MDoA 24-06 - R00BXXX Financial Consultant_SP.pdf

RFQ# MDoA-24-06 / R00Bxxx

Title: MDoA Financial Consultant Release Date: March 25, 2024

Small, Minority and Veteran-owned businesses are also encouraged to respond to this solicitation.

Maryland Department of Aging RFQ #MDoA-24-06/R00BXXX

MDoA Financial Consultant Request for Quotation

Issue Date: March 25, 2024

Title: MDoA Financial Consultant

Procurement Officer: Aaron Peterson Contact Info: Aaron.peterson1@maryland.gov

THIS SOLICITATION SHALL BE MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SMALL PROCUREMENT

REGULATIONS DESCRIBED IN COMAR 21.05.07.

I. Background and Purpose

a. The Maryland Department of Aging (“Department” or “MDoA”) is issuing this request for Quotations for a financial consultant to provide professional consulting services under a small procurement contract to assist it in performing financial reviews for all federal and state grants received by local area agencies on aging (“AAAs”) for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2021, through June 30, 2023

b. The Department receives approximately $80 million annually in federal and state grants, the bulk of which is sub-awarded to the Department’s nineteen AAAs for administration of the programs funded by grant awards. The State of Maryland Office of Legislative Audits conducts, on a regular basis, reviews of agency records to ensure compliance with State guidelines regarding review of sub-awardees. Accordingly, the Department needs a financial consultant that will conduct these reviews. The proposed term of the contract with the financial consultant will be approximately six months and will not contain an option to extend the contract.

II. Scope Of Work

a. The successful Bidder will be responsible for traveling throughout the State of Maryland and conducting on-site fiscal monitoring visits of AAAs, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2021, through June 30, 2023, utilizing an approved Fiscal Assessment Questionnaire as a measure of compliance with the applicable requirements. The successful Bidder will conduct the monitoring process in accordance with the below:

1. Adhere to the deadlines set forth by MDoA.

2. Adhere to the Department’s comprehensive policy that clearly defines the objectives and scope of the AAA financial reviews.

3. Determine that all the State grant awards are accurate in accordance with the

Department’s Final Notice of Grant Award (NGA).

4. Verify total payments disbursed by the State by grant and grantee from eCIVIS (the

Department’s grants management system) to the agency/grantee. This shall include any approved carry-over of funds and shall be compiled prior to the contractor’s on-site review.

5. Ensure that sufficient grant expenditure reporting and source documents are reviewed to provide assurance that grant funds were both reported and spent in accordance with grant requirements and for eligible purposes.

6. Adequately documented and reviewed work performed, and conclusions reached in accordance with the Department’s policy.

7. Perform all monitoring activities in a timely manner.

8. Allow the Department timely access to review of all monitoring activities.

9. Prepare a professionally organized monitoring report containing all of the documentation necessary to present a clear understanding of any findings, the AAA’s processes, the control environment, and amounts due to or from the grantor while noting any significant changes in the organizational structure or fiscal processes at the AAA since the last review. The monitoring report shall be complete, accurate, clear, and follow a logical order. In addition, the monitoring report shall follow the below guidelines:

a. A descriptive heading: Include the reviewer’s name, the workpaper’s purpose, the date under examination, and a unique page number of each workpaper showing its place in the audit file.

b. Cross-referencing: Cross-reference your workpaper to related and supporting workpapers. Doing so eliminates the duplication of work. For example, if you file the AAA’s bank reconciliations in Section A and you refer to them in Section F, there is no need to make copies of the bank reconciliations in Section F. Your cross-reference could be “See bank reconciliations in Section A.” Tick marks: For the sake of brevity, you use tick marks as abbreviations for standard auditing tasks. For example, “V” means that the item you are reviewing vouched (it is reconciled without discrepancy) to the source document. Another common tick mark is “F,” which stands for foot, and which means that you confirmed the arithmetic calculations on the workpaper or schedule.

c. Sources of Information: Include what documents you examined or who you interviewed to gain evidence about the auditing matter at hand.

d. Conclusion: Write a summary of the results of your analysis and your opinion.

THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.

III. Mandatory Requirements

1. Experience :

a. The Bidder must provide a detailed listing and description of their expertise in:

1. Conducting financial compliance audits and reviews.

2. Monitoring financial information, particularly grant receipts and expenditures.

3. Issuing audit reviews and subsequent recommendations.

b. Any experience related to intergovernmental grants should also be included.

2. Lead Staff Qualifications:

a. The lead member of the Bidder's staff must meet the following minimum qualifications:

1. Possess a minimum of five years of experience in financial review and compliance.

2. Have prior experience in reviewing the financial records of a large organization.

3. References:

a. The Bidder is required to submit a minimum of three references from previous clients.

b. Each reference should include the names, titles, telephone numbers, and email addresses of the primary contact person for verification purposes.

IV. Term of Contract

a. A single (or multiple) award contract will be awarded to the Bidder(s) that best meets the needs of the evaluation criteria. The anticipated term of the contract resulting from this solicitation shall begin on or about April 15, 2024, and will expire on October 15, 2024.

V. Place of Work

a. The work under this contract will be performed under a flexible Modality. The Bidder(s) shall sign a Telework Agreement. The Bidder(s) shall work from home or at the office here at 301 West Preston Street, Suite 1007 Baltimore, Maryland 21201.

VI. Questions

a. Questions shall be submitted by April 5, 2024, by 2 PM EDT.

b. All questions should be addressed in writing to the Procurement Officer. Please put the RFQ # and Title in the subject line of your email. Note: All responses to questions submitted, if any, shall only be posted on eMaryland Marketplace Advantage (eMMA) as Addendum #1 and or Q & A after the due date of questions are received. It is beneficial to be registered with “eMMA” to access the addendums and any other pertinent information. There may be other opportunities from State agencies there. There shall be no mailing of the Addendums. The link to “eMMA” to register is as follows:

c. https://emma.maryland.gov/page.aspx/en/sup/registration_extranet_manage

VII. Bid Submission Information and Due Date

a. Bids are due by April 10, 2024, by 2 PM EDT.

b. In accordance with COMAR 21.03.05, bids are to be submitted electronically through eMaryland

Marketplace Advantage (eMMA) following the Quick Reference Guides (QRG) labeled “3 -eMMA QRG Responding to Solicitations (IFB)” for single envelope submissions. The Bidder(s) must submit a letter of interest, a resume that demonstrates the required qualifications for the services requested and the signed bid form Exhibit A (include ALL final costs for completing the project) to provide the service detailed in the Scope of Work. The submission must be received by, by 2 p.m. If you have not done business with MDoA or the State of Maryland, or a significant amount of time has elapsed, please submit an updated W-9 with your bid. Bids will not be opened publicly.

VIII. Award

a. A contract will be awarded to the responsible Bidder(s) whose Quotation are most advantageous to the State. The successful Bidder(s) will be selected on the basis of the cost of service and the Bidder’s knowledge of and experience in conducting financial compliance audits and reviews, monitoring of financial information (in particular, grant receipts and expenditures), and issuing audit reviews and ensuing recommendations.

https://emma.maryland.gov/page.aspx/en/sup/registration_extranet_manage https://procurement.maryland.gov/emma-qrgs/

IX. Form of Quotation

a. A Quotation must be in writing and must fully describe, where applicable, how the Bidder will perform each task listed in Section II (Scope of Work).

b. The Quotation must also indicate which staff will provide the required services, as indicated above, and attach a copy of the resume of each participating staff person.

c. The Bidder shall submit a detailed rate sheet indicating the hourly rate to be charged for each level or type of consultant offered (labor categories).

d. The hourly rate shall cover all contractor costs, e.g., postage, copying, overhead, routine travel (as indicated in Section II, the contractor will be required to travel throughout the State), etc.

e. This is a small procurement.

f. Price Sheet:

1. Create a detailed price sheet and/or add details into Exhibit A form that outlines the cost. This should include labor categories and associated rates.

2. Ensure that the quotes provided cover all contractor costs, including but not limited to postage, copying, overhead, routine travel, etc.

3. The price sheet should be structured in a way that makes it easy for the evaluation team to understand the cost breakdown.

4. enter your TOTAL BID COST into Exhibit A form

g. Quotations must include the Bidder’s Tax I.D. number and include a statement that the

Bidder is registered to do business in Maryland. If the Bidder is currently not registered to do business in Maryland, the website link to register is located here:

https://egov.maryland.gov/BusinessExpress

5.

X. Billing

a. The contractor shall bill the Department monthly for the work performed the previous month.

The total cost of the work may not exceed $99,999.00 for the term of the contract. All invoices sent to MDoA must be on the contractor’s letterhead, must be signed and date.

b. Payment by the State requires a proper invoice to be submitted. Payments are made on a net 30

Schedule.

c. An invoice not satisfying the requirements of a Proper Invoice (as defined at COMAR

21.06.09.01 and .02) cannot be processed for payment. To be considered a Proper Invoice, invoices must include the following information, without error:

1) Contractor name and address.

2) Remittance address.

3) Federal taxpayer identification (FEIN) number, social security number, as appropriate.

4) Invoice period (i.e., period during which services covered by invoice were performed).

5) Invoice date.

6) Invoice number.

7) State assigned Contract number.

8) State assigned Purchase Order number(s).

https://egov.maryland.gov/BusinessExpress

9) Goods or services provided.

10) Amount due; and

11) Any additional documentation required by regulation or the Contract.

12) Consultants must submit a consultant log with their invoice.

d. The State is generally exempt from federal excise taxes, Maryland sales and use taxes, District of Columbia sales taxes and transportation taxes. The Contractor: however, is not exempt from such sales and use taxes and may be liable for the same.

e. Invoices for final payment shall be clearly marked as “FINAL” and submitted when all work requirements have been completed and no further charges are to be incurred under the Contract.

In no event shall any invoice be submitted later than 60 calendar days from the Contract termination date.

f. The Department reserves the right to reduce or withhold Contract payment in the event the

Contractor does not provide the Department with all required deliverables within the time frame specified in the Contract or otherwise breaches the terms and conditions of the Contract until such time as the Contractor brings itself into full compliance with the Contract.

g. Any action on the part of the Department, or dispute of action by the Contractor, shall be in accordance with the provisions of Md. Code Ann., State Finance and Procurement Article §§ 15-215 through 15-223 and with COMAR 21.10.04.

XI. Partial/Multiple Consultants:

a. The MDoA reserves the right to award contracts to multiple consultants for the services and materials required in this RFQ.

XII. Non-Hiring of Employees

a. No official or employee of the State of Maryland, as defined under State Government Article, §15-102, Annotated Code of Maryland, whose duties as such official or employee include matters relating to or affecting the subject matter of this contract, shall during the pendency and term of this contract and while serving as an official or employee of the State, become or be an employee of the Contractor or any entity that is a subcontractor on this contract.

XIII. Most Favorable Bid:

a. The State reserves the right to award the contract to the responsive and responsible Bidder(s) submitting the most favorable evaluated bid price or most advantageous offer, as specified in the solicitation.

XIV. Tie-bids

a. If bids are received from responsive and responsible Bidder(s)s that are identical in prices, terms, and conditions, and which meet all requirements set forth in the solicitation, an award will be made in accordance with State Regulations 21.05.02.14B. If a tie still exists, the Bidder(s) with the most experience shall be used to determine the successful Bidder(s).

XV. Public Information Act Notice and Request for Redacted Copy of Quotations

a. All information submitted as part of a Quotation submitted by a Bidder(s) is subject to release under Maryland’s Public Information Act (“PIA”), Annotated Code of Maryland, General Provisions Article §§ 4-101 to 4-601.

b. If an Bidder(s) would like the Department to consider redactions of portions of their Quotation in the event of a PIA request, an Bidder(s) should submit a separate redacted copy of their Quotation, with those portions redacted that an Bidder(s) deems to be confidential commercial information, confidential financial information, or a trade secret, along with an accompanying written justification for each redaction, identified by page and section number, for why the redacted information should not be disclosed by the Department under the PIA. A blanket statement declaring the entire Quotation confidential, or redaction of the entire Quotation is unacceptable.

Inquiries are to be directed to the Maryland Department of Aging’s Procurement Officer at Aaron.peterson1@maryland.gov.

EXHIBIT A

BID FORM

(DO NOT ALTER OR AMEND THIS FORM.)

DETAILED COST CATEGORY

Please ensure that all costs associated with the Quotation are included in this bid form.

Total Cost

TOTAL BID COST $

*Submit this Exhibit A and all supportive itemized pricing, a letter of interest and a resume.

Exhibit A: Total Bid Cost includes all costs incurred both direct and indirect in delivering a product or service, which includes, but is not limited to travel, lodging, food, etc. All bids submitted shall be identified with RFQ #.

Late bids shall not be accepted.

Faxed or mailed bids shall not be accepted.

VENDOR’S NAME: _____________________________________________

Print

VENDOR’S ADDRESS: ______________________________________________________________________

City State Zip

VENDOR’S FEDERAL ID or SS#____________________________________________

NAME OF AUTHORIZED: ________________________________________

Print

SIGNATURE: ___________________________________________________

TITLE: _____________________________________________________

TELEPHONE NO: ______________________________ DATE: ________________________

E-MAIL: ________________________________________________

FAX NO. ____________________________________________________

ARE YOU A REGISTERED SMALL BUSINESS? YES ____ NO ____

IF YES: MARYLAND STATE CERTIFICATION #_____________________________

IF YOU ARE NOT REGISTERED, PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE

INFORMATION: http://goma.maryland.gov/Pages/sbr-Program.aspx

ARE YOU A REGISTERED MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE? YES____ NO____

IF YES: MARYLAND STATE CERTIFICATION #_____________________________

http://goma.maryland.gov/Pages/sbr-Program.aspx