Audit Services RFP.docx

PROFESSIONAL AUDIT SERVICES

RFP#2023-01

Sealed competitive negotiable Proposals (RFP #2023-01) for Professional Audit Services to be provided to the Town of Colonial Beach, Virginia (Colonial Beach) (the “Town”) and the Colonial Beach School Board (Colonial Beach Public Schools) (the “School Board”) will be accepted until 2:00 P.M., January 12, 2024 at which time they will be opened in the Town’s Finance Department, Town Hall, 315 Douglas Avenue, Colonial Beach, VA 22443.

Please be observant of all proposal instructions and specifications. The Town of Colonial Beach reserves the right to accept or reject, in whole or part, any and all proposals and to waive informalities.

Requests for information regarding technical matters on this proposal should be directed to:

Requests for information regarding contractual matters on this proposal should be directed to:

Natasha Tucker Nesha Thompson Assistant Town Manager/Purchasing Manager Buyer Town of Colonial Beach Town of Colonial Beach 315 Douglas Ave 315 Douglas Ave Colonial Beach, VA 22443 Colonial Beach, VA 22443

(540) 940-7828

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

II. CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

III. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSAL

IV. SERVICES REQUIRED

A. Scope of Work to be Performed B. Auditing Standards to be Followed C. Reports to be Issued D. Working Paper Retention and Access to Working Papers

V. DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND SCHOOL BOARD

A. Name and Telephone Number of Contact Persons B. Financial Reporting Entity C. Fund Structure D. Budgetary Basis of Accounting E. Pension Plans F. Computer Systems G. Availability of Prior Reports and Working Papers

VI. TIME REQUIREMENTS

A. Proposal Calendar B. Notification and Contract Dates C. Work Plan D. Entrance, Preliminary and Exit Conferences E. Final Report/Forms/Letters

VII. ASSISTANCE TO BE PROVIDED TO THE AUDITOR

A. Finance Department Assistance B. Schedules to be prepared by the Staff of the Town and School Board C. Work Area, Telephone, Photocopying and FAX Machines

VIII. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

A. General Requirements B. Technical Requirements

IX. EVALUATION PROCEDURES

A. Evaluation Committee B. Review of Proposals C. Evaluation Criteria D. Oral Presentations E. Negotiations F. Final Selection G. Right to Reject Proposals H. Cost Proposal Instructions I. Pricing

X. EVALUATION FORM

XI. Exhibit 1: Response Sheet

XII. Exhibit 2: Cost Proposal Format

REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE NEGOTIABLE PROPOSALS PROFESSIONAL AUDIT SERVICES FOR THE TOWN OF COLONIAL BEACH AND THE COLONIAL BEACH SCHOOL BOARD

RFP NUMBER: #2023-01

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. The Town and the School Board are jointly requesting proposals from qualified firms of certified public accountants to audit and render an opinion on the financial statements, including federally funded programs, of the Town and the School Board for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2024, 2025, and 2026, with the option of providing such audit services for two (2) subsequent fiscal years.

Proposals submitted will be evaluated by an Evaluation Committee consisting of representatives from various Town and School Board offices. During the evaluation process, the Evaluation Committee reserves the right, where it may serve the Town's and the School Board’s best interest, to request additional information or clarifications from Proposers, or to allow corrections of errors or omissions. At the discretion of the Town, the School Board or the Evaluation Committee, firms submitting proposals may be requested to make oral presentations as part of the evaluation process.

The Town and the School Board reserve the right to retain all proposals submitted and to use any ideas in a proposal, regardless of whether that proposal is selected. Submission of a proposal indicates acceptance by the firm of the conditions contained in this request for proposals, unless clearly and specifically noted in the proposal submitted and confirmed in the contract between both the Town and School Board and the firm or firms selected.

Per the Code of Virginia, Section 15.2-2511, every locality shall contract for the performance of the annual audit not later than April 1 of each fiscal year. In addition, the certified public accountant shall present a detailed written report to the local governing body at a public session by the following December 31. Therefore, the selection of a firm or firms will be completed in accordance with the Code of Virginia. Following the notification of the selected firm, separate engagement letters for the Town and School Board will be executed by April 1, 2024.

2. Mail or deliver Proposals to the Town of Colonial Beach, Town Hall, 315 Douglas Avenue, VA, 22443.

3. Submit one (1) original, clearly marked, five (5) copies, and one (1) electronic media version (USB drive) of the Proposal before the opening time stated in the Proposal Invitation.

4. All Proposals shall be signed in ink by authorized principals of the firm and must be received in sealed envelopes with the statement, "Proposal Enclosed" and the number typed or written in the lower left-hand corner.

5. Colonial Beach reserves the right to accept or reject, in whole or part, any and all Proposals and to waive informalities.

6. Proposals will be opened promptly at 2:00 P.M., January 12, 2024, in the Finance Department, with attendance limited to the Evaluation Committee. No late Proposals will be accepted. Colonial Beach assumes no responsibility for late submissions due to mistake of courier, U.S. Postal Service or any delivery service used for proposal submittal.

7. Proprietary information will not be disclosed during the selection process.

8. Proposals to be binding for ninety (90) days following the Proposal opening date.

9. Exceptions to the specifications or general instructions must be in writing and submitted with the Proposal form.

10. Any questions relative to the technical aspects of the Request for Proposal shall be directed to Lisa Okes, Town of Colonial Beach, Director of Finance, Finance Department, lokes@colonialbeachva.net and Elizabeth Fisher, Colonial Beach Public Schools, Director of Finance, Finance Department, efisher@cbschools.net.

No interpretation of the meaning of the Request for Proposal documents will be made to any Offeror orally. Every request for such interpretation must be in writing with fax and email communication acceptable. To be given consideration, such requests must be received at least seven (7) days prior to the date fixed for the receiving of Proposals. Any and all such interpretations and any supplemental instructions will be in the form of written Addenda which, if issued, will be posted on the Town Website (www.colonialbeachva.net), no later than five (5) days prior to the date fixed for the receiving of Proposals. Failure of any Offeror to receive any such Addenda or interpretation shall not relieve said Offeror from obligation under the Proposal as submitted. All Addenda so issued shall become part of the Request for Proposal documents.

II. CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. Contract Term A three (3) year Contract is contemplated but is subject to annual review, the satisfactory negotiation of terms including a price deemed acceptable to both the Town and the School Board, the concurrence of the Town Council and the School Board, and the annual appropriation of funds. The Contract period shall be from April 1, 2024, through March 31, 2027. The Town and the School Board shall have the right to renew the Contract for two (2) additional one (1) year terms under the same terms and conditions of the original Contract.

The Town and School Board shall give the selected firm written notice of contract renewal sixty (60) days prior to the expiration date of each annual Contract period. The selected firm shall not give less than ninety (90) days advance notice of any cost increase to the Town’s Chief Financial Officer and the School Board’s Superintendent.

2. Payment for Services Subject to the annual appropriation of funds, payments to the Contractor shall be made within thirty (30) days after receipt of an approved invoice for services provided upon completion of assigned project. Backup documentation for each invoice shall be provided in detail satisfactory to the Town and the School Board. The Contractor’s records and documentation supporting such invoices shall be made available to the Town and the School Board upon reasonable request. The Contractor agrees to retain all records, documents and support materials relevant to the CONTRACT for a period of five (5) years following final payment.

3. Independent Contractor The Contractor is an independent Contractor and nothing contained in the Contract shall constitute or designate the Contractor or any of its agents or employees as employees of the Town or the School Board.

4. Termination and Ownership of Documents:

Both the Town and the School Board reserve the right to terminate the Contract upon written notice to the Contractor. In the event of termination pursuant to this paragraph, which is not the fault of the Contractor, the Contractor shall be paid for all services provided through the date of termination. The Contract will terminate immediately upon failure of the Town to appropriate funds for its continuance.

All finished or unfinished information or materials, documents, data, studies, surveys, maps, models, photographs, and reports or other materials prepared by or for the Contractor under any resultant Contract shall, at the option of the Town and/or School Board, become either Town or School Board property and shall be delivered to and remain the property of the Town upon completion of the work or termination of the Contract. The Town and/or School Board shall have the right to use and reproduce the data and reports submitted hereunder, without additional compensation to the Contractor.

5. Laws and Regulations The Contractor shall abide by all Federal, State and Local laws and regulations governing the provision of the services called for in the Contract. The Contractor shall give notice and comply with all laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, and lawful orders of any public authority bearing on the performance of the work.

6. Additional Services Both the Town and the School Board may add to the Scope of Services or make changes in the Scope of Services of a similar nature to those specified in the Scope of Services of this Request for Proposals (RFP) as mutually agreed to at a price mutually agreed upon.

7. Severability Each paragraph and provision of the resultant Contract will be severable from the entire agreement and if any provision is declared invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in effect.

8. Indemnification The Contractor shall, during the term of the Contract including any warranty period, indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Town and the School Board, its’ officials, employees, agents, and representatives thereof from all suits, actions, or claims of any kind, including attorney’s fees, brought on account of any personal injuries, damages, or violations of rights, sustained by any person or property in consequence of any neglect in safeguarding Contract work or on account of any act or omission by the Contractor or his employees, or from any claims or amounts arising from violation of any law, bylaw, ordinance, regulation or decree. The Contractor agrees that this clause shall include claims involving infringement of patent or copyright.

9. Ownership of Data and Proprietary Information Ownership of all data, material and documentation originated and prepared for the Town and School Board pursuant to the Request for Proposals shall belong exclusively to either the Town or the School Board and shall be subject to public inspection in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Trade secrets or proprietary information submitted by the Proposer shall not be subject to the public disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. However, to prevent disclosure the Proposer must invoke the protections of Section 2.2-4342 of the Code of Virginia, in writing, either before or at the time the data or other materials are submitted. The written request must specifically identify the data or other materials to be protected and state the reasons why protection is necessary. The proprietary or trade secret material submitted must be identified by some distinct method such as highlighting or underlining and must indicate only the specific words, figures, or paragraphs that constitute trade secret or proprietary information. The classification of an entire response, line item prices and/or total cost as proprietary or trade secrets is not acceptable and will result in the rejection and return of the Request for Proposals.

10. Ownership of Intellectual Property All copyright and patent rights to all papers, reports, forms, materials, creations, or inventions created or developed in the performance of this Contract shall become the sole property of the Town or the School Board. On request, the Contractor shall promptly provide an acknowledgement or assignment in a tangible form, satisfactory to the Town or School Board to evidence the Town’s or School Board’s sole ownership of specifically identified intellectual property created or developed in the performance of the Contract.

11. Use of Information and Documents The Town and its officials, employees, and agents, and the School Board, and its officials, employees, and agents, will copy and use the response and documents included with the response, for various purposes related to analysis, evaluation, and decision to award. Responses shall be the property of the Town and the School Board. Following the award, the Town and the School Board may be required to allow inspection and copying of documents and may also use the Proposer’ s documents in connection with any resulting Purchase Orders with that Proposer. The Proposer is responsible for obtaining any necessary authorizations for all such use of the documents and information, and for assuring that such copying and use is in conformance with laws related to trademarks and copyrights. Any documents or information for which the Proposer has not obtained such authorization, or for which such copying and use is not authorized, shall not be submitted. The undersigned Proposer agrees to indemnify defend and hold the Town, and its officials, employees and agents, and the School Board, and its officials, employees, and agents, harmless from any claims of any nature, including claims arising from trademark or copyright laws, related to use of information and documents submitted with the Proposer’ s response.

12. Submission of Proprietary Information Trade secrets or proprietary information submitted by a Proposer in connection with this quote shall not be subject to public disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act; however, the Proposer must invoke these protections prior to or upon submission of the data or the materials and must identify the data or other materials to be protected and state the reason why protection is necessary. Proposers shall submit, in a separate section of the Proposal, any information considered by the Proposer to be trade secrets or proprietary information, shall clearly identify the information as trade secrets or proprietary information and shall state the reason why protection is necessary.

Proposers may not declare the entire quote proprietary, nor may they declare proposed pricing to be proprietary. All information contained within the body of the Proposal not in the separate section labeled proprietary shall be public information.

Town and School Board Approvals The extent and character of the work to be accomplished by the firm Offeror shall be subject to the general control and approval of both the Town Manager, or an authorized representative, and the School Superintendent, or an authorized representative. The selected firm shall not comply with requests and/or orders issued by anyone other than the Town Manager, the School Superintendent, or their representatives acting within their authority for the Town and/or the School Board, respectively.

13. Subcontracting The contracted firm will identify all proposed Subcontractors who will be furnishing services under the terms of this Request for Proposals. Subcontractors will conform, in all respects, to the applicable provisions specified for the firms and will further be subject to approval by the Town and the School Board. The contracted firm will be prohibited from assigning, transferring, conveying, subletting, or otherwise disposing of the agreement to any other person, company, or corporation without the previous consent and approval in writing by the Town and the School Board.

The Contractor shall not subcontract or assign portions of the work, other than those specifically defined in the Contract, without the express written consent of the Town and School Board. A description of any work the Contractor proposes to subcontract shall be submitted to the Town and the School Board for review and approval along with the name and address of the individual, firm, or corporation that is the proposed Subcontractor. This submittal shall also include a list of the key personnel that the Subcontractor will assign to the project. All work performed by any Subcontractor shall be coordinated by the Contractor and the Contractor will be responsible to the Town and the School Board for all work performed by any Subcontractor or special consultant.

14. Termination Subject to the provisions below, the Contract may be terminated by either party upon thirty (30) days advance written notice to the other party; but if any work or service hereunder is in progress, but not completed as of the date of termination, then this Contract may be extended upon written approval by the Town and/or the School Board until said work or services are completed and accepted.

A. Termination for Convenience In the event that this Contract is terminated or canceled upon request and for convenience of the Town and/or the School Board without the required thirty (30) days advance written notice, then the Town and/or the School Board shall negotiate reasonable termination costs, if applicable.

B. Termination for Cause Termination by the Town and/or the School Board for cause, default, or negligence on the part of the Contractor shall be excluded from the foregoing provision; termination costs, if any, shall not apply. The thirty (30) days advance notice requirement is waived in the event of Termination for Cause.

15. Assignment The Contractor will be prohibited from assigning, transferring, conveying, subletting or otherwise disposing of the agreement or its rights, title, or interests therein, or its power to execute such agreement to any other person, company, or corporation with the previous consent and approval in writing by the Town and/or the School Board.

16. Exceptions Any and all exceptions to the specification included in this Request for Proposals must be fully detailed and explained on a separate schedule outlined "Exceptions to RFP". Should the Offeror not indicate and explain all exceptions, its Proposal may be rejected.

17. Proposal Selection Contract(s) will be awarded by the Town and the School Board to the most responsive and responsible Offeror(s) with a Proposal that conforms to this Request for Proposals and is the most advantageous to the Town and the School Board.

18. Insurance The Offeror shall maintain insurance to protect the Town from claims under the Workers’ Compensation Act, and from any other claim for damages for personal injury, including death, and for damage to property which may arise from operation under this RFP, whether such operations by the Offeror, or anyone directly or indirectly employed by either Offeror or Subcontractor, such insurance to conform to the amounts as prescribed by law:

The insurance requirements are as follows:

"The successful Contractor assumes and agrees to hold harmless, indemnify, protect and defend the Town and the School Board against any and all liability for injuries and damages to Contractor himself and to Contractor's employees, agents, Subcontractors and guests, third parties or otherwise, incident to or resulting from any and all operations performed by Contractor under the terms of this Contract.

In addition to any other forms of insurance for Bonds required under Contracts and specifications pertaining to this project, Colonial Beach and the School Board shall require any Vendor to whom or to which it lets any work contemplated hereunder to carry Public Liability Insurance in accordance with the specifications on the following exhibit and a Certificate of Insurance attesting to these required coverages. If any of the work is sublet, similar insurance shall be obtained by or on behalf of the Subcontractor to cover their operation.

The insurance specified shall be with an insurance company acceptable to the parties hereto and licensed to do business in the State of Virginia. All insurance must be obtained before any work is commenced and kept in effect until its completion."

Minimum insurance requirements are as follows:

a. Workers’ Compensation.

b. Automotive Liability: Bodily injury and property damage insurance shall have limits of $1,000,000 combined single limits.

c. Comprehensive General Liability:

Bodily injury liability insurance shall have limits of $500,000 per occurrence.

Property damage liability insurance shall have limits of $500,000 per occurrence.

The Town, and its officers, employees, and agents, and the School Board, and its officers, employees, and agents, shall both be named as an “Additional Insured” on the Automobile and General Liability policies, and it shall be stated on the Certificate of Insurance with the provision that this insurance coverage is primary to any other insurance coverage the Town and the School Board may possess.

19. Non-Discrimination Both the Town and the School Board do not discriminate against faith-based organizations in accordance with the Code of Virginia Section §2.2-4343.1 or against any Offeror because of race, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other basis prohibited under state law relating to discrimination in employment.

20. Hold Harmless Clause The Contractor shall, during the term of the Contract including any warranty period, indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Town and the School Board, its officials, employees, agents, and representatives thereof from all suits, actions, or claims of any kind, including attorney’s fees, brought on account of any personal injuries, damages, or violations of rights, sustained by any person or property in consequence of any neglect in safeguarding Contract work or on account of any act or omission by the Contractor or his employees, or from any claims or amounts arising from violation of any law, bylaw, ordinance, regulation or decree. The Vendor agrees that this clause shall include claims involving infringement of patent or copyright.

21. Safety All Contractors and Subcontractors performing services for the Town and School Board are required and shall comply with all Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), State and Town Safety and Occupational Health Standards and any other applicable rules and regulations. Also, all Contractors and Subcontractors shall be held responsible for the safety of their employees and any unsafe acts or conditions that may cause injury or damage to any persons or property within and around the work site area under this Contract.

22. Notice of Required Disability Legislation Compliance Both the Town and School Board are required to comply with state and federal disability legislation: The Rehabilitation Act of 1993 (Section 504), The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 (Title II), and The Virginians with Disabilities Act of 1990. Specifically, Colonial Beach, may not, through its contractual and/or financial arrangements, directly or indirectly avoid compliance with Title II of the American with Disabilities Act, Public Law 101-336, which prohibits discrimination by public entities of the basis of disability. Subtitle A protects qualified individuals with disability from discrimination on the basis of disability in the services, programs, or activities of all State and local governments. It extends the prohibition of discrimination in federally assisted programs established by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Section 504 to all activities of State and Local governments, including those that do not receive Federal financial assistance, and incorporates specific prohibitions of discrimination on the basis of disability in Titles I, III, and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Virginians with Disabilities Act of 1990 follows the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Section 504.

23. Ethics in Public Contracting The provisions contained in Sections 2.2-4367 through 2.2-4377 of the Virginia Public Procurement Act as set forth in the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, shall be applicable to all Contracts solicited or entered into by the Town and the School Board.

The provisions of this article supplement, but do not supersede, other provisions of law including, but not limited to, the Virginia Conflict of Interest Act (§2.1-348 et. seq.), the Virginia Governmental Frauds Act (§18.2-498.1 et. seq.) and Articles 2 and 3 of Chapter 10 of Title 18.2. The provisions apply notwithstanding the fact that the conduct described may not constitute a violation of the Virginia Conflict of Interests Act.

24. Employment Discrimination by Contractors Prohibited Every Contract of over ten thousand dollars ($10,000) shall include the following provisions:

During the performance of this Contract, the Contractor agrees as follows:

a. The Contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age or disability, or any other basis prohibited by state law relating to discrimination in employment, except where there is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the Contractor. The Contractor agrees to post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment, notices setting forth the provisions of this nondiscrimination clause.

b. The Contractor, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of the Contractor, shall state that such Contractor is an equal opportunity employer.

c. Notices, advertisements and solicitations placed in accordance with federal law, rule or regulation shall be deemed sufficient to meet this requirement.

The Contractor will include the provisions of the foregoing paragraphs, a, b, and c in every Subcontract or Purchase Order of over ten thousand dollars ($10,000), so that the provisions will be binding upon each Subcontractor or Vendor.

25. Drug-free Workplace Every Contract of over ten thousand dollars ($10,000) shall include the following provisions:

During the performance of this Contract, the Contractor agrees to (i) provide a drug-free workplace for the Contractor’s employees; (ii) post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment, a statement notifying employees that the unlawful manufacture, sale, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of a controlled substance or marijuana is prohibited in the Contractor’s workplace and specifying the actions that will be taken against employees for violations of such prohibition; (iii) state in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or behalf of the Contractor that the Contractor maintains a drug-free workplace; and (iv) include the provisions of the foregoing clauses in every Subcontract or Purchase Order of over ten thousand dollars ($10,000), so that the provisions will be binding upon each Subcontractor or Vendor.

For the purpose of this section, “drug-free workplace” means a site for the performance of work done in connection with a specific Contract awarded to a Contractor in accordance with this chapter, the employees of whom are prohibited from engaging in the unlawful manufacture, sale distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of a controlled substance or marijuana during the performance of the Contract.

26. Exemption from Taxes Both the Town and the School Board are exempt from State Sales Tax and Federal Excise Tax. Tax Exemption Certificates indicating the Town’s tax-exempt status will be furnished by the Town and the School Board on request.

27. Substitutions NO substitutions, including key personnel, or cancellations permitted after award without written approval by the Town’s Chief Financial Officer and the School Board’s Superintendent, or their designees.

28. Assignment of Contract This contract may not be assigned in whole or in part without the written consent of the Town’s Chief Financial Officer and the School Board’s Superintendent, or their designees.

29. Debarment By submitting a Proposal, the Offeror is certifying that he is not currently debarred by the Town. The Town's debarment procedure is in accordance with Section 2.2-4321 of the Code of Virginia.

30. Offeror Disclosure Each Offeror shall certify, upon signing a Proposal, that to the best of their knowledge no Town or School Board official or employee having official responsibility for the procurement transaction, or member of his/her immediate family, has received or will receive any financial benefit of more than nominal or minimal value relating to the award of this Contract. If such a benefit has been received or will be received, this fact shall be disclosed with the Proposal, or as soon thereafter as it appears that such a benefit will be received. Failure to disclose the information prescribed above may result in suspension or debarment, or rescission of the Contract made, or could affect payment pursuant to the terms of the Contract.

31. Right to Negotiate Both the Town and the School Board reserve the right to waive informalities, and to reject any and all Proposals. If the Proposal from the lowest responsible Offeror exceeds available funds, the Town of Stafford reserves the right to negotiate with the apparent low Offeror to obtain a Contract price within available funds. Such negotiations shall be in accordance with Chapter 7, Code of Virginia.

32. Proof of Authority to Transact Business in Virginia Any Bidder or Offeror organized or authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth pursuant to Title 13.1 or Title 50 of the Code of Virginia shall include in its Bid or Proposal the identification number issued to it by the State Corporation Commission. Any Bidder or Offeror that is not required to be authorized to transact business in the Commonwealth as a foreign business entity under Title 13.1 or Title 50 of the Code of Virginia or as otherwise required by law shall include in its Bid or Proposal a statement describing why the Bidder or Offeror is not required to be so authorized. Any Bidder or Offeror described herein that fails to provide the required information shall not receive an award unless a waiver of this requirement and the administrative policies and procedures established to implement this section is granted by the Town Administrator (https://cisiweb.scc.virginia.gov/z_container.aspx). See also Exhibit I Response Sheet.

33. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 By accepting a Contract award, each Offeror certifies that it does not and will not during the performance of this contract violate the provisions of the Federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which prohibits the employment of illegal aliens.

34. Certificate of Compliance The Contractor agrees, that as a condition for providing the services required under this Contract, to certify that neither the Contractor or Subcontractor nor any of their employee(s) assigned to perform contracted or subcontracted services in the presence of students during the regular school hours or school sponsored activities have been convicted of a felony or any offense involving sexual molestation or physical or sexual abuse or rape of a child; or a crime of moral turpitude.

35. Proposal Incorporated into Awarded Contract The Contents of the Proposal submitted by the successful Offeror and the Proposal Specifications shall become a part of any Contract awarded as a result of these specifications.

36. Right to Cancellation Award to the selected Offeror will be made under a Contract arrangement with both the Town and the School Board that is cancelable after the first year or at the end of a fiscal year in the event that continuing funds are not appropriated.

III. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS

1. Preparation and Submission of Proposals

a. All Proposals shall be signed in ink by authorized personnel of the firm.

b. All attachments to the Proposals requiring execution by the firm are to be returned with the Proposals.

2. Withdrawal of Proposals

a. Pursuant to Code Section 2.2-4330 of the Code of Virginia, as amended, the contracting authority has elected to use the procedure for Proposal withdrawal numbered (I), which reads as follows:

The Offeror shall give notice in writing of his claim of right to withdraw his Proposal within two (2) business days after the conclusion of the Proposal opening procedure.

b. The Offeror may withdraw the Proposal from consideration if the service proposed was substantially different than the other Proposals due solely to a mistake therein, provided the Proposal was submitted in good faith, and the mistake was a clerical mistake as opposed to a judgmental mistake, and was actually due to an unintentional arithmetic error, or an unintentional omission of a quantity of work, labor, or materials made directly in the compilation of the Proposal, which unintentional arithmetic error or unintentional omission can be clearly shown by objective evidence drawn from inspection of original work papers, documents, and materials used in the preparation of the Proposal sought to be withdrawn.

c. The following is the procedure for withdrawal of a Proposal:

(1) The Offeror must give notice in writing of his claim of the right to withdraw his Proposal within two (2) business days after the conclusion of the Proposal opening procedure.

(2) No Proposal may be withdrawn under this section when the result would be the awarding of the Contract on another Proposal of the same Offeror.

(3) No Offeror who is permitted to withdraw a Proposal shall for compensation, supply any material or labor to or perform any Subcontract or other work agreement for the person or firm to whom the Contract is awarded or otherwise benefit, directly or indirectly, from the performance of the project for which the withdrawn Proposal was submitted, without the approval of the Town’s Chief Financial Officer (for the Town’s annual audit services) or the School Board’s Superintendent (for the School Board’s annual audit services) . The person or firm to whom the Contract was awarded, and the withdrawing Offeror are jointly liable to the Town and the School Board in an amount equal to any compensation paid to, or for the benefit of, the withdrawing Offeror without such approval.

(4) No Proposals may be withdrawn after the ultimate closing time set for the receipt of Proposals for a period of ninety (90) days, except as provided in Section 2 above.

3. Form of Proposals Interested firms are requested to provide in their Proposal as much detail as possible pertaining to their firm's capabilities, experience and approach to the tasks outlined in this Proposal.

4. Clarification of Proposals Both the Town and the School Board reserve the right to contact Offerors individually for the purpose of clarifying Proposals.

5. Vendor Incurred Costs Both the Town and the School Board are not liable for any cost incurred by Offerors prior to issuance of an agreement, Contract or Purchase Order.

6. Terminology Terminology used in this request for Proposal might imply or denote a particular Vendor. The terminology used and the organization of the Request for Proposals is not intended to be restrictive in any way. Appropriate interpretation of the intent of the Request for Proposals should be made by the Offeror in these situations.

7. Proposal Property All Proposals submitted in response to this Request for Proposals become the property of both or either the Town (for Town workpapers) and the School Board (for School Board workpapers). Supporting information will be returned at the request of the Offeror.

8. Confidentiality All Proposals will be made available for inspection by any interested parties following the final selection date. If an Offeror wishes that any parts of his Proposal remain confidential, it should be stated so clearly in the Proposal submitted by that Offeror.

9. Addenda Any Addenda to these documents shall be issued in writing; no oral statement, explanations, or commitments by whomsoever shall be of any effect unless incorporated in the Addenda.

10. Miscellaneous Requirements

a. The Town and the School Board will not be responsible for any expenses incurred by a firm in preparing and submitting a Proposal. All Proposals shall provide a straightforward concise delineation of capabilities to satisfy the requirements of this request. Emphasis should be on completeness and clarity of content.

b. All Offerors submitting a Proposal in response to this RFP will be required to make an oral presentation of their Proposal. The Town Manager, or designee, will schedule the time and location for this presentation.

IV. SERVICES REQUIRED

A. Scope of Work to be Performed

1. An audit the financial statements of the governmental activities, the business-type activities, and the School Board (which is a discretely presented component unit of the Town), including the related notes to the financial statements which collectively comprise the basic financial statements of the Town of Colonial Beach.

2. The audit is expected to result in an opinion on the fair presentation of the financial statements, including federally funded programs, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. The auditor is to apply procedures and report on the required and other supplementary information included in the Annual Financial Report including a schedule of expenditures of federal awards.

3. Preparation of the financial statements which will be reviewed by the appropriate Town and School Board personnel prior to their issuance.

4. In connection with the audit of the financial statements, the auditor shall perform tests and report on compliance in accordance with Government Auditing Standards, OMB Compliance Supplement, Audits of State and Local Governments, and the Specifications for Audits of Counties, Cities, and Towns.

5. The Auditor of Public Accounts requires all local governments to complete Comparative Cost Report Transmittal Forms in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform Financial Reporting Manual. The Town has the auditor prepare the required forms, perform the agreed-upon procedures specified in the Uniform Financial Reporting Manual, and submit the forms to the Auditor of Public Accounts by November 30, following the end of each fiscal year.

6. In addition, the Town requires an examination of the census data reported to the Virginia Retirement Systems (VRS) for each fiscal year ending June 30. The examination will be conducted in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

7. In addition to completing the annual audit, the accounting firm will be available during normal business hours throughout the contract period to provide the Town and the School Board with advice and guidance on financial accounting and reporting issues, to include GASB pronouncements. Responses to specific questions regarding application of accounting policy or GASB requirements should be provided within thirty-six (36) hours. Also, we request to be informed of any training opportunities the firm may offer such that personnel may participate in continuing education for renewal of CPA licenses, if any are held by Town or School staff.

B. Auditing Standards to be Followed To meet the requirements of this Request for Proposals, the audit will be performed in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America; the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, the Specifications for Audits of Counties, Cities and Towns (Revised June 2017) issued by the Auditor of Public Accounts of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the audit requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Award (Uniform Guidance) .

C. Reports to be Issued Following the completion of the audit of the fiscal year's financial statements for the Town and the School Board, the auditor will issue:

1. A report on the fair presentation of the financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.

2. A report on the internal control structure, inclusive of that used to administer the specific and general requirements for both major and non-major federal financial assistance programs, based on the auditors' understanding of the control structure and assessment of control risk.

3. A report on compliance with applicable laws and regulations and the specific and general requirements applicable to major and non-major federal financial assistance programs.

4. The Town’s Comparative Cost Report Transmittal Forms in electronic format.

5. SF-SAC Data Collection Form for Reporting on Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations.

In the required reports on internal controls, the auditor will communicate any deficiency in internal control. A material weakness is a deficiency or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entity’s financial statements will not be prevented or detected and corrected in a timely manner. A significant deficiency is a deficiency or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance.

The report on compliance will include all material instances of noncompliance. All other instances of noncompliance will be reported in a separate management letter, which will be referred to in the report on compliance.

For any Town of Colonial Beach matters, auditors will be required to make an immediate, written report of all irregularities and illegal acts or indications of illegal acts of which they become aware to the following parties:

· Town Manager

· Chief Financial Officer

· Town Council

If the illegal act or irregularity involves the School Board, then the following parties should also be notified:

· Director of Finance

· School Superintendent

· School Board

Auditors will report to the Town Council and School Board regarding the following:

1. The auditor's responsibility under generally accepted auditing standards.

2. Significant accounting policies.

3. Management judgments and accounting estimates.

4. Significant audit adjustments.

5. Other information in documents containing audited financial statements.

6. Disagreements with management.

7. Management consultation with other accountants.

8. Major issues discussed with management prior to retention.

9. Difficulties encountered in performing the audit.

10. Changes due to newly issued financial reporting standards based on generally accepted accounting principles as established by GASB.

In addition to completing the annual audit, the accounting firm will be available during normal business hours throughout the contract period to provide the Town and the School Board with advice and guidance on financial accounting and reporting issues, to include GASB pronouncements. Responses to specific questions regarding application of accounting policy or GASB requirements should be provided within thirty-six (36) hours. Also, we request to be informed of any training opportunities the firm may offer such that personnel may participate in continuing education.

D. Working Paper Retention and Access to Working Papers All working papers and reports must be retained, at the auditor's expense, for a minimum of five (5) years, unless the firm is notified in writing by the Town or the School Board of the need to extend the retention period. The auditor will be required to make working papers available, upon request, to the following parties or their designees:

· The Town.

· The School Board.

· Comptroller General of the United States.

· Parties designated by the federal or state governments, or by the Town or the School Board, as part of an audit quality review process.

· Auditors of entities of which the Town or the School Board are a sub-recipient of grant funds.

· Auditors of entities of which the Town is a component unit.

· In addition, the firm will respond to the reasonable inquiries of successor auditors and allow successor auditors to review working papers relating to matters of continuing accounting significance.

V. DESCRIPTION OF THE GOVERNMENT

A. Name and telephone number of contact persons The auditor's principal contact with the Town will be Lisa Okes at (804) 224-7181 or a designated representative, who will coordinate the assistance to be provided by the Town to the auditor. The auditor's principal contact with the School Board will be Elizabeth Fisher at (804) 224-0906 or a designated representative, who will coordinate the assistance to be provided by the schools to the auditor.

B. Financial Reporting Entity The Town of Colonial Beach, Virginia was established by an act of the Virginia General Assembly in 1892 and is one of two incorporated towns in Westmoreland County, Virginia. It is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia and operates under the Town Council/Manager form of government, as elected by the residents of the Town. The Town owns and operates its own water and sewer system, provides trash and garbage pickup, and police protection for its residents.

The Financial Report includes the financial statements of the Colonial Beach School Board, an entity for which the Town is considered to be financially accountable. This discretely presented component unit is reported in a separate column in the government-wide financial statements to emphasize that it is legally separate from the Town. The Colonial Beach School Board was created by the Town as a separate legal entity to oversee the operations and management of its publicly funded primary and secondary schools. While the Town does not appoint members to the Board, the Town approves the School Board’s budget and issues debt for the School Board’s benefit and provides significant funding for operations. The School Board does not issue separate financial reports.

The Town’s Audited Financial Report is available at the Town’s website: http://www.colonialbeachva.net/resources-visitors/government-resources/town-audit/.

The Town’s budget is also available at the Town’s website: http://www.colonialbeachva.net/resources-visitors/government-resources/town-budget/.

C. Fund Structure The Town maintains three (3) major governmental funds: General Fund, Capital Projects Fund and Erosion Fund. The Town has two major (2) Proprietary Funds that are both Enterprise Funds: A Water Fund and a Sewer Fund. The School Board has three (3) governmental funds. The Operating Fund, the School Cafeteria Fund and the Capital Projects Fund. A Treasurer’s Accountability Fund is also maintained and reconciled on a monthly basis. The Town and the School Board account for and track capital assets and long-term debt transactions separately relative to their government-wide reporting requirements.

D. Budgetary Basis of Accounting The Town and the School Board prepare their budgets on a basis consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

E. Pension Plans The Town and the School Board participate in the Virginia Retirement Systems (VRS), an agent and cost sharing multiple employers defined benefit pension plan. Actuarial services for these plans are provided by VRS.

F. Computer Systems The Town's general ledger accounting system is fully computerized with several subsystems that directly interface into the general ledger: accounts payable, cashier, utility billing, and payroll. The governmental accounting software package is BAI Municipal Software. The School Board maintains a different and separate accounting software called RDA Systems, Inc. that does not interface with the Town’s BAI general ledger software. Therefore, on a monthly basis all of the School Board’s transactions are summarized and entered via high level journal entries into their respective funds in the Town’s BAI general ledger

G. Availability of Prior Audit Reports and Working Papers The current audit firm is Brown Edwards, LLP located at 124 Newman Avenue Harrisonburg, VA2280-14004 with contact information of 540-434-6736 telephone, 540-434-3097 fax and website www.BEcpas.com.

The contracted firm will be provided permission by the Town and the School Board to review the prior year working papers maintained by the current audit firm.

VI. TIME REQUIREMENTS

A. Proposal Calendar The following is a list of key dates:

Request for proposal issued: October 25, 2023 Due date for proposals: January 12, 2024 Selected firms…