B. TECHNICAL PROPOSAL The purpose of the Technical Proposal is to demonstrate the qualifications, competence and capacity of the firms seeking to undertake an independent audit of the Town of Wellington in conformity with the requirements of this request for proposals. As such, the substance of proposals will carry more weight than their form or manner of presentation. The Technical Proposal should demonstrate the qualifications of the firm and of the particular staff to be assigned to this engagement. It should also specify an audit approach that will meet the request for proposals requirements.
The Technical Proposal should address all the points outlined in the request for proposals (excluding any cost information which should only be included in the sealed cost proposal). The Proposal should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the firm’s capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the request for proposal. While additional data may be presented, the following items must be included, as they represent the criteria against which the proposal will be evaluated.
1. Independence
The firm should provide an affirmative statement that it is independent of the Town of Wellington as defined by applicable standards. The firm should provide an affirmative statement that it is independent of all of the entities included in this proposal. In addition, the firm shall give the Town of Wellington written notice of any professional relationships entered into during the period of their engagement.
2. License to Practice in Colorado
An affirmative statement should be included that the firm and all assigned key professional staff are properly licensed to practice in Colorado.
3. Firm Qualifications and Experience
The firm should state the size of the firm, 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 professional staff to be employed on 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 firm uses subcontractors, the qualifications of each subcontractor should be separately identified and portion of the audit work that will be subcontracted should be identified, if applicable.
If the firm is a joint venture or consortium, the qualifications of each firm comprising the joint venture or consortium should be separately identified and the firm that is to serve, as the principal auditor should be noted, if applicable.
The firm is 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 provide information on the results of any federal or state desk reviews or field reviews of its audits during the past three (3) years.
The firm shall provide proof of workers’ compensation insurance as well as proof of professional liability (errors & omissions) insurance of at least one million dollars of coverage.
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.
4. 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.
Audit personnel may be changed at the discretion of the firm, provided that replacements have substantially the same or better qualifications or experience.
5. Prior Engagements with the Town of Wellington
List separately all engagements within the last five years with the Town of Wellington, ranked on the basis of total staff hours and type of engagement (audit, management advisory services, etc). Indicate the scope of work, date, engagement partners, total hours, office location for specific engagement, and the name and telephone number of the principal client contact.
6. Similar Engagements With Other Government Entities
List all engagements performed in the last five years that are similar to the engagement described in this request for proposal, based on the office that will be directly responsibility for this project. 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 shall include a work plan, including an explanation of the audit methodology to be followed, to perform the services required in Section II of this request for proposal. In developing the work plan, reference should be made to such sources of information as Town of Wellington's budget and related materials, organizational charts, manuals and programs, and financial and other management information systems.
Firms will be required to provide the following information on their audit approach:
a. Proposed segmentation of the engagement (The Town’s preference is for field work commencing in Mid-March)
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 EDP 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 Town of Wellington'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
The proposal should identify and describe any anticipated potential audit problems, the firm's approach to resolving these problems and any special assistance that will be requested from the Town of Wellington.
C. Sealed Cost Proposal
1. Summary of Professional Fees and Expenses
The sealed cost proposal should contain all pricing information relative to performing the audit engagement as described in this request for proposal. The total all-inclusive maximum price to be bid is to contain all direct and indirect costs including all out-of-pocket expenses.
The Town of Wellington will not be responsible for expenses incurred in preparing and submitting the technical proposal or the sealed cost proposal. Such costs should not be included in the proposal.
The first page of the sealed cost proposal should include the following information:
a. Name of firm
b. Certification that the person signing the proposal is entitled to represent the firm, empowered to submit the bid, and authorized to sign a contract with the Town of Wellington
c. Costs for the standard financial audit should be separate from the cost of the single audit (if needed) and should also include the total all-inclusive maximum price for each engagement for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
d. Any charges for accounting/procedural inquiries throughout the year that are not part of the audit work for the current year.
2. Rates by staff member
Include the rate anticipated hours for each partner, specialist, supervisory and staff level expected to perform the necessary services. The second page of the proposal should include a schedule of professional fees and expenses.
3. Manner of payment
Include the requirement for progress payments.
VI. EVALUATION PROCEDURES
A. AUDIT COMMITTEE AND KEY STAFF
Proposals will be evaluated by the auditor selection committee, consisting of the Finance Director and Town Administrator.
B. REVIEW OF PROPOSALS
The auditor selection committee will use a point formula during the review process to score proposals. Each member of the committee will first score each technical proposal by each of the criteria described below under EVALUATION CRITERIA. The full committee will then convene to review and discuss these evaluations and to combine the individual scores to arrive at a composite technical score for each firm. At this point, firms with an unacceptably low technical score will be eliminated from further consideration.
After the composite technical score for each firm has been established, the sealed cost proposal will be opened and additional points will be added to the technical score based on the cost proposal. The maximum score for price will be assigned to the firm offering the lowest total all-inclusive maximum price. Appropriate fractional scores will be assigned to other firms.
The Town of Wellington reserves the right to retain all proposals submitted and use any idea in a proposal regardless of whether that proposal is selected.
C. EVALUATION CRITERIA
Proposals will be evaluated using three sets of criteria. Firms meeting the mandatory criteria will have their proposals evaluated and scored for both technical qualifications and price. The following represent the principal selection criteria that will be considered during the evaluation process.
1. Mandatory Elements
a. The audit firm is independent and licensed to practice in Colorado
b. The firm has no conflict of interest with regard to any other work performed by the firm for the Town of Wellington
c. The firm adheres to the instructions in this request for proposal on preparing and submitting the proposal
d. The firm submits a copy of its last external quality control review report and the firm has a record of quality audit work
2. Technical Quality:
a. Expertise and Experience
1) The firm’s past experience and performance on comparable government engagements
2) The quality of the firm’s professional personnel to be assigned to the engagement and the quality of the firm’s management support personnel to be available for technical consultation
3) Experience with similar Federal or State Financial Assistance Programs
4) Experience with similar computer systems
b. Audit Approach
1) Adequacy of proposed staffing plan for various segments of the engagement
2) Adequacy of sampling techniques
3) Adequacy of analytical procedures
3. Price
4. Reference Check
5. Oral Presentation, if required. During the evaluation process, the auditor selection committee may, at its discretion, request the eligible firms to make oral presentations. Such presentations will provide firms with an opportunity to answer any questions the committee may have on a firm's proposal. Not all firms may be asked to make such oral presentations.
D. FINAL SELECTION
It is anticipated that a firm will be selected on December 28, 2022. Following notification of the firm selected, it is expected that a contract will be executed between both parties by January 10, 2023.