1-RFP - Audit Services Final.pdf

Request for Proposal

PROJECT:

External Auditing Services

PREPARED FOR:

Tooele County 47 South Main Street

Tooele, UT 84074

October, 2025

INTRODUCTION:

Tooele County is soliciting competitive proposals from qualified, independent auditing firms to provide professional audit services for the County. The selected firm will perform an independent financial audit of the County’s financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS), the Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, and the Uniform Guidance for federal awards.

It is anticipated that this Request for Proposal (“RFP”) may result in the award of a contract to a single auditing firm. The purpose of this RFP is to provide interested offerors with sufficient information to prepare and submit proposals that meet the minimum requirements outlined herein. Offerors are encouraged to expand on the specifications provided to demonstrate their service capabilities and expertise.

SCOPE OF WORK:

Tooele County is seeking proposals from qualified certified public accounting firms to audit its financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, with the option to renew annually for up to four (4) additional years, subject to County Council approval.

The scope of work includes:

• Annual audit of the County's financial statements.

• Preparation of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (ACFR), if applicable.

• Single Audit in accordance with OMB Uniform Guidance (if required).

• Audit of compliance with state and federal grant agreements.

• Preparation and filing of the Utah State Auditor’s reports.

• Attendance at public meetings as requested by County staff or Council.

• Review and assessment of internal controls.

Tooele County currently uses Tyler Munis as our financial software, and function on a calendar year cycle.

I. Mandatory Requirements

Each proposal must include:

• Company name, website (if applicable), and name/email/phone of the project manager.

• Statement of qualifications including:

o CPA licensure and credentials o Municipal government or county audit experience

• Three (3) references/projects relevant to the County’s needs

• List of any subcontractors or consultants, with prior experience and roles

• Current applicable staff certifications

II. Financial Requirements

All proposals must include a separate, itemized cost proposal, including:

• Annual audit fees

• Single Audit fees (if required)

• Travel and per diem costs

• Hourly rates for additional services outside the base scope

• Optional services (e.g., ACFR preparation assistance)

Submit as a separate document clearly marked “Cost Proposal”.

III. Schedule

Please include a general anticipated schedule covering:

• Estimated audit fieldwork start and end dates

• Dates for preliminary and final draft report submissions

• Estimated hours by staff level

• Any considerations for weather, schedule constraints, or client delays

IV. Timeline for RFP Process (times are MDT)

Event / Action Date Advertise RFP

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Questions Due

Friday, October 10, 2025 @ 3PM

County’s Response to Questions

Friday, October 10, 2025 @ 5PM

Deadline for Submission of Proposals

Monday, October 20, 2025 @ 4PM

PROPOSAL CONTENTS:

Proposals submitted for this project shall address all requested information. Firms are encouraged to keep the proposals brief and to the point, while still sufficiently detailed to allow for a fair evaluation. Proposals must include the following:

A) Cover Letter (1 page maximum)

The cover letter shall describe the offeror’s business entity (corporation, LLC, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.), and include: a statement of the offeror’s general background, a discussion of the offeror’s interest in the project, and the acknowledgement of receipt for any addendums.

B) Project Team

Identify project personnel and define their respective roles, credentials, and relevant experience.

C) Substantive Content

Describe the offeror’s abilities to meet or exceed the qualifications set forth in items I, II, and III above.

D) Protected Information

All protected information must be included in this section of the proposal response. Do not incorporate protected information throughout the proposal, rather, when included protected information, provide a reference in the proposal response directing the reader to this specific section.

E) Project Cost (Separately)

Pursuant to Utah Code Annotated (UCA) § 63G-6a-707(7), the cost proposal will be evaluated independently from the technical proposal; and as such, must be submitted separately from the technical proposal. Offerors must not include costs or pricing data in their responses to the Mandatory Minimum Requirements and the Technical Response.

Offeror must include a complete budget on a separate document. If an offeror fails to include a complete budget, then its proposal will be considered non-responsive, and the proposal will be rejected.

F) Signature (Attachment A)

The proposal shall be signed by a representative authorized to bind the team and shall expressly state the proposal is valid until the County Council awards the contract. By signing Attachment A: Certification of Proposal and submitting a proposal, the proposer covenants that the proposer is fully qualified to provide the required services, and that the submitted information is true and accurate and may be relied upon in evaluating the proposal.

G) Non-Collusion Affidavit (Attachment B)

The attached Non-Collusion Affidavit must be completed and returned with proposal.

H) Anti-Boycott Certification (Attachment C)

The attached Anti-Boycott Certification must be completed and returned with proposal.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION:

Questions must be submitted through the Utah State Purchasing U3P Website, and are due no later than Friday, October 10, 2025 @ 3PM. Exceptions shall not be granted to requests made after the inquiry deadline. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in a disqualification in the selection process.

Submission of the proposal must occur through the Utah State Purchasing U3P Website.

Submissions, modifications or corrections received after the closing time on Monday, October 20, 2025 @ 4PM will be considered late and will not be opened.

If only one submission is received, County will evaluate proposal response to make sure the offer meets the minimum mandatory requirements and the technical RFP requirements stated in the RFP, and will determine if the cost proposal is fair and reasonable to award. Or, if time permits, resolicit submissions for the purpose of obtaining additional submissions.

Tooele County shall not be obligated to respond to any proposal submitted, nor shall it be legally bound in any manner whatsoever by the receipt of a proposal.

Tooele County reserves the right to extend or cancel all scheduled proposal due dates. Notice of such extensions or cancellations shall be sent via addendum to this RFP.

PROPOSAL EVALUATION:

Criteria 1 – Qualifications & Experience

Expertise in municipal audits, CPA licensing, relevant team qualifications

Criteria 2 – Understanding of Scope

Demonstrated grasp of required services and relevant experience

Criteria 3 – Methodology & Work Plan

Approach to audit work, use of technology and schedule

Criteria 4 – References & Past Performance Quality of past work, client satisfaction, timeliness

Criteria 5 – Project Costs

Purchasing will use the following cost formula: The points assigned to each offeror’s cost proposal will be based on the lowest proposal price. The offeror with the lowest Proposed Price will receive 100% of the price points. All other offerors will receive a portion of the total cost points based on what percentage higher their Proposed Price is than the Lowest Proposed Price. The formula to compute the points is: Cost Points x (Lowest Proposed Price/Proposed Price).

Proposals will be reviewed by a selection committee consisting of at least three persons.

Proposals will be scored as follows:

Technical Criteria: Possible Points:

Criteria 1 – Qualifications & Experience 30 Criteria 2 – Understanding of Scope 25 Criteria 3 – Methodology & Work Plan 20 Criteria 4 – References & Past Performance 10 Criteria 5 – Project Costs 15 Total: 100

The County may then enter contract negotiations with the proposer who, in the sole discretion of the selection committee, is determined to have submitted the proposal with the highest score and the most responsive and responsible proposal that meets all the RFP’s requirements.

Vendors should be aware that selection committee members will be required to certify that they have not been contacted by any of the vendors to influence the selection process.

PROPOSAL REJECTION:

Tooele County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals submitted or make modifications to the scope of work, subject to appropriate negotiation. Tooele County agrees to not discriminate based on age, race, religion, sex, color, national origin, marital status, family status, source of income, sexual preference, mental or physical disability in review of the proposals or execution of agreements to the work. This RFP does not constitute any form of offer to contract.

Tooele County will not pay any costs incurred by the proposer in preparing or submitting the proposal.

PROPOSAL ACCEPTANCE:

Award will be made to the highest scoring responsive and responsible offeror, meeting all RFP stated requirements.

Tooele County reserves the right to award a contract based on a proposal submitted or to further negotiate with proposer.

By submission of a proposal, proposer agrees to be legally bound, thereby if its proposal is accepted.

Contracts arising out of proposals submitted hereunder (including any negotiations that follow) shall not be binding on Tooele County, its officers, employees, or agents unless and until formally approved and duly executed by the Tooele County Manager or Council.

NOTIFICATION:

Due to Tooele County Policy, we have to present all responses in a County Council Meeting, and get approval on the selected vendor prior to award. This process can take some time, and because of this, the posting will be closed on the State Purchasing Solicitation U3P Website. Following the County Council Meeting where the award is approved, all responders will receive an email notification of the results. Attendance of County Council Meeting are also permitted.

PROTECTED INFORMATION:

The Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA), Utah Code Ann., Subsection 63G-2-305, provides in part that:

The following records are protected if properly classified by a government entity:

1. Trade secrets as defined in Section 13-24-2 if the person submitting the trade secret has provided the governmental entity with the information specified in Section 63G-2-309 (Business Confidentiality Claims):

2. Commercial information or non-individual financial information obtained from a person if:

a. Disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in unfair competitive injury to the person submitting the information or would impair the ability of the governmental entity to obtain necessary information in the future,

b. The person submitting the information has a greater interest in prohibiting access than the public in obtaining access; and

c. The person submitting the information has provided the governmental entity with the information specified in Section 63G-2-305

Records, the disclosure of which, would impair governmental procurement proceedings or give an unfair advantage to any person proposing to enter into a contract or agreement with a governmental entity, except that this subsection does not restrict the right of a person to see bids submitted to or by a governmental entity after bidding has closed.

GRAMA provides that trade secrets, commercial information or non-individual financial information may be protected by submitting a Claim of Business Confidentiality.

To protect information under a Claim of Business Confidentiality, the Supplier must:

1. Provide a written Claim of Business Confidentiality at the time the information (proposal) is provided to Tooele County; and

2. Include a concise statement of the reasons supporting the claim of business confidentiality (Subsection 63G-2-309(1)); and

3. Submit an electronic “redacted” (excluding protected information) copy of your proposal response. Copy must clearly be marked “Redacted Version”

A Claim of Business Confidentiality may be appropriate for information such as client and non-public financial statements. Pricing and service elements may not be protected. The claim of business confidentiality must be submitted with your proposal on the form with may be accessed at: https://archives.utah.gov/recordsmanagement/forms/GRAMA-business-confidentiality.pdf

An entire proposal cannot be identified as “Protected”, “Confidential”, or “Proprietary” and may be considered non-responsive if marked as such.

To ensure the information is protected, you must include all protected information per Section D of this RFP. Any protected information incorporated in other sections of the proposal response may result in a release of data at no fault of Tooele County.

All materials submitted become the property of Tooele County. Materials may be evaluated by anyone designated by Tooele County as part of the proposal evaluation committee. Materials submitted may be returned only at Tooele County’s option.

https://archives.utah.gov/recordsmanagement/forms/GRAMA-business-confidentiality.pdf

CERTIFICATION OF PROPOSAL

We have read the Request for Proposal and fully understand its intent. We certify that we have adequate personnel and resources to fulfill the proposal requirements. We further understand that our ability to meet the criteria and provide the required services shall be judged by Tooele

County.

We further certify that, since the receipt of this RFP, no contact, discussion, or negotiation has been made nor will be made regarding this proposal with any Tooele County employee other than the listed contact people in the RFP.

We further certify that we are properly licensed to conduct business within the scope of this RFP, in the State of Utah.

We certify that all schedules and addenda contained herein shall be considered part of the entire RFP response and that the complete document submitted shall be considered a legally binding document.

Submitted by:

Firm Name

Authorized Signature

Name and Title

Email and Phone Contact

NON-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT

TO BE EXECUTED BY BIDDER AND SUBMITTED WITH BID

, being first duly sworn, deposes and says that he or she is of , the party making the foregoing bid.

The bidder, offeror, or contractor represents that it has not: 1) provided an illegal gift or payoff to a Tooele County officer or employee or former Tooele County officer or employee, or his or her relative or business entity; 2) retained any person to solicit or secure this contract upon an agreement or understanding for a commission, percentage, brokerage or contingent fee, other than as exempted in the County conflict of interest ordinance; or 3) knowingly influenced (and hereby promises that it will not knowingly influence) a Tooele County officer or employee or former Tooele County officer or employee to breach any of the ethical standards set forth in the county conflict of interest ordinance, title 1, chapter 11 of the Tooele County code.

Responsible Managing Officer ____________________________________________________

Title _____________________________________________________________________________

Organization ___________________________________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________________________________

STATE OF )

COUNTY OF ) :SS

On this day of , 2025, personally appeared before me, _________________ who being by me duly sworn did say that he or she is the ______________________________ of _____________________________ , and that the foregoing instrument was signed in behalf of said entity by proper authority, and he or she acknowledged to me that said entity executed the same.

NOTARY PUBLIC

ANTI-BOYCOTT

CERTIFICATION

This certification must be executed, notarized, and submitted with the bid IF: (1) the total value of the expected contract is more than $100,000; or (2) the bidder has 10 or more full-time employees.

Bidder is not currently engaged in a boycott of the State of Israel and will not engage in a boycott of the State of Israel for the duration of the contract.

Bidder is not currently engaged in a boycott action targeting a company that: (a) engages in the exploration, production, utilization, transportation, sale, or manufacture of fossil fuel-based energy, timber, mining, or agriculture; (b) engages in, facilitates, or supports the manufacture, distribution, sale, or use of firearms; (c) does not meet or commit to meet environmental standards, including standards for eliminating, reducing, offsetting, or disclosing greenhouse gas-emissions, beyond applicable state and federal law requirements; or (d) does not facilitate or commit to facilitate access to abortion or sex characteristic surgical procedures. Bidder agrees to notify Tooele County in writing if bidder begins to engage in such a boycott, and acknowledges that such notice may be grounds for termination of the contract.

Signature

Title

STATE OF UTAH )

) ss:

COUNTY OF ________________ )

On the _____ day of _________________ , 20____ , personally appeared before me _________________________________ , who acknowledged to me that he/she signed the foregoing Anti-Boycott Certification on behalf of the Bidder, and that the certifications made therein are true and correct.

Notary Public