Audit and Tax Services

The City University of New York is requesting proposals from New York State licensed certified public accounting firms to provide audit and tax services under RFP UCO 1016, with proposals due November 10, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. EST and written questions due November 2, 2026. The Procurement Lobbying Act applies; all vendor communications must channel through the designated contact, Caron Christian, or risk disqualification.

CUNY has established a 30 percent participation goal for New York State certified Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) as subcontractors or suppliers, and a 6 percent goal for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses (SDVOBs). Grant Thornton was awarded an identical or substantially similar contract within the past five years.

Respondents must be New York State licensed certified public accounting firms with a minimum of ten years' continuous experience auditing higher education organizations, including at least five years with public higher education clients presenting financials under Governmental Accounting Standards Board standards, and must maintain offices in at least five states nationwide with dedicated higher education teams. Key personnel, including partners-in-charge, must meet specified licensure and experience requirements.

The scope includes financial statement audits conducted under Generally Accepted Auditing Standards and GASB requirements; compliance audits under OMB Uniform Guidance; preparation of federal Form 990T and New York State Form CT-13 tax returns; and related tax advisory services. The contractor must meet a compressed audit schedule with final financial statement issuance by October 31 following fiscal year end (June 30). CUNY operates 25 colleges with total revenues of approximately $6.2 billion for fiscal year 2025 and serves over 240,000 credit-bearing students.

The anticipated contract term is five years, commencing upon approval by the New York State Attorney General and Comptroller. One contract will be awarded based on best value. Evaluation employs a 100-point scale: Diversity Practices Questionnaire (5 points), Technical and Management Proposal (60 points), Price Proposal (25 points), and Oral Presentation (10 points). The contractor must maintain professional liability insurance of at least $2 million per occurrence and an umbrella policy of at least $5 million and comply with CUNY policies, FERPA regulations, and security procedures.