Village of Bartlett REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR PROFESSIONAL AUDITING SERVICES December 30,2014 Village of Bartlett 228 S. Main Street Bartlett, Illinois 60103
Village of Bartlett REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TABLE OF CONTENTS l. INTRODUCTION A. General Information B. Entity to be Audited C. Fund Structure D. Pension Plans E. Budgetary Basis of Accounting F. Joint Ventures I/. NATURE OF SERVICES REQUIRED A. Scope of Work to be Performed B. Reports to be Issued C. Additional Reports D. Reporting to the Board of Trustees E. GFOA Certificate Program F. Working Paper Retention and Access to Working Papers G. Time Requirements H. Other II/. IV, VILLAGE RESPONSIBILITIES PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS A. General Requirements B. Audit Proposal 1. General Requirements 2. Independence 3. License to Practice in Illinois 4. Firm Qualifications and Experience 5. Partner, Supervisory and Staff Qualifications and Experience 6. Similar Engagements with Other Government Entities 7. Specific Audit Approach 8. Identification of Anticipated Potential Audit Problems C. Engagement Fees
Village of Bartlett REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TABLE OF CONTENTS V. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS A. Inquiries and Availability of Prior Audit Reports B. Date and Time of Submissions VI. EVALUATION PROCEDURES
VILLAGE OF BARTLETT REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL AUDITING SERVICES I. INTRODUCTION A. General Information The Village of Bartlett is requesting proposals from qualified finns of certified public accountants to audit its finaucial statements beginning fiscal year ending April 30, 2015 for a period of three (3) years with the option of auditing its finaucial statements for subsequent fiscal years upon mutual agreement of the Village of Bartlett and the finn selected. There is no expressed or implied obligation for the Village of Bartlett to reimburse responding finns for auy expenses incurred in preparing proposals in response to this request. If any finn submitting a proposal intends on subcontracting out all or any portion ofthe engagement, that fact, aud the name of the proposed subcontracting finn(s), must be clearly disclosed in the proposal. Following the award of the audit contract, no additional subcontracting will be allowed without the prior written consent of the Village. B. Entity to be Audited The Village of Bartlett is requesting an audit which includes all the funds, accounts, capital assets, long-tenn debt, and activities of the Village of Bartlett. The Village does not have any component units aud is not a component unit of auy other government. The funds of the Village are listed in the next section. The prior CAFR's of the Village of Bartlett are available online at www.village.bartlett.il.us/finauce/finauce.html. C. Fund Structure The Village of Bartlett uses the following fund types in its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The asterisks note the major funds in 2014: General Fund* Special Revenue Fund Motor Fuel Tax Governmental Fund Types
Village of Bartlett - Request for Proposal Page 2 D. Pension Plans Debt Service Fund Debt Service* Capital Projects Funds Capital Projects* Municipal Building Developers' Deposit* Town Center Tax Increment Financing Route 59 and Lake Street Tax Increment Financing* Bluff City Tax Increment Financing Municipal Bluff City Tax Increment Financing Project Brewster Creek Tax Increment Financing Municipal Brewster Creek Tax Increment Financing Project* Enterprise Funds Water* Sewer* Parking Golf* Internal Service Funds Central Services Vehicle Replacement Proprietary Fund Tvpes Fiduciarv Fund Tvpes Pension Trust Fund Police Pension Agency Fund Bluff City Special Service Area The Village of Bartlett participates in the following pension plans: 1. Police Pension Fund 2. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Actuarial services for the Police Pension Fund are provided by Sandor Goldstein & Associates. E. Budgetary Basis of Accounting The Village of Bartlett prepares its budgets on a basis consistent with generally accepted accounting principles.
Village of Bartlett - Request for Proposal Page 3 F. Joint Ventnres The Village of Bartlett does not participate III joint ventures with other governments. II. NATURE OF SERVICES REQUIRED A. Scope of Work to be Performed The Village of Bartlett desires the auditor to express an opinion on the Village's governmental activities, the business-type activities, each major fund and the aggregate remaining fund information that collectively comprise the basic financial statements. The auditor shall also be responsible for performing certain limited procedures involving required supplementary information required by generally accepted auditing standards. The auditor is not required to audit the introductory or statistical information sections of the CAFR. It is the Village of Bartlett's intent to have the auditor prepare, edit, and produce all sections of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) of the Village of Bartl ett. The auditor will be responsible for compiling and filing the Illinois Comptroller'S Annual Financial Report for the Village of Bartlett. The auditor will be responsible for compiling and filing the Illinois Department of Insurance's Annual Statement for the Village of Bartlett, Illinois Police Pension Fund. The auditor will be responsible for preparing a separate report for the Village of Bartlett's Police Pension Fund to include the following sections of the CAFR: 1) Report of independent auditors 2) Statement of Plan Net Position 3) Statement of Changes in Plan Net Position 4) Notes to Financial Statements (related to Police Pension Fund) 5) Schedule of funding progress 6) Schedule of Employer contributions 7) Schedule of Changes in Plan Net Position - Budget and Actual The auditor will be responsible for expressing an opinion on management's assertion that the Village of Bartlett, Illinois, complied with the requirements of subsection (q) of Section 11-74.4-3 of the Illinois Tax Increment Redevelopment Allocation Act (Illinois Public Act 85-1142) for each Tax Increment Financing District.
Village of Bartlett - Request for Proposal Page 4 The auditor will be responsible for the preparation of the Single Audit Report, if required by the Single Audit Act. The Village was required to file a single audit report for the year ending April 30, 2014. The auditor's responsibility extends to preparation of the Federal Data Collection Fonnalong with completing all filing requirements related to the Single Audit Act. B. Reports to be Issued The independent auditor shall prepare and reproduce the following reports: 1. Twenty-five (25) copies of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and one (l) electronic file of the report, the Village will provide covers, spines, and letterhead, 2. The Illinois Comptroller's Annual Financial Report shall be prepared and filed by the auditor with four (4) had copies and one (l) electronic copy provided to the Village of Bartlett, 3. The Illinois Department of Insurance Annual Statement shall be prepared and filed by the auditor with two (2) hard copies and one (1) electronic copy provided to the Village of Bartlett, 4. The opinion on management's assertion that the Village of Bartlett, Illinois, complied with the requirements of subsection (q) of Section 11-74.4-3 of the Illinois Tax Increment Redevelopment Allocation Act (Illinois Public Act 85-1142) for each Tax Increment District, (to be included in the CAFR), 5. Ten (10) copies of the report to the Village of Bartlett Police Pension Board, 6. Fifteen (15) hard copies and one (l) electronic copy of the Single Audit report if applicable. C. Additional Reports During the course of the examination of the Village's financial Statements the auditor may find weaknesses in internal controls. The auditor shall communicate in a letter to management any reportable conditions found during the audit. The independent auditor shall bring such matters to the attention of the Village before issuance ofthe report for discussion.
Village of Bartlett - Request for Proposal Page 5 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 the following parties: D. Reporting to the Board of Trustees Valerie L. Salmons, Village Administrator JeffMartynowicz, Finance Director To assist the Board in overseeing the financial reporting and disclosure process for which management is responsible, reporting to the Board of Trustees will be in accordance with accounting standards. The completed audit and related materials will be presented to the Village Officials at a board meeting. E. GFOA Certificate Program The Village of Bartlett will send its CAFR to the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for review in their Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting program. The Village strongly endorses the program and has been awarded the Certificate for over the past thirty years. It is the intent of the Village of Bartlett to continue its participation in the program. The auditor shall assure the Village's CAFR confonns to the provisions of the program and shall prepare annually the Village's response to comments made by the award program on the preceding year's report as submitted to the program. All appropriate and reasonable changes that are required by the prior year's comments are to be incorporated into the cun'ent year's report. F. Working Paper Retention and Access to Working Papers All working papers and repolis must be retained, at the auditor's expense, for a minimum of three (7) years, unless the finn is notified in writing by the Village of Bartlett of the need to extend the retention period. The auditor will be required to make working papers available, upon request, to the Village of Bmilett. In addition, the finn shall respond to the reasonable inquiries of successor auditors and allow successor auditors to review working papers relating to matters of continuing accounting significance. G. Time Requirements The auditor shall have a draft of the CAFR and recommendations to management available for review by the Finance Department by September 1 st and a final draft by no later than October 1 st.
Village of Bartlett - Request for Proposal Page 6 The Village of Bartlett will receive an electronic copy of the CAFR in order to apply for the GFOA's Certificate of Achievement in Excellence for Financial Reporting by October 15 th The balance of the CAFR's must be received by the Village of Bartlett by October 25 th The Village will receive all copies of the Illinois Department ofinsurance Annual Statement for the Village of Bartlett, Illinois Police Pension Fund prior to the deadline established by the Illinois Department of Insurance. In addition, the auditor will file electronically the Annual Statement prior to the established deadline. The Village will receive all copies of the Illinois Comptroller's Annual Financial RepOli and the auditor will file the report electronically prior to the deadline established by the Office of the Comptroller of the State of Illinois. H. Other 1. In the event of a merger of the audit firm with another firm of certified public accountants or the change of partners to the audit firm, this contract will be transferable to the successor firm with the approval of the Village. III. VILLAGE RESPONSIBILITIES The finance department staff and responsible management personnel will be available during the audit to assist the firm by providing information, documentation and explanations. It will be the responsibility of the Village to provide the independent auditor with an adjusted trial balance of all funds and other supporting documentation necessary to conduct the audit. The Village will also provide the typing services for the audit confirmations. The auditor's principal contact with the Village of Bartlett will be Todd Dowden, Assistant Finance Director, or a designated representative, who will coordinate the assistance to be provided by the Village of Bartlett to the auditor. The Village of Bartlett will provide the auditor with reasonable workspace, desks and chairs. The auditor will also be provided with access to a telephone, internet connection, photocopying facilities and fax machine subject to restrictions. IV. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS To conduct a fair evaluation of all proposals in an efficient manner, the following information is to be included in the proposal:
Village of Bartlett - Request for Proposal Page 7 A. General Requirements i. Title Page Title page showing the request for proposals subject; the finn's name; the name, address and telephone number of the contact person; and the date of the proposal. ii. Table of Contents iii. Transmittal Letter A signed letter of transmittal briefly stating the proposer's understanding of the work to be done, the commitment to perfonn the work within the time period, and a statement why the finn believes itself to be best qualified to perfonn the engagement. B. Audit Proposal 1. General Requirements The purpose of the proposal is to demonstrate the qualifications, competence and capacity of the finns seeking to undertake an independent audit of the Village of Bartlett in confonnity with the requirements of this request for proposal. As such, the substance of proposals will carry more weight than their fonn or manner of presentation. The proposal should demonstrate the qualifications of the finn and of the particular staff to be assigned to this engagement. It should also specify an audit approach that will meet the request for proposal requirements. 2. Independence The finn should provide an affinnative statement that it is independent of the Village of Bartlett as defined by generally accepted auditing standards/the U.S. General Accounting Office's Government Auditing Standards. 3. License to Practice in Illinois An affinnative statement should be included that the finn and all assigned key professional staff are properly licensed to practice in Illinois.
Village of Bartlett - Request for Proposal Page 8 4. Firm Qualifications and Experience The proposer should state the size of the finn, the size of the finn's governmental audit staff, the location of the office from which the work on this engagement is to be perfonned and the number and nature of the professional staffto be employed in this engagement. If the proposer is a joint venture or consortium, the qualifications of each finn comprising the joint venture or consortium should be separately identified and the finn that is to serve as the principal auditor should be noted, if applicable. The finn 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 finn shall also provide infonnation 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 finn shall provide infonnation on the circumstances and status of any disciplinary action taken or pending against the finn during the past three (3) years with state regulatory bodies or professional organizations. 5. 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 registered or licensed to practice as a certified public accountant in Illinois. Provide infonnation on the government auditing experience of each person, including infonnation on relevant continuing professional education for the past three (3) years and membership in professional organizations relevant to the perfonnance of this audit. Indicate how the quality of staff over the telm of the agreement will be assured. Engagement partners, managers, other supervisory staff and specialists may be changed if those personnel leave the finn, are promoted or are assigned to another office. These personnel may also be changed for other reasons with the express prior written pennission of the Village of Bartlett. However, in either case, the Village of Bartlett retains the right to approve or reject replacements. Consultants and finn specialists mentioned in response to this request for proposal can only be changed with the express prior written pennission of
Village of Bartlett - Request for Proposal Page 9 the Village of Bartlett, 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. 6. 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 years that are similar to the engagement described in this request for proposal. These engagements should be ranked on the basis of total staff hours. Indicate the scope of work, date, engagement partners, total hours, and the name and telephone number of the principal client contact. 7. Specific Audit Approach The proposal should set forth a work plan, including an explanation of the audit methodology to be followed. Proposers will be required to provide the following information on their audit approach: a. Proposed timing of the engagement, b. Level of staff and number of hours to be assigned to each proposed segment of the engagement, c. Sample size and the extent to which statistical sampling is to be used in the engagement, d. Extent of use of software in the engagement, e. Type and extent of analytical procedures to be used in the engagement, f. Approach to be taken to gain and document an understanding of the Village of Bartlett's internal control structure, g. Approach to be taken in determining laws and regulations that will be subject to audit test work. h. Approach to be taken in drawing audit samples for purposes of tests of compliance. 8. Identification of Anticipated Potential Audit Problems
Village of Bartlett - Request for Proposal Page 10 The proposal should identify and describe any anticipated potential audit problems, the finn's approach to resolving these problems and any special assistance that will be requested from the Village of Bartlett. C. Engagement and Fees The Village does not want to entertain the RFP process on an annual basis. Therefore, the Village requests that you provide a maximum "not to exceed" fee for a series of one year engagements for a total of three years (See Attachment 1). These fees should include all expenses. A statement on how the finn handles new accounting and auditing standards during the contract period should be included in the proposal. In addition, provide as much infonnation as possible for the estimated hours your finn expects to complete this engagement and your rates for additional services. At the end of each one-year engagement during the initial three-year period, the contract is considered automatically extended for one year unless the Village notifies the independent auditor, in writing and not later than January 1, of the fiscal year to be audited, that the Village will not renew the engagement. V. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS A. Inquiries and Availability of Prior Audit Reports Inquiries concerning the request for proposals and the subject of the request for proposals should contact Todd Dowden at 228 South Main Street, Bartlett, IL. 60103, (630) 540-5950. The Village of Bartlett will use its best effolis to make infonnation available to proposers to aid their response to this request for proposal. The Village's prior CAFR's are available online at www.village.bartlett.il.us/finance/finance.html. B. Date and Time of Submissions Three (3) copies of the proposal are required and are to be sealed in envelopes addressed to the above and clearly marked "2015 Audit RFP". Proposals are due no later than 3:00 p.m., Friday, January 30, 2015. VI. EVALUATION PROCEDURES Proposals will be evaluated by the Finance Department to detennine which proposal best meets the requirements of the Village. Evaluation factors include, but are not limited to technical expertise, qualifications, references, expelience of the finn (and audit team), success in securing and maintaining the Certificate of Achievement in Excellence in Financial Reporting for their clients, as well as the fee.
Village of Bartlett - Request for Proposal Page 11 After all proposals are evaluated, the Finance Department may conduct interviews with a select number of firms whose proposals best meets the requirements of the Village. During the evaluation process, the Finance Department reserves the right, where it may serve the Village of Bartletfs best interest, to request additional information or clarifications from proposers, or to allow corrections of errors or omissions. The Village of Bartlett reserves the right to retain all proposals submitted and to use any ideas in a proposal regardless of whether that proposal is selected. Submission of a proposal indicates acceptance by the firm of the conditions contained in this request for proposal, unless clearly and specifically noted in the proposal submitted and confirmed in the contract between the Village of Bartlett and the firm selected. It is anticipated the selection of a firm will be completed by February 17,2015.
Attachment 1 Village of Bartlett Request for Proposal Auditing Services DUE: 3:00 P.M., January 30,2015 FEE STRUCTURE Description Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Copies Needed 25 2015 2016 2017 Total Tax Increment Financing Opinion (each) Preparation of the Management Letter 12 Responses to Prior GFOA Comments 1 Comptrollers Annual Financial Report 4 Illinois Department of Insurance Report 2 Police Pension Board Report 10 Single Audit Report (if necessary) 15 Other Firm Submitting Proposal: Signature of Authorized Representative Name of Authorized Representative Title Date