REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) INDEPENDENT AUDIT SERVICES CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES - ONLINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT February 22, 2019 SECTION I INTRODUCTION The Online Community College District ("Online College") invites qualified independent auditors and firms to submit proposals for the purpose of awarding an auditing services contract. The Online college requests proposals for one fiscal year, 2018-2019, with the option to renew for four additional one-year periods, for a total of five years maximum. The Online College, upon selection of an auditing firm, will prepare a contract for the one-year term, including the renewal options. Proposals must be delivered electronically, by 5:00 p.m. on March 14, 2019, to the Foundation for California Community Colleges: Julian Roberts Chief Financial Officer Foundation for California Community Colleges 1102 Q Street, Suite 4800 Sacramento, California 95811 jroberts@foundationccc.org The Online College will hold a pre-submission information session via telephone conference on March 7, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. to provide additional background information and to answer questions. Questions regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing by 5:00 p.m. on March 4, 2019. Following is the Zoom link and conference information to join: https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/418310437 Or Telephone: +1 (669) 900-6833 Meeting ID: 418 310 437 Applicants will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, national origin, color, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law. The firm selected, if any, will be selected based upon the written proposal and an oral presentation to be arranged at a mutually convenient time following the receipt of
Page 2 of 7 proposals. The award will be made to the applicant that will best serve the interests of the Online College. The Online College reserves the right to modify and/or suspend any and all aspects of this procurement, to obtain further information from any firm or person responding to the RFP, to waive any informality or irregularity as to form or content of this RFP or any related response, to be the sole judge of the merits of the proposals received, and to reject any or all proposals. SECTION II BACKGROUND The California community colleges are the largest system of post-secondary education in the country. Annually, more than 2 million students are enrolled at 114 community colleges, which are organized into 72 independent community college districts governed by locally-elected boards of trustees. The new Online College was created by the California Legislature to better serve working adults in California who are often stranded in the workforce by a lack of access to education and training opportunities. There are more than 2.5 million Californians between the ages of 25-34 who lack a college credential and need flexible, affordable options. These Californians face the greatest risk of economic displacement associated with rapid changes in the economy anticipated over the next several years. The new Online College is the 115th California community college and was established as a separate community college district under the authority of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges in its new, additional role as the Board of Trustees for the Online College ("Board of Trustees") through legislation that went into effect in June of 2018. The Online College is in the operational development stage. In accordance with Education Code section 75009, subdivision (a)(8), it is anticipated that the Online College will begin enrolling students by the last quarter of 2019. The Online College requires the services of an independent auditor to comply with its auditing requirements set forth in the Education Code and to develop an auditing plan over the next five years during the development of the Online College. Applicants shall provide independent audit services for the Online College. Because the Online College is not a traditional "brick and mortar" institution and because it has only been recently formed, many traditional categories of inquiry may require modification. This will be particularly so in the first year of operation. For example, there may be no enrolled students in the Online College by the conclusion of the 2018-2019 fiscal year. SECTION III - SCOPE OF SERVICES The Online College requires independent auditing services, as described below. Education Code section 84040 requires that community college districts provide for an annual audit of the books and accounts of the district and include all funds of the Online College. Thus, the scope of work shall be independent audit services of the Online
Page 3 of 7 College's general-purpose financial statements, including all funds and accounts. The annual audit shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and shall comply with, to the extent applicable: (1) the provisions of the California Education Code Section 84040; (2) the Budget and Accounting Manual, California Community Colleges; (3) the guidelines published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in its Industry Audit Guide "Audits of State and Local Governmental Units"; (4) the Single Audit requirements as set forth by the Office of Management and Budget, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 2, Part 200, Subpart F); (5) the California Community Colleges Contracted District Audit Manual; and (6) the audit guides published by the various Federal and State grantors and any other Standards applicable to the audit process. The auditor shall be responsible for setting up and conducting an exit conference with the appropriate Online College personnel. In addition, the audit firm will make a presentation of the audit report to the Board of Trustees each year at the January meeting. The Online College will need twenty-five (25) bound copies of the finalized audited Annual Financial Report prior to the State imposed deadline of December 31. Included within the scope of services shall be the auditor's creation of an Auditing Plan to address the development of appropriate auditing activities related to the Online College, given its operational development and its formation over the next five years. The Auditing Plan must be presented to the Board of Trustees at the January meeting, along with the audit report. The Auditing Plan must be updated each year to reflect the varying stages of operational development over the next five years. Audit Period Covered: The audit period covered shall be for one fiscal year, 2018-2019, with the option to renew for four additional one-year periods, for a total of five years maximum. The work described above will be at the direction of the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Trustees of the Online College. The Online College will hold a pre-submission information session via telephone conference on March 7, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. to provide additional background information and to answer questions. Questions regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing by 5:00 p.m. on March 4, 2019. Following is the telephone conference number and passcode: Following is the Zoom link and conference information to join: https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/418310437 Or Telephone: +1 (669) 900-6833 Meeting ID: 418 310 437 SECTION IV- PROPOSAL CONTENTS AND FORMAT Proposals must be of professional caliber in content and appearance. All descriptions and information must be clear, concise and provide sufficient information to minimize questions and assumptions. The Online College accepts no financial responsibility for any costs
Page 4 of 7 incurred in the preparation of proposals. Upon receipt at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, all proposals submitted in response to this RFP will become the property of the Online College. Cover Letter. Your proposal cover letter should be signed by an officer authorized to bind your firm contractually, state that the proposal is firm for a 120-day period from the proposal submission deadline, and provide the name, title, address, telephone number, and email address of the individual to whom correspondence and other contacts should be directed during the consultant selection process. Proposer information. This section must provide your firm s name, address, contact email address, and telephone number, identify the individuals who will be involved in the representation, and contain a brief discussion demonstrating the proposer's understanding of the nature of the services requested. Please also include general information about the firm including, but not limited to, the organization and size of the firm, primary location of where work will be done, description of the range of services and activities performed by that location, and affirmations that firm is properly licensed, does not have a record of substandard audit work, and meets all specific requirements imposed by state and local law, or any applicable rules and regulations. Capabilities and Experience. It is the intent of the Online College to award a contract to the best qualified auditor(s) submitting a proposal that demonstrates substantial experience in providing independent auditing services described in the Scope of Services. The proposal must provide an overview of the breadth and depth of the firm s professional resources, in particular as they relate to the scope of work described in Section III. Your proposal must include a brief description of similar assignments for which your firm or team has provided services in recent years, including client names. The firm selected will have a record of timely completion of audits acceptable to the Chancellor of California Community Colleges or appropriate state agency, and demonstrate an organized and efficient audit work plan, task timing, and phasing for completion. Résumés or bios for all key team members must be provided. Qualifications. Identify the audit partners, managers, and field supervisors and other staff who will work on audits and the Auditing Plan. Proposals must discuss workload for all key team members, indicating their expected availability, the percentage of their time that will be devoted to the contract, and any other assurances as to their ability to provide the requested services in a responsive and timely manner. Approach. Provide specific details to proposed audit approach. This information should include, but is not limited to, sampling of techniques for transactions testing, analytical procedures used to analyze results, and percentage of time to be schedule for both preliminary and final audit work and for completion of the Auditing Plan. Submit a work plan to accomplish the scope as defined in Section III. The plan should include time estimates for each significant segment and staff level to be assigned with specific names of staff members named, whenever possible. Any planned use of specialists should be specified. The work plan should also cover the opinions report on financial statements, report or recommendations on the study and evaluation and report on internal control
Page 5 of 7 systems, and a report or recommendations on the organizations control system to assure compliance and future compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Conflict of Interest. This section must identify any familial or previous working relationships with the Online College Board of Trustees as of the date of the proposal. Audit firm interviews are targeted for March 21, 2019. Proposals must indicate availability for interviews in this timeframe, anticipated to be held in Sacramento. Fee/Cost Proposal. Discuss your proposed fee arrangement. Detail total audit hours by partner, senior management, manager, field supervisor, and other staff. Provide a separate schedule of the hourly billing rates for team members (if applicable). Provide a not to exceed fixed fee by fiscal year including associated fees (e.g. printing costs, travel, attendance at meetings, etc.) for each of the five (5) years. References. You must provide at least three (3) references (names and current telephone numbers) for performing similar auditing services, preferably other California community college school districts and/or California public agencies. The references must include a brief description of the scope of work and audit outcome with all references being able to fully comment on firm s related experience. In addition, you must provide the following: A list of contracts terminated (partially or completely) by your clients for convenience or default within the past three (3) years. For each contract, the list must include contract value, description of work, sponsoring organization, contract number, name and the telephone number of the contracting entity; Describe how and why your firm is different from other firms of similar experience, and why selection of your firm is the best decision for the Online College. Reserved Rights. The Online College expressly reserves the following rights: 1. To waive or reject any and/or all irregularities in the proposals submitted. 2. To waive or reject any and/or all proposals or portions thereof. 3. To reject all proposals and negotiate with an individual Proposer or any other person or entity. 4. To base awards with due regard to quality services, experience, compliance with specifications, and other such factors as may be necessary due to circumstance. 5. To make the award to any Proposer whose proposal is in the best interest of the Online College. 6. To negotiate different terms and conditions with any Proposer the Online College may choose. 7. To seek and advertise new proposals where the acceptance, rejection, waiving, or
Page 6 of 7 advertising of new proposals would be in the best interests of the Online College. Oral Statements. The Online College shall not be bound by oral statements or representations contrary to the written specifications. Ownership and Use of Documents. All documents, reports, proposals, submittals, working papers, plans, or other materials submitted to the Foundation for California Community Colleges and the Online College from the Proposer shall become the sole and exclusive property of the Online College, in the public domain, and not the property of the Proposer, and are subject to public disclosure under the California Public Records Act. The Proposer shall not copyright, or cause to be copyrighted, any portion of any of said documents submitted as a result of this solicitation. Further, the Online College may utilize concepts submitted via proposal without compensation. Qualifications of Proposer. The Online College may make such investigations as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the Proposer to perform the work, and the Proposer shall furnish all information and data for this purpose as the Online College may request. Informality. The Online College reserves the right to waive any informality, irregularity, or defect in the proposal process and to select any Proposer, even if the selected proposal does not meet all requirements of this RFP. Any such waiver by the Online College shall not be deemed a waiver with respect to any subsequent informality, irregularity, or defect in the proposal process. Compliance with Statute. By responding to this RFP, the Proposer warrants that all applicable Federal and State statutes and regulations and/or local ordinances will be complied with in connection with the delivery of services offered. Insurance. By responding to this RFP, the Proposer warrants that it carries all required insurance including: 1. Public Liability Insurance for injuries, including accidental death to any one person, in an amount not less than $1,000,000; 2. Property Damage Insurance in an amount not less than $500,000; 3. Worker's Compensation Insurance in an amount adequate to cover all employees; and 4. Professional Liability Insurance (errors and omissions) in an amount not less than $1,000,000. Non-Assignability. By responding to this RFP, the Proposer agrees that the contract it will enter into with the Online College is not assignable either in whole or in part. The contract shall extend to and be binding upon and inure to the benefits of the heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assignees of the respective parties hereto.
Page 7 of 7 Execution of Contract. No contract shall be binding on the Online College until it has been approved by the Chancellor of Community Colleges, the Online College CEO, or the Online College Board of Trustees, approved as to form by their respective legal counsel, and fully executed by the parties. QUESTIONS Questions about this RFP should be directed to Julian Roberts, at the address indicated above and must be submitted in writing by 5:00 p.m. on March 4, 2019. The Online College shall respond to questions at the telephonic pre-submission information session on March 7, 2019. The Online College shall respond to remaining questions by 5:00 p.m. on March 8, 2019. 800-7/4422834.1