Independent Auditor for Healthy School Meals for All Program

The Colorado Department of Education is requesting proposals for an independent auditor to conduct biennial financial and performance audits of the Healthy School Meals for All Program under RFP DAAA 2026-0237, with sealed proposals due August 3, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time and vendor inquiry deadline of July 9, 2026. The sole eligibility requirement is registration and licensure as a CPA firm in Colorado with at least five years of practice experience, or an individual CPA licensed in Colorado with equivalent experience; offerors must maintain no conflicts of interest with the HSMA Program, School Food Authorities, or the Department.

The audit scope encompasses the core HSMA reimbursement program and three grant programs: Local Food Purchasing Grant, Wages and Stipends Grant, and Technical Assistance Partnership Program. The initial contract period runs January 1 through December 31, 2027, with the first audit report due December 1, 2027, covering State Fiscal Years 2025–2026 and 2026–2027. The Department may renew the contract for up to four additional one-year periods through 2035, with subsequent audit reports due December 1 of each biennial year. Deliverables include development of audit processes, tools, methodologies, and forms; data collection from School Food Authorities; and draft and final audit reports. The Contractor must develop an Audit Plan within three weeks of contract start, establish communication plans, create data collection forms, and deliver monthly progress reports. All work product, processes, tools, methodologies, forms, and collected data are owned by the Colorado Department of Education.

The maximum contract value is $400,000 per calendar year. Pricing must be firm, fixed, and inclusive of all direct and indirect costs including administrative support, travel, insurance, overhead, and profit. Offerors are instructed not to bid to budget maximums but to submit fair-market-value pricing.

Technical proposals are evaluated across six weighted criteria: Offeror's Experience (10 points), Sufficient Personnel (9 points), Draft Audit Plan Timeline (8 points), Data Collection (8 points), Audit Work (15 points), and Price (9 points). Mandatory qualifications are scored on a Met/Not Met basis. Key personnel must include a Project Lead with audit project management experience and one or more CPAs as Auditors with five years of practice experience. Offerors must submit an intent to bid by July 24, 2026, at noon Mountain Time. Interviews are estimated for the week of August 24, 2026, with award notification estimated for the week of August 31, 2026. The awarded vendor must register to conduct business in Colorado within 10 business days of receiving Notice of Intent to Award.