Interested entities are asked to please prepare a response according to the instructions in the attached Request for Proposal.

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1 Request for Proposal #13-01 Accounting Services Released The Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County is seeking a qualified individual or organization to provide day-to-day accounting/bookkeeping services as well as outside financial oversight. Proposals from those entities that may be interested are currently being accepted. This is not a request for single audit services. The anticipated start date of the contract is September 1, 2013 and extends through the fiscal year end June 30, How ever w ith this procurement process, the contract can be negotiated and renew ed for a total of 4 one-year terms. Interested entities are asked to please prepare a response according to the instructions in the attached Request for Proposal. Agency Background The Ear ly Learning Coalition of Sarasota County w as originally incorporated in May 2000 as the School Readiness Coalition of Sarasota County, Inc., as a 501 c (3) non-profit organization. Both the School Readiness and Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten legislation (most recent HB7165) in assign a number of specific responsibilities to Early Learning Coalitions to implement at the local level to improve the quality of local child care sites and support school readiness outcomes for all children. The Legislature recognized that effective school readiness programs increase children s chances for success. Legislation outlines the responsibilities for Early Learning Coalitions across the state including oversight for the delivery of local early education services, establishes thresholds for spending categories and deter mines the composition of its Board of Directors. Our local Coalition currently administers a program of almost $12 million of local, state and federal funds that are used to: Facilitate and oversee a w ide range of support services to enhance the overall system of quality child care and preschool educational services for children in Sarasota County Provide child care scholarships to local income-eligible families and appropriate developmental screenings for children Administer the Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program (VPK) for all eligible four year olds to increase the readiness of children to begin Kindergarten The Ear ly Learning Coalition of Sarasota County reports at the state level to the Florida Office for Early Learning w ithin the Department of Education. An member Board of Directors, w hose membership is determined by the current legislation, governs the Coalition and ensures compliance w ith all applicable legislation and statutory requirements and a high quality of services Service Need Utilizing an outside accountant to handle specific financial transactions is both a key component of the Coalition s internal control procedures and a cost effective means for financial oversight. The specific duties are outlined in the scope of w ork statement. 1

2 I. Scope of Work See Attachment A REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTRACTOR RESPONSE II. Deliverables Ability to meet all the specific day- to- day tasks and components outlined in Attachment A Monthly financial statements in desired format Scheduled availability for meetings and consultations Response to e- mail and/or telephone requests for information Coordination w ith audit firm for annual single audit Preparation of annual organizational financial statements as needed, to meet any enhanced audit regulations III. Proposal Content Proposers are asked to submit the follow ing: 1. Cover page/trans mittal letter signed by the individual responsible for the contract. 2. Proposal summary (1 page) that provides an overview of the firm and description of w ork. 3. Description of w ork (no more than 2 pages) to include the follow ing: Provide a description of the firm s ability to meet the scope of w ork requirements Demonstrate an understanding of the deliverables and how the firm can meet those Timeline of tasks and deliverables, including ability to meet the proposed contract date 4. Fir m qualifications (1 page) Brief history of the firm Qualifications of staff who would be assigned to this project Description of recent projects w ith relevant scope of work 5. Proposed costs (1 page) to include: Personnel costs (hourly rate and hour estimate per task) Additional costs and expenses, listed separately Budget narrative explaining costs 6. Attachments Please attach three references, resumes of project personnel, and other materials that you feel will be helpful in evaluating your proposal. 7. Page Limit Maximum number of pages for proposal not including cover letter and attachments is 5 pages. IV. Evaluation Criteria Proposals w ill be evaluated on the follow ing criteria: Experience of the firm Qualifications of project personnel Understanding of non profit accounting w ork w ith multiple cost centers Experience w ith state contracts Previous w ork w ith other Early Learning Coalitions Proposed Cost 2

3 V. Proposal Delivery and Deadline A. Please provide 1 original signed hard copy, and 1 complete copy, via U.S. mail or hand-delivered (no faxes) to: Mr. James Paw lak Finance Director Ear ly Learning Coalition of Sarasota County th Street, Unit L Sarasota, FL Ext 115 jpaw lak@earlylearningcoalitionsarasota.org B. In addition, send one complete electronic version to mail@earlylearningcoalitionsarasota.org C. Proposals are due to the Ear ly Learning office by COB. on or before August 30, VI. Decision Date and Notification Details The successful applicant w ill be chosen September 2, 2013 and notified via phone and mail; all other applicants w ill receive written notification. Upon receipt of all proposals, the Coalition w ill review and make a decision based on the applicants ability to fulfill the service requirements as outlined in Attachment A, their experience, the evaluation criteria outlined in item IV. above, any value added enhancements above and beyond specifications in Attachment A, and the quality of any previous services provided. VIII. Questions Regarding Content of RFP Prospective vendors may contact the Coalition w ith questions regarding any part of the RFP via at jpaw lak@earlylearningcoalitonsarasota.org up to COB 27 August The Coalition w ill answ er vendor questions as expeditiously as possible upon receipt of an , and w ill copy all other interested vendors on both the question and response. All responses will be provided no later than COB 28 August 2013, as proposals are due by COB 30 August CONTRACT TERMS I. Please see attached sample Core Contract w ith all terms and conditions. 3

4 Attachment A Scope of Work Accounting Services Contract The Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County is seeking a qualified individual or organization to provide day-to-day accounting/bookkeeping services as well as outside financial oversight. Utilizing an outside accountant to handle specific financial transactions is both a key component of the Coalition s internal control procedures and a cost effective means for additional/outside financial consultation and oversight. The specific duties are outlined in this scope of work statement. Overview 1. To provide services at the direction of the Coalition in accordance w ith relevant fiscal policies. 2. To establish and maintain books, records, and documents, including electronic storage media, in accordance w ith Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures and Practices in a manner w hich sufficiently and properly reflects all revenue and expenditure of funds provided by the Coalition under this agreement. These books, records and documents must be retained according to Florida Statutes as well as non profit accounting regulations, and be returned to the Coalition upon ter mination of this Agreement. 3. To ensure that all fiscal records of the Coalition pertinent to this agreement are available at all reasonable times for inspection, review, copying, or audit by Federal auditors, representatives of the Comptroller of the State of Florida, the Auditor General of Florida, or by other personnel duly authorized by the AWI or by the Executive Director of the Coalition. 4. To monitor the bank account approved by the Coalition w ith approved check signers, including reconciliation and cash flow management. The bank account shall be an interest bearing account, and said interest shall be calculated as per current policies, and returned to the state. 5. To disburse funds, as a contracted agent of the Coalition and as authorized by the Coalition, based on billing and disbursement procedures approved by the Coalition and consistent w ith funders policies and requirements. The Accountant agrees to make all payments to any vendor of the Coalition, including monthly pay ments to child care providers for services rendered to children enrolled in the School Readiness and V PK Programs. Monthly payments may include EFT transfers and paper checks, and w ill involve w orking closely w ith the Coalition s Eligibility Deter mination and Pr ovider Pay ment group ( Child Care Connection ) and the Coalition Business/Finance Manager. 6. To submit to the Coalition s Business/Financial Manager as early as possible, but no later than the 15 th of each month, all expense backup and associated GL reports required for invoices for the previous month s payments. 7. The Accountant w ill conform to all data reporting requirements of the Coalition as established by both the Coalition and its funders. This w ould include monthly financial statements, including a balance sheet and an income and expense summary w ith budget variances. The financial statements, w ith a detailed breakdow n of funds by category should be submitted to the Executive Director and Treasurer w henever possible w ithin three w orking days after submission of the monthly invoices so as to have available for review by Board and finance committee members. The Accountant w ill also participate in budget preparation and review, and be available for at least one in-person meeting each month as requested by the Executive Director (i.e. staff meeting, Board meeting, or Budget and Finance Committee meeting). 4

5 8. Coordinate w ith audit firm on ELC annual single audit, including preparation of financial statements as required by enhanced audit regulations 9. To provide proof of adequate professional liability insurance coverage, and to hold such liability insurance at all times during the existence of this Agreement and any renew als and extensions of it. 10. To perform any additional fiscal services as determined by agreement betw een the Coalition and the Accountant. S pecific Day-to-Day Tasks/ S ervices To Be Provided Code checks into Accounting software based on ELC coding of invoices Review coding of checks after input but prior to processing for accuracy Prepare Profit & Loss by class for the day of the check run and reconcile to Request for Expenditure listing Print checks and Fed Ex to ELC with tracking number Maintain all blank check stock in secure location Prepare detail report indicating the amounts to be reimbursed by funders Obtain payroll reports from payroll processor Obtain salary allocation spreadsheets indicating breakdown of all employees by funder Prepare salary allocation worksheet for weekly payroll by employee based on salary allocation provided by SRC approximately 20 funding sources Input salary allocation worksheets into accounting software weekly Enter ACH s into ELC Bank connection express online database for School Readiness payments approximately 130 ACH different vendors Reconcile all payments per online payment system to payment transmittal form for School Readiness Enter ACH s into ELC Bank connection express online database for Voluntary Pre- Kindergarten payments approximately 85 ACH different vendors Reconcile all payments per online payment system to payment transmittal form for Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Prepare report in PDF form from ELC Bank system for all ACH s and forward to ELC for approval Prepare detail reimbursement reports (payee, check number, amount, etc ) by account for each funding source (approximately 20) Reconcile all payments per online payment system to payment transmittal form for School Readiness Prepare reimbursement requests for Florida Office of Early Learning School Readiness and VPK monthly invoices and other funders as needed, in conjunction with ELC Business/Finance Manager Reconcile each reimbursement request to the General Ledger Enter the reimbursement request in accounting software by funding source Prepare and send monthly financial statements to ELC in required format 5

6 M anage cash flow and monitor bank accounts Enter cash deposits into accounting software - including State wires. Enter all misc. cash transactions - SHRS fees, merchant fees, etc. Reconcile bank statement with cash on GL Reconcile revenue earned in the accounting software by funding source to expenses Prepare and send monthly financial statements to ELC in required format: Balance sheet; Income statement by funder; revenue and expenses by funding source Budget vs. actual YTD; AR Aging; AP Aging; General Ledger YTD Manage cash flow and monitor bank accounts, including reconciliation of statements Work and complete any special report/project requested by ED or Finance M anager Coordinate with annual single audit process; preparation of financial reports for audit 6