Okaloosa County BOCC — December 4, 2012 — reading text

operations of the Clerk in its judicial and recording functions, the Tax Collector, the Sheriff, the Property Appraiser and the Supervisor of Elections. 2. In conjunction with key County staff and the Clerk of the Circuit Court, perform a risk assessment of County operations in order to prioritize the area for internal audit work to be performed. In the initial period it is anticipated the control risk assessment will be heavily weighted toward the activities of the TDD. From this prioritization, develop an annual internal audit plan. Review the risk assessment and audit plan with County management and Clerk and adjust accordingly to reflect any changes in the internal or external environment that affect the risks the County is facing. The annual audit plan is to be approved in advance by the Board of County Commissioners. 3. Perform internal audits according to the prioritized schedule. Analyze the data obtained for evidence of deficiencies in controls, fraud, lack of compliance with federal, state or local laws/regulations and rules of the Florida Auditor General, or failure to follow management policies/procedures. While not integral to the objective, observations concerning duplicative effort or unnecessary spending are welcome. 4. Assist TDD management and the Board with review and implementation of the corrective action plan set forth by the Board in its response to the Florida Auditor General. 5. Review other areas when requested by County Administration or the Board of County Commissioners. 6. Provide recommendations for strengthening internal control in order to lower identified risks to the County and improve fraud detection and prevention. 7. Submit written audit reports, with management’s responses and corrective action plans, to County management, the Clerk of the Circuit Court, and the Board of 4 Packet Pg. 391  9.2.a.a County Commissioners at regularly scheduled meetings. Monitor compliance with recommendations where necessary. II. Description of the Government A. Background Information Okaloosa County is a non-charter County established under the Constitution and the Laws of the State of Florida. The reporting entity of the County includes the funds of the primary government, which includes funds of the Board of County Commissioners, the Clerk of the Circuit Court, the Property Appraiser, the Sheriff, the Supervisor of Elections and the Tax Collector and one component unit, The Emerald Coast Bridge Authority. However, the internal audit services in this proposal only relate to activities performed by Attachment: Internal Auditing Services (1292 : Internal Auditing Services) the Board of County Commissioners as previously defined in the scope of work. The County Manager/Council form of government was instituted in 1993. The County population is 187,700 and is located in the northwestern part (the “Panhandle”) of Florida. The Board of County Commissioners employs some 817 employees and has total assets of over $375 million and revenues of over $204 million for the year ending September 30, 2011. The County's organizational chart can be found in Appendix H. Per Florida Statutes, the Clerk of Circuit Court is charged with maintaining the books and records of the County. As such, the accounting and financial reporting functions of Okaloosa County are centralized within the County Finance Department. The Okaloosa County Clerk Finance Department’s organizational chart can be found in Appendix I. Detailed information on the government and its finances can be found in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and the annual Budget Document. Both are available for review on the County website at www.co.okaloosa.fl.us/bcc_budgets.html. Okaloosa County provides the normal range of governmental services provided by Florida Counties, including general government, public safety, physical environment, transportation, economic environment, culture/recreation, and court-related services. In addition, there are a variety of enterprise activities, including water and sewer utility, three airports, solid waste disposal, building inspection, emergency medical and convention center operation services. B. Fund Structure Okaloosa County uses the following major funds and non-major funds in its financial reporting: Major Funds Non-Major Funds General 14 - Special Revenue Funds County Transportation Trust Special Revenue 1 - Debt Service Fund Tourist Development Special Revenue Fund 1 - Capital Outlay Fund Capital Outlay Construction Trust 2 - Enterprise Funds Water & Sewer Enterprise Fund 2 - Internal Service Funds Airport Enterprise Fund Solid Waste Enterprise Fund Convention Center Enterprise Fund C. Budgetary Basis of Accounting 5 Packet Pg. 392  9.2.a.a Okaloosa County prepares its budgets on a basis consistent with generally accepted accounting principles. Formal budgetary integration is employed as the legal authority for expenditures and as a management control device during the fiscal year for all funds. Okaloosa County’s Board of County Commissioners year-end budget for fiscal year 2013 was $257 million. D. Federal Awards and State Financial Assistance During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2011, Okaloosa County expended $16 million in Federal awards and $4.4 million in State financial assistance. Major federal programs include the Recovery Act Juvenile Assistance Grant, Airport Improvement, Federal Transit Formula, Highway Planning and Construction and Formula grants for other than Attachment: Internal Auditing Services (1292 : Internal Auditing Services) Urbanized Areas issued via the US Department of Transportation. Major state projects include Economic Development Transportation, Aviation Development, Public Transit Block and State Infrastructure Bank grants issued by the Executive Office of the Governor and the Florida Department of Transportation. E. Pension Plans Okaloosa County participates in the defined benefit plan of the State of Florida Retirement System, a cost sharing, multiple-employer public employee retirement system. F. Magnitude of Finance Operations The County Finance Department is headed by Gary J. Stanford, CPFO, CGFO, Finance Director, and consists of approximately 11 employees, not including the Internal Audit staff that is made up of two additional employees. The organizational chart of the Finance Department can be found in Appendix I. G. Computer Systems The County's computers are networked within the Clerk of Court and Board of County Commissioners offices throughout the County. The Board of County Commissioners fund financial records utilize Pentamation Open Series Financial and Human Resource accounting software, as distributed by Sungard, Inc. to record financial activity. The system includes General Ledger, Accounts Receivable and Payable, Budgeting, Personnel, Payroll, Purchasing and Fixed Assets. All Clerk employees and most Board employees have a personal computer with Microsoft Excel and Word and other software applications along with access to the accounting system. H. Internal Audit Function Okaloosa County has maintained an internal audit function for the past fifteen years. The internal audit function reports to Tim Pozza, CPA, CIA, Director of Internal Audit and is staffed by one other employee responsible primarily for the collection, reporting and enforcement of Okaloosa County’s self-administered tourist development taxes. The internal audit function in this RFP would work in collaboration with the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s internal auditor. III. Proposal Format and Submittals A. Overall Content of Proposal 6 Packet Pg. 393  9.2.a.a The following material is required to be included within the proposal package: 1. Cover Letter - showing the Request for Proposals subject, the legal name, address and telephone number of the proposer (company, firm, partnership, individual). The cover letter shall contain the name, address and telephone number of a contact person. The cover letter must be signed and dated by the person who has authority to bind the proposing firm to the submitted proposal. 2. Table of Contents - cross-referenced to proposal requirements. 3. Detailed Proposal – as outlined below in the Technical Proposal section. Firms not addressing the specific points may be denied further consideration. Attachment: Internal Auditing Services (1292 : Internal Auditing Services) 4. References – List 3 references representative of related past experience to include, as a minimum, a contact person, company name, phone #, and a brief description of the project. 5. Litigation – Provide a list of any litigation your firm is currently engaged in. B. Technical Proposal The purpose of the technical proposal is to demonstrate the qualifications, competence and capacity of the firms seeking to undertake internal audit services for Okaloosa County 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. The proposal should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the proposer's capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the Request for Proposals. 1. Mandatory Elements a) Independence The firm should provide an affirmative statement that it is