FPA - 26-84111600-RFI.pdf

4050 Esplanade Way Tallahassee, FL 32399-0950

850-488-2786

Ron DeSantis, Governor

Tom Berger, Interim Secretary

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Request for Information

Financial and Performance Audits

26-84111600-RFI

I. PURPOSE:

The Department of Management Services, State Purchasing, hereby issues this Request for Information (RFI) as defined in section 287.012(22), Florida Statutes. The Department is seeking information from experienced vendors for Financial and Performance Audits (FPA).

The RFI process is used to gather information on whether to competitively procure the services sought and if so, to determine which solicitation process to use. The Department may also use the information provided by the vendor community to determine general, special, or technical specifications to include if the Department does issue a competitive solicitation for these services.

This is not a “competitive solicitation”, as defined in section 287.012(6), Florida Statutes. Vendor responses to this RFI will be reviewed for informational purposes only and will not result in the award of any contract.

II. BACKGROUND:

State Term Contract (STC) No. 84111600-20-1 for FPA resulted from Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 06-80101500-J. The RFP was solicited on March 17, 2020, and awarded September 29, 2020.

Contracts were issued to twenty vendors with a term of March 1, 2021, through February 29, 2024, with three renewal years, all which have been executed, with an expiration date of February 28, 2027.

In fiscal year 2024-2025, the State Agencies and eligible users spent approximately $9 million on services requested within the scope of the contract.

The current State Term Contract includes the following Scope of Service:

The Contractor will provide Financial and Performance Audit services, giving an attestation of whether the financial statements of an audited entity fairly present the financial position, results of operations, and cash flow in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. This includes audits of the Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS). Services are provided on an as-needed basis, with no guarantee of minimum spend.

III. REQUESTED INFORMATION:

Using the current Scope of Service (provided in the Background section), please answer the following questions:

A. What job titles and associated duties do you feel should be utilized for the FPA contract services, including audits of financial statements and compliance with Statement of Federal

Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS)?

B. Are there any additional qualif ications, certif ications, or professional standards that should be recommended for personnel performing FPA services?

C. If an agency requires personnel to hold certif ications necessary to perform the scope of work

(SOW), how would that impact the hourly rate on the quote provided to the agency? Would additional pricing class or categories increase accuracy in the providing quotes to agencies.

D. Are there any auditing or compliance services that could be potentially beneficial to Florida’s customers, that DO NOT fall within the scope provided in the Background section of this RFI? If so, please explain and provide justif ication for the recommended services.

E. Has your organization experienced any challenges in distinguishing the FPA contract from other similar contracts? If so, please explain the main areas of confusion.

F. Are there any additional terms, industry standards, regulations, or other information that the

Department should consider if competitive solicitation is developed? If so, please provide.

IV. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF VENDOR RESPONSES:

Please provide a response to this RFI electronically to the Procurement Lead, Nicholas Baxter, at

Nicholas.Baxter@dms.fl.gov by 5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday April 30, 2026.

In addition to responses to items A through F above:

• Please include any written material that your company would like the Department to consider in connection with this RFI.

Any submitted material is subject to the Public Records Act, Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. If a vendor considers any portion of the documents, data or records submitted in response to this RFI to be confidential, proprietary, trade secret or otherwise not subject to disclosure pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, the Florida Constitution, or other authority, the vendor must mark the document as “Confidential”.

A Vendor’s response to this RFI is not a formal offer and vendors submitting a response to this RFI are not prohibited from responding to any related subsequent solicitation.

This RFI will not result in a contract, as defined in section 287.012(29), Florida Statutes. The RFI is not a binding contract. This RFI is not subject to a challenge pursuant to section 120.57, Florida Statutes.

mailto:Nicholas.Baxter@dms.fl.gov

V. PUBLIC RECORDS

Any material submitted in response to this RFI is subject to the Public Records Act, Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. If a responding vendor (“vendor”) to this RFI considers any portion of the documents, data or records submitted in response to this RFI to be confidential, proprietary, trade secret or otherwise not subject to disclosure pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statues, the Florida Constitution, or other authority (“Confidential Information”), the vendor must mark the document as “Confidential” and simultaneously provide the Department with a separate, redacted copy of material submitted in response to this RFI. For each portion redacted, the vendor is to briefly describe in writing the grounds for claiming its exemption, including the specific statutory citation for such exemption. On the cover page of the redacted copy, the vendor is to provide its name and this RFI number and clearly title it, “Redacted Copy.” Only portions of material that the vendor claims are Confidential Information are to be redacted.

If the vendor fails to mark a record it claims contains Confidential Information as “confidential,” or fails to submit in accordance with this section a redacted copy of a record it claims contains Confidential Information, the Department shall have no liability for release of such record. The foregoing will apply to every instance in which the vendor fails to both mark a record “confidential” and redact it in accordance with this section, regardless of whether the vendor may have properly marked and redacted the same or similar Confidential Information in another instance or record submitted to the Department.

In the event the Department receives a request for public records pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statues, the Florida Constitution, or other authority, to which documents that are marked as “confidential” are responsive, the Department will provide the redacted copy to the requestor. If the vendor has marked a record as “confidential” but failed to provide a redacted copy to the Department, the Department may notify the vendor of the request and the vendor may have up to ten (10) Business Days from the date of the notice to provide a vendor-redacted copy, or else the Department may release the unredacted record to the requestor without liability. If a requestor asserts a right to the redacted Confidential Information, the Department will notify the vendor that such an assertion has been made. The notice will provide that if the vendor seeks to protect the vendor -redacted Confidential Information from release it must, within thirty (30) days after the date of the notice and at its own expense, file a cause of action seeking a declaratory judgment that the information in question is exempt from section 119.07(1), Florida Statues, or other applicable law and an order prohibiting the Department from publicly disclosing the information. The vendor shall provide written notice to the Department of any cause of action filed. If the vendor fails to file a cause of action within thirty (30) days the Department may release the unredacted copy of the record to the requestor without liability.

If the Department becomes subject to a demand for discovery or disclosure of documents that are marked as “confidential” in a legal proceeding, (whether by oral questions, interrogatories, requests for information or documents, subpoena, or similar process), unless otherwise prohibited by law, the Department will give the vendor notice of the demand or request prior to disclosing any Confidential Information to allow the vendor to seek a protective order or other appropriate relief at the vendor’s sole discretion and expense. If the vendor fails to take appropriate and timely action to protect the materials it has designated as Confidential Information or fails to provide a redacted copy that may be disclosed, the Department will provide the unredacted mater ials to the requester.

By submitting a response to this RFI, the vendor agrees to protect, defend, and indemnify the Department for all claims, costs, fines, settlement fees, and attorneys’ fees, at both the trial and appellate levels, arising from or relating to the vendor’s de termination its records contain Confidential Information. In the event of a third-party claim brought against the Department for failure to release the vendor’s redacted Confidential Information, the vendor shall assume, at its sole expense, the defense or settlement of such claim, including attorney’s fees and costs at both the trial and appellate levels. If the vendor fails to continuously undertake the defense or settlement of such claim or if the vendor and the Department mutually agree that the Department is best suited to undertake the defense or settlement, the Department will have the right, but not the obligation, to undertake the defense or settlement of such claim, at its discretion. The vendor shall be bound by any defense or settlement the Department may make as to such claim, and the vendor agrees to reimburse the Department for the expense, including reasonable attorney’s fees and costs at both the trial and appellate levels associated with any defense or settlement that the Department may unde rtake to defend vendor’s Confidential Information. The Department will also be entitled to join the vendor in any third-party claim for the purpose of enforcing any right of indemnity under this section.

If at any point the Department is reasonably advised by its counsel that disclosure of the Confidential Information is required by law, including but not limited to Florida’s public records laws, the Department may disclose such Confidential Information without liability hereunder.

VI. DEPARTMENT CONTACT FOR THIS RFI:

Nicholas Baxter, Purchasing Analyst, IT and Special Projects Florida Department of Management Services Division of State Purchasing 4050 Esplanade Way Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0950 Phone: (850) 488-9996 Nicholas.Baxter@dms.fl.gov