Okaloosa County BOCC — December 4, 2012 — Internal Auditing Services — reading text

engagement and indicate whether each such person is registered/licensed to practice as a certified public accountant in Florida. The firm also should provide information on the government auditing experience of each person, including information on relevant continuing professional education for the past two (2) years and membership in professional organizations relevant to the performance of this audit. The firm should provide as much information as possible regarding the number, qualifications, experience and training, including relevant continuing professional education, of the specific staff to be assigned to this engagement. The firm also should indicate how the quality of staff over the term of the agreement will be assured. Engagement partners, managers, other supervisory staff and specialists may be changed if those personnel leave the firm, are promoted or are assigned to another office. These personnel may also be changed for other reasons with the express prior written permission of Okaloosa County. However, in either case, Okaloosa County retains the right to approve or reject replacements. Consultants and firm specialists mentioned in response to this Request for Proposals can only be changed with the express prior written permission of Okaloosa County, which retains the right to approve or reject replacements. Other audit personnel may be changed at the discretion of the proposer provided the replacements have substantially the same or better qualifications or experience. b) Specific Audit Approach i. Describe your firm’s experience in providing internal auditing services to local government as well as other organizations. Describe the unique qualifications of your firm to provide internal audit services to Okaloosa County, Florida. ii. Describe your firm’s experience in auditing Electronic Date Processing Systems (EDP) systems to include but not limited to accounting software systems, PC based software applications, local area networks, etc. iii. Describe how you will ensure the audit team assigned will have the necessary knowledge and experience in County government internal controls. iv. Describe your firm’s professional and technical resources which are available to support the internal audit work. v. The proposal should include a pricing structure (estimated hours and blended hourly rate) for the entity wide review of internal controls and the risk assessment work to be performed. Describe how you would approach risk assessment at the County and how you would develop an internal audit plan for the periodic review of the internal controls in the County departments based on the risk assessment. vi. The proposal should include a pricing structure (blended hourly rate) separate from the entity wide review of internal controls and risk assessment for the internal audit work based on the work plan. c) Reporting 9  i. Document meeting availability for phone calls and face to face meetings. Presence at Board meetings may be needed from time to time. ii. Provide a sample internal audit report and discuss the type(s) of reports and related audit information that is provided to the client. d) Additional Information i. All additional information the Firm deems as pertinent to their proposal must be included in this section. e) Pricing i. The firm should provide the pricing for the services as detailed in specific audit approach in this section. ii. The pricing form included in Appendix J should be completed by the proposer. IV. Proposal Evaluation and Selection Criteria A. Selection Committee Submitted proposals will be evaluated by a Selection Committee comprised of Okaloosa County, Florida Board of County Commissioners Management and the Clerk of the Circuit Court or his designee. A representative from the County’s external auditing firm will serve the selection committee as an ex officio non-voting member. B. Evaluation Criteria Proposals will initially be evaluated using two sets of criteria. Firms meeting the mandatory criteria will have their proposals evaluated for technical qualifications as described in the Proposal Format and Submittals Section. The following represent the principal selection criteria, which may be considered during the evaluation process. 1. Mandatory Elements a) The audit firm is independent and has no conflict of interest with regard to any other work performed by the firm for Okaloosa County. b) The audit firm is licensed to practice in Florida. c) The audit firm's professional personnel have received adequate continuing professional education within the preceding two (2) years. d) The firm submits a copy of its most recent external quality control review report and the firm has a record of quality audit work. e) The firm adheres to the instructions in this Request for Proposals on preparing and submitting the proposal. 10  2. Technical Qualifications a) Expertise and Experience i. The firm’s qualifications, experience, size and location. ii. The firm’s past experience and performance on comparable internal audit engagements. iii. 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. iv. References from persons knowledgeable of the Firm’s ability to fulfill the terms of the contract. v. Adequacy of Audit Approach, including the specific approach to the entity wide review of internal controls and the risk assessment model. vi. Cost C. Oral Presentations During the evaluation process, the Selection Committee may, at its discretion, request any one or all firms to make oral presentations. Such presentations will provide firms with an opportunity to answer any questions the Selection Committee may have on a firm's proposal. Not all firms may be asked to make such oral presentations. D. Final Selection The Selection Committee will determine three finalists. After evaluation of the qualifications herein and the submitted schedule of professional fees and expenses, the Selection Committee will recommend the top-ranked firm for approval by the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners. V. RFP Procedures A. General Requirements 1. Proposal Submission Proposals must be submitted with all required submissions included. Failure to comply may preclude consideration of the proposal. Each Proposer is responsible for full and complete compliance with all laws, rules and regulations which may be applicable. Proposers desiring to provide services as described herein shall submit proposals, an original and seven (7) copies in a sealed envelope or box labeled on the outside of the envelope or box, “Professional Internal Auditing Services,” and delivered not later than 4:00 p.m., Friday, 2/22/2013, to the attention of Purchasing Department. HAND DELIVER OR MAIL TO: Okaloosa County Purchasing Department Attn: Richard L Brannon 11  602-C North Pearl St. Crestview, FL 32536 Note: Crestview, Florida is “not a next day guaranteed delivery location” by delivery services. LATE PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Upon submission, all proposals become the property of the County which has the right to use any or all ideas presented in any proposal submitted in response to this Request for Proposals, whether or not the proposal is accepted. The cost for development of the written proposal and the oral presentation are entirely the obligation of the Proposer and shall not be chargeable in any manner to Okaloosa County. 2. Proposal Opening Proposal Opening shall be public on the date and time specified on the proposal form. It is the firm’s responsibility to assure that their proposal is delivered at the proper time and place. Offers by telegram, facsimile, or telephone are not acceptable. Note: Crestview is “not a next day guaranteed delivery location” by delivery services. 3. Right to Waive & Reject a) The Board, in its absolute discretion, may reject any proposal of a proposer that has failed, in the opinion of the Board, to complete or perform an Okaloosa County contracted project in a timely fashion or has failed in any other way, in the opinion of the Board, to perform a prior contract in a satisfactory manner, and has directed the Okaloosa County Purchasing Director to emphasize this condition to potential proposers. b) There is no obligation on the part of the County to award the proposal to the lowest proposer, and the County reserves the right to award the proposal to proposer submitting a responsive proposal with a resulting negotiated agreement which is most advantageous and in the best interest of Okaloosa county, and to reject any and all proposals or to waive any irregularity or technicality in proposals received. Okaloosa County shall be the sole judge of the proposal and the resulting negotiated agreement that is in its best interest and its decision shall be final. c) The Board of County Commissioners reserves the right to waive any informalities or reject any and all proposals, in whole or part, to utilize any applicable state contracts in lieu of or in addition to this proposal and to accept the proposal that in its judgment will best serve the interest of the County. d) The Board of County Commissioners specifically reserves the right to reject any conditional proposal and will normally reject those which made it impossible to determine the true amount of the proposal. 4. Disqualification of Proposers 12  Any of the following reasons may be considered as sufficient for the disqualification of a proposer and the rejection of his proposal or proposals: a) More than one proposal for the same work from an individual, firm or corporation under the same or different name. b) Evidence that the proposer has a financial interest in the firm of another proposer for the same work. c) Evidence of collusion among proposers. Participants in such collusion will receive no recognition as proposers for any future work of the County until such participant shall have been reinstated as a qualified proposer. d) Uncompleted work which in the judgment of the County might hinder or prevent the prompt completion of additional work if awarded. e) Failure to pay or satisfactorily settle all bills due for labor and material on former contracts in force at the time of advertisement of proposals. f) Default