Audit Guidelines can be obtained from the South Carolina Department of Education, Office of School District Auditing, 1429 Senate Street, Room 403, Columbia, South Carolina, 29201, Telephone (803) 734-8180.
3. Your proposal should address the fiscal years ended June 30, 2015, June 30, 2016, June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2018.
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B. Description of Anderson County School Districts One and Two Career and Technology Center:
Anderson County Districts One and Two Career and Technology Center serves four high schools- Wren, Palmetto, Powdersville and Belton Honea Path, and approximately 2000 students. The Center’s budget includes disbursements of approximately $6,000,000 annually and a payroll for approximately 60 employees.
Financial Information
The primary sources of funding for the Career & Technology Center are the County and state of South Carolina, which together provides 96% of the revenue. The federal government provides another 4%. Of the June 30, 2014 general fund expenditures, 65% was spent for salaries and employee benefits, 12% for purchased services, 6% for supplies and materials, 3% for utilities, and 14% for capital equipment or capital and the balance for other expenditures. The center has two major governmental funds consisting of the General Fund and Special Revenue fund (this is divided between Special Revenue-Projects and Special Revenue-Education Improvement Act). A Pupil Activity Fund is maintained as an expendable trust fund, an unbudgeted fund to account for receipts and disbursements of monies from student vending machine operations.
Political Information
The Anderson County School Districts One and Two Career and Technology Center’s Board of Trustees is a seven-member body consisting of the Center’s Director, District One Superintendent, District Two Superintendent, and four elected members-two from District One Board and two from District Two Board. The Career and Technology Center’s Board has decision-making authority to hire management, to significantly influence operations, and has accountability for fiscal matters. The Center’s Board of Trustees as well as the Anderson County Legislative Delegation must approve the budget. The Center is considered fiscally independent.
C. Assistance available to bidder:
1. The Fiscal Services Staff will be available to prepare schedules on a reasonable basis. The staff generally will pull requested documents. Computer equipment and the Center’s financial software will be available for auditing purposes. The Business Manager will be available to coordinate any audit work.
2. The Center is willing and anxious to provide the maximum possible assistance to the successful bidder.
3. All primary accounting records are maintained in the Fiscal Services Department.
D. Report requirements:
1. The audit work must be performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and generally accepted government auditing standards as contained in the Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States.
2. An opinion on compliance with applicable regulations must be rendered as discussed in SDE’s Audit Guide.
3. The reports must include the Center’s comments and responses on all exceptions detailed in published reports.
4. The audit must meet the requirements as established by GASB.
5. The Audit firm will provide at least 10 copies of the completed audit, no later than November 30.
6. The Board will expect the auditor to make a presentation of the final audit to the full Board.
E. Associated Expectations:
1. The Center’s financial books will be available for interim audit fieldwork.
2. Not later than November 1, a conference must be scheduled with the Director and Business manager to review a preliminary draft of the Management Letter. The Center will be given an opportunity to provide written responses to the comments in the management letter which are to be included in the final draft.
3. Not later than November 1, a preliminary report in draft format must be delivered to the Business Manager/Director for review. This report will contain the audit report and will be prepared in conformity with guidelines as described by the SC Department of Education Single Audit Guide. The required reports and schedules for the financial, supplementary, and Single Audit sections should be delivered to the Director and Business manager.
4. The auditor will be expected to make certain year ending and reversing entries as necessary in all fiscal years affected.
5. During the on-site work, periodic briefings should be held with the Business manager or her designee.
Anderson County School Districts One and Two Career & Technology Center
Request For Proposal For Audit Services
Page 2 of 9
II. INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED BY THE BIDDER
A. Title page:
1. Show the RFP Subject, the name of your firm, address telephone number, name of contact person and date.
B. Table of contents:
1. Include a clear identification of the material by section and page number.
C. Letter of Transmittal (Limit to one or two pages):
1. Briefly state your understanding of the requested services and make a positive statement of your firm’s ability, willingness and technical competence to perform such services.
2. Please list the person or persons and their titles authorized to make presentations for your firm.
3. State an all-inclusive fee for which the work will be done. (Page 9)
D. Profile and Qualification of your firm:
1. State whether your firm is local, regional, or national.
2. Give the location of the office from which the work is to be done and the number of partners, managers, supervisors, seniors, and other professional staff employed at that office.
3. Please describe your firm’s recent audit experience, if any, with public sector clients, especially South Carolina public school districts and multidistrict Career Centers.
4. Identify the partner and supervisors who will work on the audit.
5. If other auditors are to participate in the audit, information on those auditors must be provided.
E. Scope and Approach:
Clearly describe the scope of the required services to be provided. Since the requested services include both an examination of the financial statements and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, define the scope of the services to be provided in terms of the matters discussed in the following subsections.
1. Financial Audit. State whether the examination will be made in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.
2. Compliance Audit. State that in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, the bidder will select the necessary procedures to test compliance and express an opinion regarding compliance with specified laws, regulations, and contracts.
3. Submit a work plan to accomplish the audit process. The work plan should include time estimates for each significant segment of the work and staff to be assigned. Where possible, individual staff members should be named and their titles provided. The audit work plan should demonstrate the auditor's’understanding of the audit requirements.
F. Compensation:
1. Estimate the total hours, the estimated out-of-pocket costs and the resulting all-inclusive maximum fee for which the requested work will be done. State the hourly rate to be charged for each staff classification. Fees for subsequent years should be included with a firm not-to-exceed amount.
2. Also list the average hourly rate of the firm. Adjustments may be negotiated for changes in South Carolina or federal requirements or for services in addition to the base audit. These adjustments will be billed at the average hourly rate proposed by the firm. The Director will approve these prior to the performing of services.
G. Additional Information:
Provide answers to the following questions.
1. What are the advantages of using your accounting firm?
2. What is the range of management and other consulting services you can offer without affecting your independence?
3. What type of support services (newsletter, industry programs, etc.) and informative consultation can your firm provide us?
4. Is your firm independent of the Career and Technology Center and the Anderson County School Districts One and Two?
5. Is your firm a member of the SEC Practice Section of the AICPA Division of Firms?
6. When was your firm last peer reviewed and what was the nature of the report rendered?
7. Does your firm have a record of substandard work?
8. How can your firm help the Center improve its financial performance?
All bidders must visibly mark as “Confidential” each part of their proposal, which they consider to contain proprietary information.
III. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
The Center reserves the right to reject any and all proposals submitted and to request additional information from bidders. The award will be made to the firm, which, in the opinion of the Center, is the best qualified.
Evaluation considerations will include the following:
A. Mandatory Criteria
1. Affirm the bidder is a properly licensed certified public accountant, or a licensed public accountant. Give the date of your company’s license.
2. Affirm that the bidder meets the independent standards of the GAO’s Government Auditing Standards, Standards for Audit of Governmental Organizations, Programs, Activities, and Functions (most current Revision) by the Comptroller General of the United States.
3. Affirm that the bidder does not discriminate in employment of persons upon the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, or physical handicap.
4. Affirm that the bidder does not have a record of substandard audit work.
5. Affirm that the audit will be completed and delivered to the State Department of Education by November 30. (Or sooner if the due date is changed by the Department of Education.)
B. Technical Factors
Responses to the proposal must clearly state an understanding of the work to be performed. The Center will consider:
1. Comprehensiveness of audit work plan
2. Reasonableness of time estimates
3. Timeliness of expected completion
4. Technical experience of the Firm
5. Qualifications of Staff
6. Cost. While not a sole factor, cost will be given more importance when all other factors are relatively equal. Any offer that is unclear as to the total annual cost to the Center shall be rejected. For evaluation purposes, costs must be provided in the format shown in Exhibit One.
IV. CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS
The proposal must specify the maximum fee applicable to the audit of the financial statements for each of the four years under consideration.
The Center will issue an award letter to the successful bidder. The award letter will specify the maximum fee to be paid by the Center for performance of the proposed audit as set forth in the successful proposal and will be for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015.