RFQ 1136 Financial Audit Services.pdf

Request for Quote (RFQ) RFQ No. 1136 for

Financial Audit Services

April 30, 2026

Due Date

May 20, 2026

Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority Rivanna Solid Waste Authority

695 Moore Creek Lane, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902-9016 Tel (434) 977-2970 • Fax (434) 293-8858

RFQ # 1136 – Financial Audit Services April 30, 2026

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Request for Quote No. 1136

DUE DATE

Quotes for RFP No. 1136 - Financial Audit Services will be received by the Authority until 3:00 PM EST on May 20, 2026. Quotes received after the stated date and time will not be accepted. Firms may submit their quotes by one of the following methods:

• Mail or Hand Delivery One (1) paper or one (1) electronic copy of the firm’s complete quote may be shipped, mailed or hand delivered to 695 Moores Creek Lane, Charlottesville, VA 22902-9016. Quotes must be clearly labeled on the outside of the envelope/package with the following information:

IFQ No. 1136 Title: Financial Audit Services RFQ Due Date and Time: May 20, 2026; 3:00 PM EST From: Name of Firm submitting RFQ

• Electronic Submission Firms may submit their quote electronically through the Commonwealth of Virginia’s electronic procurement website (www.eva.virginia.gov). The eVA portal is the gateway for vendors to conduct business with state agencies and public bodies. eVA Vendor registration is free. On the eVA website, www.eva.virginia.gov, applicants must login as a vendor using their eVA username and password. Please contact eVA Customer Care for instructions and/or assistance in registering to become a vendor, login, and/or uploading documents.

eVA Customer Care:

Hours: 8:00 AM to 4:45 PM, Monday through Friday Phone Toll Free: 866-289-7367

Email: eVACustomerCare@DGS.virginia.gov

Quotes shall be submitted electronically to the Authority via the Commonwealth of Virginia’s eVA website prior to the quote submission deadline stipulated for this RFQ or as amended via any subsequent addenda issued by the Authority. Offerors assume full responsibility for the electronic delivery of the completed quote to www.eva.virginia.gov on or before the deadline for submission. The Authority is not responsible for any loss or delay with respect to the submission of quotes.

All required forms and documentation submitted in response to this RFQ must be uploaded as one (1) pdf attachment to eVA (www.eva.virginia.gov). The attachment should use the following naming convention:

the RFQ number and the name of the firm (i.e. RFQ No. 1136 - Your Company Name).

QUESTIONS AND INQUIRIES

Procurement Contact Technical Contact Miranda Baird, VCA

Procurement Coordinator 695 Moores Creek Lane

Charlottesville, VA 22902

(434) 977-2970, ext. 137 mbaird@rivanna.org

Lonnie Wood Director of Finance

695 Moores Creek Lane Charlottesville, VA 22902

(434) 977-2970, ext. 198 lwood@rivanna.org mailto:mbaird@rivanna.org mailto:lwood@rivanna.org

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Request for Quote No. 1136

INTRODUCTION

Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority and Rivanna Solid Waste Authority (the Authority) are requesting quotes from qualified firms of certified public accountants to audit their separate Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFR) and provide other auditing or consulting services from time to time as permissible under the independence and ethics guidelines. The contract term shall be for one year beginning with the audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, with the Authority’s option to renew for up to four (4) additional one-year terms for total contract length not to exceed five (5) years if agreed upon in writing by both parties.

BACKGROUND

Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) is a regional non-profit public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia chartered in 1972 under the Virginia Water and Waste Authorities Act (1950, as amended), that supplies drinking water to and treats the sewage of Charlottesville and certain areas of Albemarle County. RWSA is a wholesale agency and bills monthly both Charlottesville and the Albemarle County Service Authority, which handle retail distribution of water and collection of sewage in their respective service areas.

RWSA is charged to acquire, finance, construct, operate and maintain facilities for the impoundment, production, storage, treatment and transmission of potable water and for the interception, treatment and discharge of wastewater.

RWSA operates under the terms of a Service Agreement signed in 1973 by the officers of the Charlottesville City Council, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, the Albemarle County Service Authority and RWSA. RWSA operates and maintains six water treatment plants and four wastewater treatment plants and the associated water storage facilities, pump stations, transmission mains and interceptor sewers.

Rivanna Solid Waste Authority (RSWA) is a regional non-profit public corporation chartered in 1990 under the Virginia Water and Waste Authorities Act (1950, as amended), that currently provides solid waste disposal and recycling services to the region comprised of the City of Charlottesville (City) and Albemarle County (County).

RSWA does not provide collection services, which are managed by the City's Public Service Division and various private haulers who serve customers in both the County and the City. RSWA operates under the terms of a Service Agreement signed in 1990 by the officers of the City Council, the County Board of Supervisors, and RSWA. By this agreement, RSWA is to be the sole provider of any landfills, transfer stations, or other solid waste disposal facilities, including recycling and solid waste energy generation, for all solid waste generated within Charlottesville and Albemarle County. RSWA accepted donation of the assets and liabilities and assumed operational responsibility for the Ivy Sanitary Landfill in 1991. RSWA’s operations mainly consist of the Ivy Solid Waste & Recycling Center (ISWRC), Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) transfer station, recycling activities and supporting administrative functions.

The two Authorities are legally separate entities and maintain two fully separate accounting systems. However, office space and the administrative and financial staff responsible for the financial reporting and administrative management duties of both Authorities is shared by both for funding purposes. Shared staff is formally employed by the RWSA and receives a monthly financial contribution from the RSWA for its share of the costs.

Both RWSA and RSWA have determined that they are not part of the reporting entities of either the City of Charlottesville or the County of Albemarle and will not be included in the financial reports of either. The Authority is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors (Board). The Board appoints an Executive Director, who manages Authority operations under its direction.

Since RWSA and RSWA are only engaged in business-type activities, their basic financial statements are comprised of only two components: enterprise fund financial statements and notes to the financial statements.

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SCOPE OF WORK

Auditing Standards

The Audit shall be performed in accordance with the auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America; the standards applicable to financial audits contained in the Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States; the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 and 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), if applicable; and the Specifications for Audits of Authorities, Boards, and Commissions issued by the Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR)

• The Auditor shall audit the basic financial statements, comprised of the statement of net position, statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net position, statement of cash flows, and the related notes to the financial statements, for the purposes of expressing an opinion on the fair presentation of its financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. The Auditor shall perform certain limited procedures to the required supplementary information (RSI) in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. The Auditor is to provide an "in-relation-to" report (as applicable) on the supporting schedules other than RSI based on the auditing procedures applied during the audit of the basic financial statements and schedules. The Auditor is expected to review, as to content, scope and presentation, the transmittal letter and statistical section of the ACFR, giving advice on those sections of the report. The audit shall result in the preparation of the financial statements from the audited records of the Authority with the Auditor’s opinion thereon.

• The Auditor shall conduct the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) compliance testing as required by the Specifications for Audits of Authorities, Boards and Commissions issued by the Auditor of Public Accounts. The Auditor shall prepare and submit the written reports to the Authority and Auditor of Public Accounts over the VRS compliance testing by statutory due dates.

• The Auditor will assist in preparing the financial statements, schedule of expenditures of federal awards (if applicable), and related notes in conformity with the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and the Uniform Guidance based on information provided by the Authority staff.

• The Auditor will prepare for review by management all journal entries, note disclosures and RSI as required by GASB 68 Pension and GASB 75 OPEB GLI.

• The Auditor will be available to assist with preparation of all notes to the financial statements.

• The Auditor will be available to assist with preparation of amortization schedules and the disclosures as required by GASB 87 Leases.

• The Auditor will provide suggestions and editorial corrections to the draft financial statements within two weeks of receiving them from the Authority. The Auditor shall provide a draft electronic copy of the financial statements by October 15, the final electronic copy, and five (5) bound paper copies of the ACFR including Audit reports by October 31 of each year.

• The Auditor shall express an opinion at the end of the audit. If the Auditor cannot express an unmodified opinion, they will furnish in advance and on a timely basis, to the Authority and the Auditor of Public Accounts of the Commonwealth of Virginia, reasons for (1) qualifying the opinion, (2) disclaiming an opinion, or (3) rendering an adverse opinion.

• The Auditor shall present the audit and required governance communication to each Board of Directors at a public meeting (normally in November or December) following completion of the audit as close to the issuance date as practical.

• The Auditor will keep the Authority fully informed as to new Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) pronouncements. If the Authority encounters any difficulties in implementing and complying with the specific reporting and disclosure requirements mandated by GASB, the Auditor shall provide assistance, when appropriate, to enable the Authority to comply with these requirements.

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Single Audit Report The Auditor shall perform financial and compliance audits pursuant to the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 and 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F (Uniform Guidance), if applicable. For the current fiscal year, RSWA is not expected to require a Single Audit; however, RWSA is.

Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) For many years, the Authority has been awarded Certificates of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the GFOA. The Authority will continue to send its ACFR to the GFOA for review in its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program. The Auditor shall provide professional assistance to the Authority to meet the requirements of that program. This may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Review the ACFR for compliance with GFOA's requirements;

• Review and assist the Authority in the written response to the GFOA's program comments from the prior year's ACFR; and

• Review the GFOA checklist, if needed, prior to its submission to GFOA.

Working Papers The Authority will make its best efforts to make prior audit reports and supporting work papers available to the successor Auditor. Pertaining to this contract, all working papers and reports must be retained, at the Auditor's expense, for the duration of the contract, plus a minimum of five years thereafter, unless the firm is notified in writing by the Authority of the need to extend the retention period. The Auditor will be required to make working papers available upon request by the Authority or Auditors of the Federal or State government, or by subsequent independent auditors. The Auditor shall respond to the reasonable inquiries of the successor Auditor and allow the successor Auditor to review working papers relating to matters of continuing accounting significance.

Reports Following the completion of the audit of each year's financial statements, the Auditor shall issue:

• A report on the fair presentation of the basic financial statements and required supplementary schedules as presented in the ACFR in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles;

• Reports pertaining to the financial and compliance audit undertaken pursuant to the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 and 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F (Uniform Guidance), as needed;

• A report on internal control over financial reporting and on compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements based on the audit of the financial statements performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards. The report shall include all material instances of non-compliance. All nonmaterial instances of noncompliance shall be reported in a separate management letter, which shall be referred to in the report on compliance and internal controls;

• The Auditor shall make an immediate written report of all irregularities and illegal acts or indications of illegal acts of which they become aware of to the Authority’s Director of Finance, Executive Director, and Board of Directors.

• The Auditor will present the audit and required governance communication to each Board of Directors after the completion of the final ACFR.

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AUDITOR EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

The Auditor must be licensed to perform the audit as provided in the applicable laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and be independent as that term is defined in the Ethical Rules of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

The Auditor must also:

• Have recent governmental audit experience and specific experience with GFOA and GASB. The quote must include a listing of the firm's clients and experience.

• Assign the Audit Partner and/or Manager from a local office. The Audit Partner must have at least five (5) years and Manager must have at least three (3) years of current local government audit experience. The Audit Manager and/or Audit Senior shall remain on the engagement for the initial term of the contract unless he/she terminates employment or changes duties in the firm. Resumes for the engagement team must include specific government experience, engagements and their roles in the engagement and government courses attended and/or taught. A team member qualified to review the ACFR for the GFOA Certificate of Achievement Program is preferred.

• Be able to provide qualified staff and supervision on a day-to-day basis.

SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

The quote should provide:

• Separate quotes for audit services for Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority and Rivanna Solid Waste Authority;

• Name of the firm, local address, telephone number, email address, and name of the contact person;

• A description of the plan for providing the audit services which should include a tentative schedule;

• A description of the Auditor’s experience with the GFOA’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program;

• At least three (3) references from local governments and political subdivisions that your firm has served in the past three (3) years; preferably those in which one or more of your engagement team provided those services;

• A statement that your audit staff meets all professional education requirements;

• A copy of the report on the firm’s most recent external quality control review, with a statement whether that quality control review included a review of specific government engagements.

• A list of the principle supervisory and management key personnel, including engagement partners, managers, other supervisors and specialists, who would be assigned to the engagement. Indicate whether each such person is licensed to practice as a public accountant in Virginia. Provide information on the specific governmental audit experience of each person together with information relevant to continuing professional education over the past three (3) years relevant to the performance of this audit. Also, identify other engagements, if any, to which such key personnel will be assigned during the period that they are performing this engagement.

• Provide as much information as possible regarding the number, qualifications, experience and training, including relevant continuing professional education, of specific key personnel to be assigned to this engagement. Indicate how the quality of the key personnel team over the term of the engagement will be assured. Non-supervisory audit personnel may be changed at the discretion of the Auditor if replacements have substantially the same or better qualifications or experience.

• Also, discuss other related government experience of team members such as GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting reviewer or GFOA committee member.