Questions and Answers on Opportunity# 21260814131254

1. To help ensure that vendors can submit high-quality proposals with sufficient time to incorporate Q&A responses from the City, would the City consider a two-week extension to the submission deadline? This would effectively change the deadline from 10/2/2026 to 10/16/2026.

Answer: No

2. Is this a new contract or a re-bid of a previous contract?

Answer: This is a new contract.

3. Could the City share projects or scopes of work anticipated under the resulting contract? We are interested in learning about the more specific objectives and drivers for this contract.

Answer: No, scope is provided in the RFP.

4. Does the City have a preference for remote or on-site work?

Answer: No

5. Can entities other than city-level agencies (e.g., higher education institutions, state government agencies, etc.) use this contract?

Answer: No, it will be used only by the Office of the City Controller.

6. Question: Is there an administrative fee on the resulting contract?

Answer: No

7. Page 14 of the RFP, Section 4.1 (What You Must Include in Your Proposal), item 4 (Proposed Scope of Work) states, “Include a proposed budget or cost proposal, and a schedule for when the services and materials will be provided.” Because this RFP is for projects under a variety of services that have yet to be determined, would hourly rates suffice? If not, could the City please provide a sample project for which vendors could provide a proposed budget?

Answer: Yes, hourly rate would suffice.

8. Does a firm need to offer every single service as requested in section 2.2 Project Background? Or can we propose on specific services that we offer?

Answer: No, you can propose on specific services.

9. May an applicant submit qualifications for only selected service categories identified in the RFP, such as departmental, operational, and business process reviews; internal control assessments; risk assessments; financial analysis; management consulting; organizational assessments; data analytics; or other advisory and consulting services, rather than proposing to perform all audit, assurance, and attestation services listed in the scope?

Answer: No, you can propose on specific services.

10. For advisory, assessment, consulting, internal-control, and business-process engagements that do not require an audit opinion, attestation report, or other CPA-signature requirement, is CPA licensure required of the prime contractor, or may a qualified accounting or consulting firm perform those services without being a CPA firm?

Answer: CPA licensure is required for all the services requested.

11. Does a potential contractor, interested in performance and compliance audit as it relates to this contract have to be a certified public accountant?

Answer: Yes

12. Can a potential contractor submit a proposal for only one aspect of the contract? i.e. performance or compliance audit Answer: Yes

13. Can the potential contractor work remotely or will they have to occupy a space within the City offices?

Answer: Can work remotely. Space will be provided if needed.

14. Will the contractor have to work regular business hours (8am-5pm) only?

Answer: No

15. Will the contractor be able to use previous audit reports as a guideline for the entity they are approved for?

Answer: Yes

16. How often would the potential contractor have to meet with the assigned entity to perform all aspects of the contract?

Answer: As needed.

17. How many firms are you looking to engage?

Answer: Undecided

18. Of the ten service categories listed in Section 3 (performance, compliance, financial/financial statement, Single Audit, IT audit, IT general/application controls, QC/QA reviews, Five-Year Plan review, departmental/operational consulting, and other), which are anticipated for assignment in the first contract year?

Answer: Undecided

19. Do the “Compliance Audit Services” include contract compliance audits of entities that provide services to the City or would those activities fall under “Other Assurance, Advisory and Consulting Services”?

Answer: Any and all audits required by the Controller’s Office.

20. How many discrete engagements does the Controller's Office anticipate assigning under this contract during the first contract year (e.g., number of performance audits, compliance audits, financial statement audits, Single Audits)?

Answer: Undecided

21. Do you have a timeline for when those projects would occur during the year?

Answer: As needed.

22. Is there a defined budget, fee cap, or not-to-exceed hours expectation for this contract?

Answer: No

23. If this is a recompete, can the City share prior-year audit hours, fee history, or budget for comparable work as a benchmark?

Answer: New opportunity

24. Are there any restrictions on the use of AI-enabled tools and other testing technologies for the completion of work?

Answer: Successful bidder must comply with requirements of the Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT)

25. What is the expected start date, and are there specific interim and year-end testing windows or reporting deadlines the provider must meet?

Answer: Undecided

26. Given that the Cost Proposal Type is listed as Fixed Price while the Scope of Work in Section 3.1 is largely undefined ("N/A"), should the fixed price be structured as a not-to-exceed ceiling supported by hourly rates for task orders, or as a lump sum tied to specifically defined deliverables?

Answer: Hourly rates should tie to the task orders.

27. Because the contract requires City Council approval by ordinance, what start date should Applicants assume for planning and pricing? If execution occurs after October 11, 2026, will the initial one-year term run from the execution date?

Answer: No City Council approval is required for the contract. If the contract execution occurs on October 11th, it will be from this October 11th through October 11th of the following year.

28. Given that answers post on Saturday, September 26, would the Controller consider a one-week extension of the October 2 proposal deadline?

Answer: No, extension would be considered.

29. Section 2.4 lists outcome goals that include “communication and public relations support” and “report rollouts and media relations to promote the work of the Controller.” Please confirm whether communications, public relations, or media relations services are in scope. If they are, what role would the contractor play, and will Applicants that do not propose these services be evaluated less favorably?

Answer: Media portion was included in error. communications, public relations, or media relations services are not included in scope.

30. Section 3.2 refers to “each chosen provider” and “awarded provider(s).” Does the Controller anticipate a single award or multiple awards?

Answer: Anticipates multiple awards.

31. May an Applicant propose on fewer than all of the service categories in Section 3, and will such proposals be evaluated on an equal basis?

Answer: Yes, the applicant may propose on fewer than all services.

32. If multiple awards are made, how will individual engagements be assigned among contractors (for example, task-order proposals, rotation, or Controller discretion)?

Answer: Controller Discretion.

33. Please identify any firm(s) currently providing these services to the Controller’s Office, and the term and annual spend of the current contract(s). Can the Controller also share an anticipated contract maximum, annual budget, or expected volume of engagements by service category for the initial term?

Answer: No firm is currently providing these services.

34. Are there specific engagements the Controller expects to assign in the first contract year? For example, is the special performance audit of the School District of Philadelphia requested by City Council in August 2026 anticipated under this contract? Should the proposed schedule and budget be built around any such engagements? If so, is there any relevant budget guidance the Controller can provide?

Answer: To be determined.

35. For the financial audit, Single Audit, and Five-Year Plan services, does the Controller intend for the selected firm to perform these engagements (or components of them) independently, or to supplement Controller’s Office staff? Please confirm the fiscal years and entities (City and/or School District) expected to be covered, and whether any Five-Year Plan deliverable would be issued under the firm’s name or the Controller’s Office’s name.

Answer: To be determined.

36. Does this service category include the external peer review of the Controller’s Office audit organization required under Government Auditing Standards? If so, when is the next peer review due? More generally, which professional standards should Applicants assume for each service category, and should proposals include the firm’s most recent peer review report?

Answer: No, peer review is included. It does include Quality Control/ Quality Management Services. Most recent peer review report should be included in the proposal.

37. Because engagements may involve the City, the School District, and any other entity within the Controller’s authority, will the Controller assess independence and conflicts of interest when each engagement is assigned? May a contractor decline a specific engagement for independence reasons without affecting its standing under the contract, and would a current engagement with a City department disqualify an Applicant only from engagements where a conflict exists?

Answer Yes.

38. Section 3.2 requires fixed-price cost proposals with a line-item breakdown, while specific engagements will be defined after award. Will the City accept a cost proposal consisting of fixed hourly rates by staff classification, applied to establish a fixed, not-to-exceed fee for each engagement when it is scoped? If the City instead requires fixed prices for defined deliverables, please describe the representative engagements Applicants should price. Is there a required price form?

Answer: Will accept cost proposal consisting of fixed hourly rates

39. Should cost proposals include rates for each potential renewal year, and may those rates include annual escalation?

Answer: Yes

40. After award, will each engagement be authorized by a written task order that defines scope, applicable professional standards, deliverables, schedule, and fee before work begins?

Answer: Yes

41. May the contractor’s engagement letter, as required by professional standards, be incorporated into that task order?

Answer: Yes

42. Will the contract include any guaranteed minimum amount of work?

Answer: No.

43. Are there page limits, font or formatting requirements, or a preferred file structure (for example, a separate attachment for the cost proposal)?

Answer: No

44. Section 4.1, item 8 notes that the City may disqualify a proposal that requests exceptions to the Contract Terms. Will a proposal be disqualified solely for requesting exceptions customary for professional accounting and audit services, such as a limitation of liability tied to fees or a mutual waiver of consequential damages? Or will such requests be considered during contract negotiations?

It would be considered during contract negotiations.

45. For large national firms, may the litigation and proceedings disclosure be limited to matters that are material to the firm’s ability to perform this contract, together with any matters involving the specific personnel proposed?

Answer: That would be a legal question for negotiation.

46. For Applicants that are not LBE-certified, what information should the Local Impact statement include for evaluation (for example, Philadelphia-based staff, local subcontracting, or local hiring)? Will a Local Impact certification be considered under selection criterion 12 in the same manner as LBE certification?

Answer: Include any information that would be pertinent to the contract.

47. Sections 4.2 and 6.2 provide that each legal entity must apply for itself and that applications made by or on behalf of an affiliate will be rejected, except for joint ventures. For firms in which attest services are performed by a licensed CPA firm and non-attest services by a separately owned affiliated entity, please confirm which of the following the City would accept: (a) a proposal from one entity that identifies the affiliate as a subcontractor under Section 4.1, item 7; (b) a joint venture application under Section 6.2; or (c) separate proposals from each entity for the service categories it performs. Because Appendix A is titled General Provisions for Certified Public Accountants, please also confirm whether the contracting party must be a licensed CPA firm. If a licensed CPA firm performs the attest services as a subcontractor, will the Provider’s licensure representations in General Provisions Sections 4.1(a) and 4.1(d) be satisfied?

Answer: The contractor must be a licensed CPA firm.

48. Selection criterion 11 refers to “prequalification requirements.” Please identify any prequalification requirements that apply to this RFP and how Applicants should demonstrate them in their proposals.

Answer: The contractor must be a licensed CPA firm.

49. Has the Controller assigned weights to the Section 5 selection criteria? If so, would the Controller share them? Does the Controller expect to hold interviews or presentations?

Answer: No weights have assigned to Section 5 criteria.

50. Will audit documentation prepared under the contract remain the property of the contractor, with access provided to the Controller’s Office consistent with professional standards? Will contractor personnel receive direct access to City and School District systems and data, and will a HIPAA business associate agreement or City IT security requirements apply?

Answer: To be determined.

51. How should Applicants identify proposal content they consider trade secret or confidential proprietary information (for example, rate schedules and methodologies) for consideration under the exemptions of the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law? For example, should Applicants mark the relevant pages or submit a separate redacted copy?

Answer: We will follow all applicable City, State, and Federal guidelines.

52. For engagements involving the School District of Philadelphia, will contractor personnel be required to obtain Pennsylvania child-protection clearances or meet other School District vendor requirements before working on site?

Answer: To be determined.

53. The Participation Range Memo (dated September 10, 2026) sets a Total SBE Range of 13% but leaves the LBE and S/LBE ranges blank. Please confirm that no separate LBE or S/LBE range applies. Will participation be measured at the contract level or for each engagement assigned under the contract?

Answer: We will follow all city regulations and guidelines.

54. General Provisions Section 9.1(d) requires professional liability insurance of $1,000,000 with a deductible not to exceed $50,000, and Section 9.2 permits self-insurance with City approval. Will the City accept a national firm’s professional liability program with a higher self-insured retention, evidenced at contract execution, without treating it as an exception to the Contract Terms?

Answer: This would be determined during negotiation process with the City’s Law department.