The Monroe Housing Authority (hereinafter referred to as MHA), 300 Harrison Street, Monroe, Louisiana, requests a proposal for an Independent Public Auditor (hereinafter referred to as Contractor) to enter into a three-year contract, with an option to continue for the 4 th year, for performing the fiscal year audit of the MHA, and the agreed-upon procedures regarding the electronic submission of the financial data schedule and annual audit reports. The response to the RFP must be received in triplicate in the MHA administrative office, at the above address, by 2:00 p.m., Monday, May 15, 2017. RFP responses received after this time will be rejected and returned to the Contractor unopened. 1. The Contractor shall make an annual audit of the accounts and records of entities mentioned above for a 12-month period (ending on June 30 each year for a period of three years) in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States; the provisions of Office of Management and Budget Circular Number A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations. At the end of the 3 year period, both parties may agree to extend the contract for another year. This agreement is to be made by April 15, 2020. The audit must also be in accordance with the Louisiana Governmental Audit Guide, issued jointly by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor and the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants. The audit performed shall be sufficient in scope to enable the Contractor to express an opinion in the audit report on the financial statement. Beginning this year ending June 30, 2017, the audit must also include agreed upon procedures as mandated by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor s office. Please refer to their website for a listing of agreed upon procedures that must be followed. 2. Programs subject to be audited include: Monroe Housing Authority a.) Low-rent Public Housing 1,522 Units b.) Section 8 Programs 1,548 Units c.) Capital Funds Program d.) Ross Grant 3. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor must approve the audit contract. Louisiana State Statute mandates that the financial statements be prepared on a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis. 4. The books of account and financial records to be audited are maintained and located at the Agency's main office, 300 Harrison Street, Monroe, Louisiana. The contact person is Janet Sanderford, Administrative Director. These books and records will be made available to the Contractor at the Contractor's request and for the Contractor's use at the MHA office during normal business hours. Allen, Green & Williamson, LLP, Monroe, LA performed the last audits and agreed-upon procedures as of and for the year ended June 30, 2016. Copies of the last audit reports are available upon request for review in preparing a response to this proposal. These copies may be obtained by contacting Janet Sanderford. Page 1 of 8
5. If the Contractor detects that the books are not in a sufficiently satisfactory condition for doing an audit, the Contractor shall reveal this deficiency to MHA. If MHA cannot get its books ready for an audit within 15 days after notice of deficiency, then the Contractor should notify the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the Louisiana Legislative Auditor. Notification to HUD shall be by written communication addressed to the District Office of Inspector General for Audit, Regional Office, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ft. Worth, TX. The Contractor shall await further instructions from the District Inspector General for Audit before continuing the audit. 6. MHA may, before or during the conduct of the audit, request changes in the scope of the services of the Contractor to be covered under the contract. Such changes, including any increase or decrease in the amount of the Contractor's compensation and any change in the time limitation for submission of the Contractor's reports, which are mutually agreed upon by and between the MHA and the Contractor, shall be incorporated into written amendments to the contract and shall be subject to the Legislative Auditor's approval. 7. A draft of the audit reports, financial statements, findings/comments will be reviewed with MHA's Executive Director and Administrative Director before the final reports are issued. Management's response to any findings/comments will be included as part of the final audit reports. 8. The Audit reports shall be submitted annually by December 31. The reports should consist of all applicable auditing standards elements and shall be simultaneously submitted to the following: Department of Housing & Urban Development, New Orleans Field Office, 500 Poydras Street, 9th Floor, New Orleans, LA 70130 (4 copies), An electronic copy to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, P. O. Box 94397, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9397, The appropriate number of copies to the Federal Single Audit Clearinghouse, The appropriate number and the applicable attachments to the Government Finance Officers Association, 203 North LaSalle Avenue, Suite 2700, Chicago, IL 60601-1210, and MHA, (10 copies). 9. Contractor must submit electronically audited financial statements as required by HUD, and verify that they are submitted within the stated deadlines, and also must complete Agreed-upon Procedures on the Financial Data Schedule. 10. The Contractor must certify compliance with the items noted in Affidavit 1 - Contractor Certification included later in this document. 11. In addition to the above, the Contractor must include in the response to this RFP the items noted in Matters to be Included in the Contractors Response, discussed later in this document. 12. MHA reserves the right to reject any, or all, responses to this RFP. Furthermore, MHA reserves the right, according to their written procurement policy, to accept RFPs based on proven professional abilities of applicants, rather than merely on lowest price. Page 2 of 8
Matters to be Included in the Contractors Response To ease in the evaluation of the responses to the proposal, the written responses should be presented in the following order: 1. Title Page 2. Table of Contents 3. Transmittal Letter (limit to two pages a summary of the Contractor s response, highlighting the Contractor s qualifications) 4. Additional Required Information In addition to the above the Contractor must include in the RFP response the following: a. How the Contractor would conduct the audit for a multi-year contract (i.e., how they would approach the work efforts of the subsequent year(s)); including approximate number of hours to be incurred for each service. b. Identification of the partner and the in-charge to be assigned to the audit; c. Qualifications of the proposed audit team(s), including for each team member their 1. Prior governmental auditing experience 2. Prior Housing Authority auditing experience 3. Resumes for each proposed audit team member 4. Continuing professional education received by the proposed audit team members during the past two calendar years. d. Whether the Contractor is independent, as defined by applicable auditing standards; e. Whether the Contractor has been the object of any disciplinary action during the past 3 years; Page 3 of 8
Matters to be Included in the Contractors Response (Continued) f. Public Housing Authorities are required annually to submit to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) unaudited and audited annual financial reports, including the financial data schedule, using HUD s web based site. Late or incorrect submissions will negatively impact the PHAS (Public Housing Assessment System) score given by HUD to the Monroe Housing Authority. Please provide in this section a summary of the Contractor s experience regarding the agreed-upon procedures required of the auditor by HUD for these annual submissions. Also, the Contractor should include an affirmation that the annual audited submissions will be accurate, and timely filed. g. The Monroe Housing Authority has received the Certificate of Achievement in Excellence in Financial Reporting Award from the U. S. Government Finance Officers Association for the past several years. Please provide a history of the Contractor s experience in preparing comprehensive annual financial reports that are submitted to the Government Finance Officers Association for participation in the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Award Program. 5. Include in this section the Affidavit A - Contractor Certification (certification included later in this RFP). 6. Include in this section the Affidavit B - Fee Schedule (schedule included later in this RFP). 7. Provide in this section any other information that the Contractor believes should be considered by the MHA in evaluating the response to the RFP. 8. A copy of the Contractor's latest peer (quality) review report must be included in this section. 9. The Contractor must be a Certified Public Accountant licensed to practice in Louisiana. A copy of the license shall be included in this section. Page 4 of 8
The Contractor must certify that: Affidavit A - Contractor Certification a. Its principal officer(s) or member(s) do not now have and have not had during any period covered by this audit any interest, direct or indirect, in MHA or any of its members or officials including the following: 1) Family relationship with any MHA member or official, 2) Employment by or service as a member or official of MHA during the period covered by the audit. b. That the Contractor will not assign or transfer any interest in this contract except that claims for monies due or to become due from MHA under the contract may be assigned to a trust company, or other financial institution. If the Contractor is a partnership, this contract shall inure to the benefit of the surviving or remaining members of such partnership. c. That the Contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disabilities or national origin. The Contractor shall take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are hired and treated during employment, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disabilities or national origin. Such action shall include, but not be limited to, the following: recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation, and selection for training, including apprenticeship. d. That the Contractor has not employed any person to solicit or secure this contract upon any agreement for a commission, percentage, brokerage, or contingent fee. Breach of this warranty shall give MHA the right to terminate this contract, or in its discretion, to deduct from the Contractor's fee the amount of such commission, percentage, brokerage, or contingent fees. e. That no member, officer, or employee of MHA, no member of the governing body of the locality in which any of MHA's projects are situated, and no other public official of such locality, or localities, who exercises any responsibilities or functions with respect to MHA's projects, during his/her tenure or for one year thereafter, shall have any interest, direct or indirect, in this contract or the proceeds thereof. f. That no member of or delegate to Congress of the United States or Resident Commissioner shall be admitted to any share or part of this contract or to any benefit that may arise from it. Page 5 of 8
g. That for a period of four years from the date of the Audit Report the Contractor shall make its work papers, records, and other evidence of the audit available to Monroe Housing Authority, HUD, the Comptroller General of the United States or his duly authorized representatives, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, and as part of a CPA firms quality review, during normal working hours upon their written request. The period will be reduced to three years for those periods in which any projects have had Actual Development Cost Certificates issued. They shall be entitled to reproduce any or all of such documents at their expense, for which provision shall be made at the time the need for reproduction arises. h. That except for disclosure to HUD, the Comptroller General, the Legislative Auditor and MHA, the Audit Report and the work papers, records and other evidence of audit, including information and data prepared or assembled by the Contractor under this contract, shall be held confidential by the Contractor and shall not be made available or otherwise disclosed to any person without the prior written approval of the MHA. i. That the Contractor has previously performed a minimum of 2 IPA audits on Public Housing Authorities of 500 units or more and that those PHAs must have had Low-rent units, Section 8 programs, and Capital Fund (CFP) programs. Please identify the name and executive director of the two PHAs Contractor: Signature Print name: Title: Date: Page 6 of 8
Affidavit B - Fee Schedule The proposed, all-inclusive, maximum annual fees for the annual services are as follows: Financial and Compliance Audit 2017 2018 2019 Monroe Housing Authority Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagement Monroe Housing Authority Total. Contractor: Signature Print name: Title: Date: If you have questions or need additional information, contact Janet Sanderford, Administrative Director, Monroe Housing Authority, 300 Harrison St, Monroe, LA, telephone (318) 998-3761. Page 7 of 8