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Michigan.gov/MiProcurement
BIDDER QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
RFP #260000002746
Financial Examination / Analysis Services – Pre-Qualification Bidders who have questions for the above Solicitation must fill the sections below and attach the document in an email to the Solicitation Manager, as described in the Instruction to Bidders.
| Q # |
| Document and Section |
| Page # |
| Bidder Question |
| Answer (to be completed by the State) |
| 1 |
| Schedule A – Statement of Work, Section 16.2 |
| 15 |
| Section 16.2 states that independent contractors performing Contract Activities are recognized as third-party subcontractors. A bidder may supplement its employee staff with experienced individual credentialed examiners (e.g., CFE, CPA, CISA) who have served on multiple prior engagements with the bidder, engaged directly as independent contractors for each assignment rather than through a separate subcontracting firm. Under these arrangements, no portion of the work is delegated to another business entity. Each examiner is identified by name in the second-tier proposal, performs work under the approved examination plan and DIFS's direction, and is held to the independence, confidentiality, and work-paper standards required by the Contract. Please confirm whether such individuals are considered subcontractors for purposes of the 20% GDBE threshold, or whether the State would treat them as part of the Contractor's proposed staff. |
| The State treats independent contractors performing Contract Activities as subcontractors, and therefore they must be counted toward the 20% GDBE subcontracting threshold. They will not be treated as part of the Contractor’s internal staff for purposes of the GDBE calculation. |
| 2 |
| Schedule A – Statement of Work, Section 16.2 |
| 15 |
| Please clarify how the 20% threshold in Section 16.2 is measured: (a) across the entire Contract, or separately for each second-tier assignment; and (b) by dollar value, hours, or another measure. |
| The 20% threshold is anticipated across the contract. |
| 3 |
| Schedule A – Statement of Work, Section 16.2 |
| 15 |
| Staffing for each examination is not determined until the second-tier RFP is issued. May bidders submit the GDBE subcontracting plan, or a request for exemption, with each second-tier proposal rather than with the pre-qualification proposal? |
| Please submit subcontractor(s) with the pre-qual proposal, and subcontractor(s) with each subsequent second-tier solicitation. |
| 4 |
| Schedule A – Statement of Work, Section 16.2 |
| 15 |
| If a Contractor cannot identify GDBE subcontractors with the qualifications an assignment requires, what reasoning and documentation will the State accept to support an exemption? For example, would documented unavailability of Michigan-based GDBE individuals holding the required credentials (such as CFE) be an acceptable basis? |
| It will be situationally dependent. If the State has questions on the justification provided we will ask. |
| 5 |
| Standard Contract Terms, Section 11 (Subcontracting) |
| 4 |
| Section 11 requires 90 calendar days' notice and prior written approval before delegating obligations. If a second-tier proposal identifies independent contractor examiners by name and the State accepts that proposal, does that acceptance satisfy the approval requirement in Section 11? Or is the 90-day notice required separately for each individual, including individual examiners engaged directly by the Contractor? |
| Identifying subcontractors in the tier-2 solicitation meets the requirement. |
| 6 |
| Schedule B – Pricing; Schedule A, Sections 3.4.1.14 and 24 |
| 1, 6, 19 |
| Schedule B requires price proposals to include all costs, including travel, and Section 24 states that travel expenses will not be paid. Section 3.4.1.14 states that the cost of travel and hourly rate must be included in the overall cost proposed. May second-tier proposals show travel as a separate fixed-price line item within the total quoted cost, provided hourly rates do not exceed Schedule B? Or must all travel costs be absorbed within the Schedule B hourly rates? |
| All costs must be included in the hourly rate. |
| 7 |
| Schedule A, Sections 21 and 22; Standard Contract Terms (Term) |
| 18, 1 |
| Section 21 states that pricing is firm for the entire length of the Contract. The initial term runs April 1, 2027 through March 31, 2030, with up to three 2-year renewals. Please confirm whether Schedule B rates may be revisited at each renewal, or whether rate adjustments are available only through the Price Changes process in Section 22. |
| Pricing is firm for the entire length of the contract. |
| 8 |
| Schedule A, Sections 3.3.1.4 and 3.5.2.3 |
| 5, 9 |
| Will DIFS permit portions of examination fieldwork to be performed remotely when the company’s records and systems are accessible electronically? If so, how will the requirement that the senior-level auditor be scheduled on-site continuously be applied? |
| See revised Schedule A – Statement of Work, Sections 3.3.1.4., and 3.5.2.3. |
| 9 |
| Schedule A, Section 25.2 |
| 19 |
| For financial analysis engagements, which involve recurring cursory reviews, worksheets, and biweekly reporting rather than a single examination, when is Final Acceptance granted for purposes of releasing the 25% retainage? |
| See revised Schedule A – Statement of Work, Section 25.2. |
| 10 |
| Schedule A, Sections 3.4.1.2, 3.4.1.8, and 3.4.2.6 |
| 5, 6, 9 |
| Sections 3.4.1.2 and 3.4.2.6 state that NAIC requires the use of a CPA on an examination where the insurer is licensed in more than one state, and Section 3.4.1.8 requires CPAs to supervise examinations. The 2026 NAIC Financial Condition Examiners Handbook (Section 1, Parts I.B and II.B) requires that the examiner-in-charge of a multi-state examination hold the Certified Financial Examiner (CFE) designation or be directly supervised by a CFE, and does not require a CPA. Section 1, Part III.G.3 describes the use of a CPA through an agreed-upon procedures engagement as an available option that is not commonly used. Please confirm whether the CPA requirements in these sections reflect a DIFS-specific requirement in addition to the Handbook. If not, will an examination supervised by a CFE, consistent with current Handbook requirements, satisfy these sections? |
| See revised Schedule A – Statement of Work, Sections 3.4.1.2., 3.4.1.8., and 3.4.2.6. |
| 11 |
| Schedule A – Statement of Work, Section 3.4.1.8 |
| 6 |
| May a firm owned and operated by a Certified Financial Examiner (CFE), who is not a licensed CPA, qualify for the pre-qualified contractor pool and independently perform financial examination or analysis assignments? Alternatively, must the firm employ or subcontract with a licensed CPA to satisfy the examination supervision requirements? Does the CPA supervision requirement apply to all assignments or only certain examinations or CPA-specific services, such as agreed-upon procedures? |
| See revised Schedule A – Statement of Work, Section 3.4.1.8. |
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