CONTINUATION SHEET Page 11 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________ VENDOR NAME ! ! SCOPE OF SERVICES The Fayetteville School District (FSD) is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to provide Financial Audit Services in accordance with the scope of service specified. Qualified firms meeting all criteria will be considered. This Request for Proposal should not be misconstrued as a formal bid. There is absolutely no commitment to purchase or enter into a formal contract. Upon completion of our evaluation of your proposal, we may recommend that a formal contract be established. The District requires the auditor to prepare and express an opinion on its financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principals. The auditor must also provide all schedules, statements, and required documents for public school audits for the State of Arkansas and other stakeholders of the district. Auditing Standard to Be Followed To meet the requirements of this request for proposal, the audit shall be performed in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States and the provisions of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Cirular A-133, Audits of State, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations. Reports to Be Issued Following the completion of the audit of the fiscal year’s financial statement, the auditor shall issue: 1. Independent Auditors’ Report. 2. Independent Auditors’ Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting and On Compliance and Other Matters Based on an Audit of Financial Statements Performed in Accordance with Government Auditing Standards. This is trial version www.adultpdf.com CONTINUATION SHEET Page 12 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________ VENDOR NAME ! ! 3. Independent Auditors’ Report on Compliance With Requirements Applicable to Each Major Program and on Internal Control Over Compliance in Accordance with OMB Circular A-133. 4. Independent Auditors’ Report on Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards. 5. Any other reports required by the State of Arkansas or district stakeholders. Reportable controls. The auditor shall communicate any reportable conditions found during the audit. A reportable condition shall be defined as a significant deficiency in the design or operation of the internal control structure, which could adversely affect the organization’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data consistent with the assertions of management in the financial statements. Irregularities and illegal acts. Auditors shall be required to make an immediate, written report of all irregularities and illegal acts or indications of illegal acts of which they become aware to: Lisa Morstad Chief Financial Officer 1000 W. Stone Street Fayetteville, AR 72701 Lisa.morstad@fayar.net Reporting to the District’s Management & Board of Education. Auditors shall assure themselves that the District’s management and Board of Education is informed of each of the following: 1. The auditor’s responsibility under generally accepted auditing standards. 2. Significant accounting policies 3. Management judgments and accounting estimates 4. Significant audit adjustments 5. Other information in documents containing audited financial statements 6. Disagreements with management This is trial version www.adultpdf.com CONTINUATION SHEET Page 13 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________ VENDOR NAME ! ! 7. Management consultation with other accountants 8. Major issues discussed with management prior to retention. 9. Difficulties encountered in performing the audit SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS 1. The District is required by Arkansas law to present the audit to the Board of Education for approval each year. Also, in accordance with Arkansas law, the District must submit the board-approved audit to the Arkansas Department of Education within nine (9) months of the end of the fiscal year being audited. Audit work may be scheduled at a mutually agreeable time and traditionally has been performed in October. 2. The auditor will need to be available to provide ongoing advice and counsel relating to new requirements, interpretations of rules and regulations, impact of tax and bonding obligations, and insure the District is informed as to new developments and trends pertinent to finance and accounting. Working Paper Retention and Access to Working Papers All working papers and reports must be retained, at the auditor’s expense, for a minimum of three (3) years, unless the firm is notified in writing by the Fayetteville School District of the need to extend the retention period. The auditor will be required to make working papers available, upon request, to the following parties or their designees: Fayetteville School District Arkansas Department of Education U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) Parties designated by the federal and state governments or by the District as part of an audit quality review process Auditors of entities of which the District is sub-recipient of grant funds. In addition, the firm shall respond to the reasonable inquires of successor auditors and allow successor auditors to review working papers relating to matters of continuing accounting significance. This is trial version www.adultpdf.com CONTINUATION SHEET Page 14 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________ VENDOR NAME ! ! AWARD OF CONTRACT Selection shall be made of one or more Offerors deemed to be fully qualified and best suited among those submitting proposals. Negotiations and interviews may be conducted with one or more qualified Offerors so selected. Price shall be considered, but need not be the sole determining factor. After negotiations have been conducted with each Offeror so selected, FSD shall select the Offeror which in its opinion, has made the best proposal, and shall award the contract to that Offeror. FSD may cancel this RFP; reject proposals or any portion thereof at any time prior to an award. Should FSD determine at its sole discretion that only one Offeror is fully qualified, or that one Offeror is clearly more highly qualified than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to that Offeror. The award shall be in the form of a firm fixed price contract. The award document will be a contract incorporating by reference all the requirements, terms, and conditions in this solicitation and the contractor's proposal as negotiated. This is trial version www.adultpdf.com CONTINUATION SHEET Page 15 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________ VENDOR NAME ! ! TERMS & CONDITIONS 1. All participating proposers, by their signature, agree to comply with all of the conditions, requirements, and instructions of this request for proposal (“RFP”)as stated or implied herein. Should the District omit anything from this document which is necessary to a clear understanding of the work, or should it appear that various instructions are in conflict, then the proposer shall secure written instructions from the Chief Financial Officer of the District at least 48 hours prior to the time and date of the scheduled opening of the proposals. 2. The proposer warrants that all equipment, materials, and work will conform within applicable drawings, specifications, samples, and/or other descriptions given to the District, and that they will be free from defects. Without limitation of any rights that the District may have at law or in equity, goods that are not as warranted and/or that are not in conformance with applicable drawings, specifications, samples, and/or other descriptions may be returned by the District at the proposer’s expense within a reasonable time after delivery, for either credit or replacement, as the District may direct. 3. The successful proposer shall be required to indemnify and hold the District and its agents and employees harmless from and against all suits or actions of any kind, including workers’ compensation claims, brought against them for or on account of any damages or injuries received or sustained by any parties, by or from the acts of the successful proposer or its agents or employees. 4. The successful proposer shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, administrative rulings, and codes, and shall secure all necessary licenses and permits in connection with this RFP and any goods or services to be provided hereunder. 5. By submission of the proposal, the proposer certifies that the proposal has been arrived at independently and submitted without collusion with any other proposer, and that the contents of the proposal have not been communicated by the proposer, or to the proposer’s best knowledge and belief, by any one of its employees or agents, to any person not an employee or agent of the proposer, and will not be communicated to any person prior to the official opening of the proposals. 6. All information included as part of this proposal shall be subject to the Arkansas Freedon of Information Act. Merely marking information as confidential is not necessarily sufficient to prevent disclosure. The following This is trial version www.adultpdf.com CONTINUATION SHEET Page 16 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________ VENDOR NAME ! ! TERMS & CONDITIONS (Continued) information concerning the proposal shall not be considered as confidential commercial information even if it is clearly marked as such: prices, non- financial information concerning compliance with specifications, guarantees, and warranties. 7. The successful proposer shall indemnify and hold the District harmless from any and all claims, causes of action, suits and liabilities, including attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of or relating to disclosure of any information included in the successful proposer’s proposal. 8. The District reserves the right to cancel without penalty, at any time, any awards occurring as a result of this RFP. Time is of the essence. When a date is set for the delivery of goods or the performance of work, the goods must be delivered, and/or the work must be performed, in accordance with the proposal specifications or description on or before that date, or the order to the delinquent proposer may be canceled and re-awarded. This is trial version www.adultpdf.com CONTINUATION SHEET Page 17 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________ VENDOR NAME ! ! REQUIRED RESPONSES A. General Requirements Please demonstrate the qualifications, competence and capacity of the firm seeking to undertake an independent audit of the District in conformity with the requirements of this request for proposal. As such, the substance of proposals, will carry more weight than their form or manner of presentations. The response shall demonstrate the qualifications of the firm and of the particular staff to be assigned to this engagement. It shall also specify an audit approach that will meet the request for proposal requirements. The response shall address all the points outlined in the SCOPE OF WORK (excluding any cost information which should only be included in the sealed dollar cost bid). The response should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the proposer’s capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the SCOPE OF WORK. B. Independence The firm shall provide an affirmative statement that it is independent of the District as defined by generally accepted auditing standards and the U.S. Government Accounting Office’s Government Auditing Standards (1994). The firm shall also list and describe the firm’s (or proposed subcontractors’) professional relationships involving the District for the past five (5) years, together with a statement explaining why such relationships do not constitute a conflict of interest relative to performing the proposed audit. In addition, the firm shall give the District written notice of any professional relationships entered into during the period of the agreement. C. License to Practice in the State of Arkansas An affirmative statement shall be included that the firm and all assigned key professional staff are properly licensed to practice in the State of Arkansas and that the licenses are active. This is trial version www.adultpdf.com CONTINUATION SHEET Page 18 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________ VENDOR NAME ! ! REQUIRED RESPONSES (cont’d) D. Firm Qualification and Experience The proposer shall state in dollars or staff or officers, the size of the firm’s governmental audit staff, the location of the office from which the work on this engagement is to be performed and the number and the nature of the professional staff to be employed in this engagement on a full-time basis and the number and nature of the staff to be so employed on a part-time basis. If the proposer is a joint venture or consortium, the qualifications of each firm comprising the joint venture of consortium should be separately identified, and the firm that is to serve as the principal auditor should be noted, if applicable. The firm is also required to submit a copy of the report on its most recent external quality control review, with a statement whether that quality control review included a review of specific government engagements. The firm shall also provide information on the results of any federal or state desk reviews or field reviews of its audits during the past three (3) years. In addition, the firm shall provide information on the circumstances and status of any disciplinary action taken or pending against the firm during the past three (3) years with state regulatory bodies or professional organizations. E. Partner, Supervisory and Staff Qualifications and Experience Identify the principal supervisory and management staff, including engagement partners, managers, other supervisors and specialists, who would be assigned to the engagement. Indicate whether each such person is licensed to practice as a certified public accountant in the State of Arkansas and that the license is active. Provide information on the government auditing experience of each person, including information on relevant continuing professional and membership in professional organizations relevant to the performance of this audit Provide as much information as possible regarding the number, qualifications, experience and training, including relevant continuing professional education, of the specific staff to be assigned to this This is trial version www.adultpdf.com CONTINUATION SHEET Page 19 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________ VENDOR NAME ! ! engagement. Indicate how the quality of staff over the term of the agreement will be assured. REQUIRED RESPONSES (cont’d) Engagement partners, managers, other supervisory staff and specialists may be changed if those personnel leave the firm, are promoted or are assigned to another office. These personnel may also be changed for other reasons with the express prior written permission of the District. However, in either case, the District retains the right to approve or reject replacements. Consultants and firm specialists mentioned in response to this request for proposal can only be changed with the express prior written permission of the District, which retains the right to approve or reject replacements. Other audit personnel may be changed at the discretion of the proposer provided that replacements have substantially the same or better qualifications or experience. The District reserves the right to request replacement of audit personnel assigned to the engagement if such personnel are not conductive to an efficient and effective audit with minimal disruption to the District’s ongoing operations. F. Prior Engagements with Fayetteville School District List separately all engagements within the last five (5) years, ranked on the basis of total staff hours, for the District by type of engagement (i.e. audit, management advisory services, other). Indicate the scope of work, date, engagement partners, total hours, the locations of the firm’s office from which the engagement was performed, and the name and telephone number of the principal client contact. G. Similar Engagements with Other Government Entities For the firm’s office that will be assigned responsibility for the audit, list the most significant engagements (maximum – 5) performed in the last five (5) years that are similar to the engagement described in this request for proposal. The engagements shall be ranked on the basis of total staff hours. This is trial version www.adultpdf.com CONTINUATION SHEET Page 20 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________ VENDOR NAME ! ! Indicate the scope of work, date, engagement partners, total hours, and the name and telephone number of the principal client contact. REQUIRED RESPONSES (cont’d) H. Specific Audit Approach The proposal shall set forth a work plan, including an explanation of the audit methodology to be followed, to perform the services required in the SCOPE OF SERVICES of this request for proposal. In developing the work plan, reference shall be made to such sources of information as District’s budget and related materials, organizational charts, manuals and programs, and financial and other management information systems. Proposers will be required to provide the following information on this audit approach: i. Proposed timeline of the engagement ii. Level of skill and number of hours estimated for the engagement iii. Sample size and the extent to which statistical sampling is to be used in the engagement iv. Extent of use of software in the engagement v. Type and extent of analytical procedures to be used in the engagement vi. Approach to be taken to gain and document an understanding of the District’s internal control structure vii. Approach to be taken in determining laws and regulations that will be subject to audit test work viii. Approach to be taken in drawing audit samples for purposes of tests of compliance I. Identification of Anticipated Potential Audit Problems This is trial version www.adultpdf.com . CONTINUATION SHEET Page 11 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________ VENDOR NAME ! ! SCOPE OF SERVICES The Fayetteville. Performed in Accordance with Government Auditing Standards. This is trial version www.adultpdf.com CONTINUATION SHEET Page 12 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office. contractor's proposal as negotiated. This is trial version www.adultpdf.com CONTINUATION SHEET Page 15 Request for Proposal Fayetteville Public Schools Business Office __________________