REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AUDITING SERVICES MARCH 27, 2019 CITY OF ITHACA 129 W EMERSON STREET ITHACA MI 48847 989-875-3200
CITY OF ITHACA, MICHIGAN REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL AUDITING SERVICES The City of Ithaca, Michigan is requesting proposals from qualified firms of Certified Public Accountants for professional services to audit the City s annual financial statements and records for the purpose of rendering an Independent Auditors Report and for performance of a federal Single Audit, should one be required, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2019, June 30, 2020 and June 30, 2021 with an option of an extension for June 30, 2022 and 2023. QUALIFICATIONS OF AN AUDITING FIRM TO PROPOSE: The following information must be affirmed in the proposal response: 1. The auditing firm is properly licensed for public practice in the State of Michigan as a certified public accountant. 2. The firm meets the independence requirements of the Governmental Auditing Standards published by the U.S. General Accounting Office. 3. The firm does not have a record of substandard audit work. Please disclose the controls your firm has in place to ensure quality standards have been met. Also disclose whether your firm is subject to an external quality control review process and internal quality control procedures. CONTRACT TERMS AND ARRANGEMENTS: 1. The selected firm shall be designated as the City s auditing and financial consulting firm for a period of three years to include financial audits for the fiscal years ending June, 2019, 2020 and 2021. An optional extension for fiscal year s 2022 and 2023 is also being requested. 2. If the selected firm performs satisfactorily for all three audited years, the City may extend the term for additional years as requested. If extended and the selected firm performs satisfactorily for the additional years, the City may extend the term of service, with the subsequent years of services cost to be negotiated. 3. The City reserves the right to terminate the contract for audit at any time. 4. The City reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals, to waive informalities or errors in the proposal process, and to accept any proposal deemed in the best interest of the City, including proposals that are not the lowest amount. 5. The City of Ithaca is expected to award a contract for auditing services at the City Council meeting to be held on May 7, 2019. 6. There is no expressed or implied obligation for the City of Ithaca to reimburse responding firms for any expenses incurred in preparing proposals in response to this request. 1 Page
7. In the event of a merger of the audit firm with another firm of certified public accountant or the change of partners to the audit firm, this contract will be transferable to the successor firm if approved by the City of Ithaca City Council. 8. The contract will not be assigned or transferred without the written approval of the City of Ithaca as approved by its City Council. 9. The City will have staff and responsible management personnel available during the audit to assist the firm by providing information, documentation and explanations. The preparation of the confirmations will be the responsibility of the Auditor. DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY: The City of Ithaca is a community of approximately 3,000 residents and is the County Seat of Gratiot County, located in the center of Michigan s Lower Peninsula. The City is a leading partner in community collaboration with the schools, county, local municipalities and townships. The City s base economy is stable with continued growth and diversification in the surrounding agricultural and manufacturing sectors. The City of Ithaca has two Michigan Certified Business Parks, one Michigan Tax-Free Renaissance Agricultural Sub Zone and one professional office park which offer plenty of opportunity for growth. Ithaca is located within the university corridor of Central Michigan University, Alma College and Michigan State University. The City of Ithaca has seen growth in the industrial, agricultural, and commercial sectors and has approved several tax abatements to aide in this growth. The City of Ithaca is a Council-Manager form of government. The City Council is a non-partisan Council made up of seven members (Mayor and six Councilpersons) elected at-large. The City Manager, Clerk- Treasurer, Fire Chief, and Department Heads are appointed officers of the City. The City is a full-service city with water and sewer utilities. The City employs 13 full-time, 5 part-time, 2 seasonal and 18 Paid Volunteer Fire-Rescue personnel. The City contracts for its Police Services and Building Permit Operations with the County of Gratiot and Assessing Services with the City of Clare. The City contracts out its Fire and First Responder services to six neighboring townships. The City of Ithaca maintains a conservative approach to spending and is able to provide many services to residents. The City maintains thirteen individual governmental funds. Major funds include: General (including Cemetery), Major Street, Local Street, Library, and Fire. Non-Major include: Economic Development, Caldwell Memorial, Gibbs Memorial, First Responder, Cemetery Sinking, Fire & Rescue Sinking, Grant Projects and Cemetery Perpetual Care. In addition, the City maintains three Proprietary funds; a Water/Sewer Enterprise fund and two Internal Service Funds Equipment and Materials. The City of Ithaca also has Fiduciary funds for funds held by the City in an Agency capacity for Property Taxes and Payroll Deductions. The City has one Component Unit, the Downtown Development Authority. The DDA no longer operates a Tax Increment Finance Plan since the expiration of the plan in 2017. The City currently has one debt issuance for Unlimited Tax General Obligation Bonds which were refinanced in 2016. (Moody s Annual Issuer Comments are included). The City currently utilizes BS&A software for all financial processing and reporting including General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Cash Receipting, Payroll, Utility Billing, Miscellaneous Accounts Receivable, Cemetery Management, Assessing and Property Tax including Delinquent Personal Property Tax. Additional information, including financial, may be found on the City s website at www.ithacami.com. 2 Page
PROFILE OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR The respondents are requested to provide a profile of general background information which should include: 1. The organization and size of the respondent, whether it is local, regional, national or international in operations. 2. The location of the office from which the work is to be done and the number of professional staff by staff level, employed at that office. 3. Positive statements, as listed in the Qualifications of Auditing Firms to Propose, that the mandatory criteria are satisfied. PROPOSER S INFORMATION AND QUALIFICATIONS: Experience: Identify the audit managers, field supervisors and other staff who will work on the audit, including staff from other than the local office. Profiles including relevant experience for the auditor in charge up to the individual with final responsibility for the engagement should be included. References: Provide four references for local and regional audits similar to the type of audit being requested. Conflict of Interest: List and describe the firm s professional relationships with the City or any of its agencies for the past five years (if any) and include a statement as to why such relationship does not constitute a conflict of interest relative to performing the proposed audit. Other: Include any other information that would be helpful in allowing the City to make an informed decision in the selection process. PROPOSERS APPROACH TO EXAMINATION/SCOPE OF SERVICES Submit a work plan to accomplish the audit. The work plan should include time estimates for each significant segment of the work. Please include a listing of all schedules expected to be prepared by City staff. Firms will not be allowed to subcontract any portion of the engagement to other firms. The plan should also detail information on when the audit firm plans to deliver the draft and final reports. The firm must compile the information necessary to comply with, and put into appropriate format, all financial statements with all required footnote disclosures, within the audited financial statements in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) as set forth by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards as issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the provisions of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133, and all other applicable State of Michigan or federal standards. The City of Ithaca desires the auditor to express an opinion on the fair presentation of its financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These audits will need to address the requirements of and be in compliance with all of the following: Applicable State of Michigan requirements Applicable Federal Requirements Applicable requirements under GAAP Any other applicable requirements 3 Page
COMPENSATION/COST: The cost proposal should include: 1. A cost of services being offered for audit for the City of Ithaca and its Component Unit, with a separate cost listed for a single audit should one be required as requested: (Please use Attachment A) A. Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2019 and Single Audit B. Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2020 and Single Audit C. Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2021 and Single Audit Optional Extension: D. Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2022 and Single Audit E. Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2023 and Single Audit 2. Estimate of any other costs such as mileage, travel, clerical time, etc. not included in the audit cost. 3. Additional costs, if not included with audit cost, associated with implementing and assisting the City with any new or existing accounting principles required by GASB, or as required by State or Federal law. 4. The firm will be available to answer questions that may arise during the term without additional cost to the City. If not in agreement to this practice, please note exceptions and quote cost for this additional service. WORKING PAPER RETENTION AND ACCESS: Records and documents pertaining to the City of Ithaca audit will become the property of the City. All working papers and reports must be retained at the firm s expense for a minimum of five years after completion of the audit. The firm will be required to make all working papers available, upon request, to the City of Ithaca. The firm shall provide to the City, all audit adjustments including supporting documents and will meet with staff to discuss these final adjustments. AUDIT REPORTING, REPORTS AND COPIES: The Firm shall prepare and present the Annual Audit to the City Council during a regular or special meeting of the Council or Committee of the Whole work session. These meetings generally fall in the evening on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, but are subject to change. The Firm shall furnish the City with five (5) paper copies and one electronic version of each annual audited financial statements. The Firm will be responsible for filing the Annual Audit Report with the State of Michigan by the filing deadline. 4 Page
PROPOSAL DUE DATE: Proposals will be accepted through Monday, April 22, 2019. All proposals must be valid until July 31, 2019. The City expects to make its decision at the City Council Meeting on May 7, 2019. Due to time considerations, electronic versions of the proposal will be accepted and may be sent to bfandell@ithacami.com. CONTACT INFORMATION: Please address any questions regarding this RFP to: Barbara Fandell, Clerk-Treasurer City of Ithaca 129 W. Emerson Street Ithaca, Michigan 48847-1017 Phone: 989-875-3200 x 305 Email: bfandell@ithacami.com 5 Page
ATTACHMENT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL AUDITING SERVICES Firm Submitting Proposal: Proposed Fee for Services: Fiscal Year Audit & Reports Single Audit (if needed) Component Unit Additional Fees (attach detail) Total 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Signature of Authorized Representative Date Print Name Title 6 Page