Audit Services

Oakton College Community College District 535 Procurement Department, Suite 1240 1600 E. Golf Rd., Des Plaines, IL 60016 847-635-2607 Request for Proposal # 1 Issue Date: January 18, 2023 Proposals will be received in the Procurement Department at the above address until 11:00 AM on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 Proposals will be publicly opened at this time. Late proposals will not be accepted. ______________________________________________________________________ Auditing Services for Oakton College There will be a mandatory pre-bid meeting on Monday, January 23, 2023 starting at 11:00 in Room 1240, at the College’s Des Plaines Campus, 1600 E. Golf Rd., Des Plaines, IL 60016 Only firms that attend the pre-bid meeting will be allowed to submit a proposal. Please see the following sheets for complete specifications. All questions pertaining to this proposal should be submitted in writing to all of the e-mail addresses listed below by 11:00 am on Wednesday, February 1, 2023. Andy

Williams, Controller at awilliams@oakton.edu David Hittenmiller, Assistant Controller at dhittenmiller@oakton.edu Trinh Than, Purchasing Manager at tthan@oakton.edu ___________________________________________________________________ Oakton College District No. 535 is exempt from Federal, State and Municipal Taxes I have examined the specifications and instructions included herein and agree, provided I am awarded a contract within 60 days of bid due date, to provide the specified items from the sum shown in accordance with the terms stated herein. All deviations from specifications and terms are in writing and attached hereto. I offer the following discount terms ___________________. Company Name _______________________________________________ Date ___________ Address_________________________________________City/State/Zip___________________ Name ___________________________________ Title_________________________________ Phone #____________________________________Fax #_______________________________ Signature _____________________________________ E-mail__________________________ mailto:dhittenmiller@oakton.edu Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 2 Instructions to Vendors 1. Forms: Proposals should be submitted on the form provided. Envelopes marked “Sealed Proposal for (commodity being bid).” Proposals cannot be accepted via fax machines or e-mail. 2. Specifications: Generally, where specifications indicate a particular brand or manufacturer’s catalog number, it shall be understood to mean that or equal, unless “no substitutes” is specified. When offering alternates, they must be identified by brand name, catalog number and manufacturer’s literature must be included. 3. Samples: Vendors will be required to furnish no charge samples upon request. 4. F.O.B. Point: All prices must be quoted F.O.B. destination. Shipments shall become property of Oakton College after delivery and acceptance. 5. Delivery Points: Deliveries must be made to the various buildings within the district, as indicated. 6. Delivery Schedule: Proposals must specify delivery time. Unrealistically long delivery times may cause proposal to be rejected. Order may be canceled without obligation if delivery requirements are not met. 7. Evaluations: Oakton College reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to waive any technicalities in the proposal, and to award each item to different vendors or all items to a single vendor. 8. Vendor Selection: The College will award the purchase to the selected vendor based on what is in the College’s best interest using a criteria grounded on pricing, warranty, service, specified components. In the case of tie proposals, the first preference will be given to suppliers located within the boundaries of District #535, and second, from within the state over out of state. 9. Prices: Prices, terms and conditions must be firm for acceptance for sixty (60) days from the date of proposal opening unless otherwise agreed to by District #535 and vendor. 10. Quantities: Quantities shown may be estimates only and orders may be more or less depending on actual requirements and budget limitations. 11. Exceptions: Any exceptions to these terms, conditions or deviations from written specifications must be shown in writing and attached to the proposal form. 12. Tax Exemptions: Oakton College District #535 is exempt from Federal, State and Municipal taxes. Exemption certificates will be furnished upon request. 13. Equal Employment Opportunity Clause/ Prevailing Wage: Oakton College is an equal opportunity employer, and parties doing business with the College must comply with the Equal Employment Opportunity Clause as required by the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission. Not less than the prevailing wage shall be paid for labor on the work to be performed as required by law. 14. Non-Collusion Clause: The vendor or agent hereby declares that he, nor any other agent of his business, entered into any collusion or agreement relative to the price to be submitted. He further declares that no persons, firms or corporations, have or will receive directly, any rebate, fee, gift, commission, etc., or that any employee or Board of Trustee member of Oakton y College District #535 has any undisclosed interest in the award of this contract. Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 3 1. The Board of Trustees of Oakton College, Illinois Community College District 535, invites you to submit a proposal for audit services for Oakton College. 2. Failure to respond to this proposal will result in elimination from the College’s proposal list. A “NO BID” is considered a valid response. 3. Please submit proposal on the forms provided. 4. Because this is a “sealed proposal” we cannot accept proposals over the phone, email or fax machine. If you are sending a proposal response back to the College, you MUST write the proposal number on the outside of the envelope as well as your company’s name. If you return a proposal response to the College via an overnight carrier or your own envelope, please address the envelope to: Oakton College Attention: Procurement Proposal # 1 1600 E. Golf Road Des Plaines, IL 60016 5. The College is tax exempt. Certificate to be furnished upon request. 6. The College will award this proposal to the selected vendor based on what is in the College’s best interest using a selection criteria grounded in a review of the RFP response, vendor qualifications and certifications, costs, vendor’s past performance (if applicable), and services provided. 7. The College participates in the following purchasing consortia: Educational and Institutional Cooperative Services (E & I) U.S. Communities, Government Purchasing Alliance Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) Illinois Community College System Purchasing Consortium (ICCSPC) Illinois Public Higher Education Cooperative (IPHEC) Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA) Suburban Purchasing Cooperative (SPC) Any appropriate discounts and/or special pricing from these consortia should be applied to this proposal/proposal. 8. The College is a public institution and therefore subject to comply with legitimate Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Please be advised that your response to this request for proposal is subject to comply with any FOIA requests for information. The FOIA copy of your response should indicate confidential and/or proprietary information that has been removed/redacted. Please mark this as “FOIA Copy.” See pages 14 & 15 for further instructions. Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 4 9. Please indicate on pricing page 12, if your company is a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Female Business Enterprise (FBE), Persons with Disabilities Business Enterprise (PBE), Small Business Enterprise (SBE), or Veteran Owned Business (VOB). 10. Please submit one original bound copy, six paper copies and one digital copy of your proposal: The paper copies should include: one bound original, five copies, one FOIA copy. The digital copy should be another copy of your FOIA copy. The College will use the FOIA copy at the public bid/RFP opening. This copy must include your pricing. 11. If there are any questions pertaining to this proposal, they must be submitted in writing by 11:00 am on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 to: Andy Williams, Controller at awilliams@oakton.edu David Hittenmiller, Assistant Controller at dhittenmiller@oakton.edu Trinh Than, Purchasing Manager at tthan@oakton.edu 12. Bid/Proposal results will be posted on the Oakton website the day following the Board of Trustees meeting. This purchase is scheduled to be approved at the March 21. 2023 Board of Trustees meeting. To access the results go to www.Oakton.edu/Faculty & Staff/Business Services/Purchasing/Recent/Results from Bids and Proposals. 13. The College reserves the right to waive technicalities and informalities in the proposal process, to reject any or all proposals, or any part of any proposal, for any reason. The College also reserves the right to obtain clarification of any point in a firm’s proposal or to obtain additional information. The determination of whether any proposal by a firm does or does not conform to the conditions and specifications of the Request for Proposal (RFP) is the responsibility of the College. 14. This contract is subject to the provisions of the Equal Employment Opportunity Clause as provided by the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission, and the Illinois Revised Statues. 15. Contract Term The intent of this RFP is to commit to the successful firm for fixed fee annual audits for three fiscal years ending June 30, 2023, 2024, and 2025 with the option to extend the contract for fiscal years ending June 30, 2026 and June 30, 2027. The College reserves the right to review, adjust, or cancel the contract each year at its discretion. It is understood that if the operations of the College change significantly during the three-year period and optional two-year period, the audit fee may be renegotiated. mailto:awilliams@oakton.edu mailto:dhittenmiller@oakton.edu mailto:tthan@oakton.edu Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 5 General Information Oakton College is a comprehensive community college. The College offers pre-baccalaureate programs for students planning to transfer to a four-year university, occupational education leading directly to employment, adult education and literacy programs, work force and workplace development services, and support services to help students succeed. The College had 6,278 in credit headcount and 3,667 in non-credit headcount enrolled in fall 2021 classes at both its Des Plaines and Skokie campuses. Oakton has approximately 840 full and part time staff; including adjunct faculty. The College maintains a strong financial position through its commitment to excellence and has received the GFOA award thirty consecutive years in a row. The College recognizes this is a time of constant change and ever increasing accountability. The task of the College finance office is no longer to report financial results by long-standing standards that are widely known and commonly understood. The task in today's environment is to keep up with the ever-changing standards from GASB, FASB, and Federal Uniform Grant Guidance (Uniform Guidance). The task is also to keep up with new reporting and accountability requirements from the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), new automated processing systems, and fringe benefit tax laws. These ever-changing standards and accountabilities require adjusting computer systems and internal processes to adapt to the changing standards and then finally to report in accordance with new standards. This shift in the environment has caused a shift in the College thinking about an audit firm. We require a year-round partner, who will assist us in keeping up to date with the standards and provide assistance, when needed, on specialty topics, as well as someone who can audit to the standards. This means that the College is looking for a firm that is on the leading edge of the standards as they are being developed. The College also has a strong commitment to current and effective technology, requiring the audit firm to have a solid core of technological abilities. The Oakton Educational Foundation supports the mission and vision of Oakton College by raising funds in support of student scholarships, academic programs, teaching excellence, and capital improvements that enhance the quality of education at Oakton. Lastly, the College expects a timely response, typically same day, from contacts and the ability to meet an aggressive audit preparation schedule. Prior schedules have called for client prepared trial balance by July 27th, audit firm draft financials by September 14th, and final reports and management letter delivered by October 11th. Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 6 Scope of Proposal The audit report must include an examination of all funds/accounts of the College, as described in the June 30, 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) found on our website at 22-final-audit-occ.pdf (oakton.edu). The audit must include all state and federal compliance requirements as needed. The examination shall be made in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America; the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards; and Uniform Guidance, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations, including the requirements of the Illinois Community College Board Fiscal Management Manual (available online at www2.iccb.org/iccb/). Audit procedures must be performed to examine federal grant programs in accordance with Uniform Guidance. The audit firm will produce a Single Audit report based on these procedures. The audit firm will assist in preparing the financial statements, schedule of expenditures of federal awards, and related notes of the College in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and the Uniform Guidance based on information provided by the College (see “assistance with preparation of the ACFR” on pricing page 12). This report process provided by the audit firm excludes the statistical section, Management’s Discussion and Analysis, and the letter of transmittal. A management letter shall also be included for the College. The Oakton Educational Foundation selects its own financial audit firm each year and, therefore, the foundation audit is not a part of this request for proposal. However, the selected audit firm must have experience auditing similarly-situated community college foundations under FASB standards. The Oakton Educational Foundation is a component unit of the College and, thus, the foundation’s financial statements are included in the College’s ACFR. The audit reports will be submitted to the Oakton Finance Committee and the Oakton College Board of Trustees at their meetings usually scheduled for the third Tuesday evening in October. It is expected that the audit partner or another representative of the firm will present the audit report at both the Finance Committee and Board of Trustees meetings. The audit report is required to be submitted by the College to the Illinois Community College Board after the October Board of Trustees meeting. Paper copies of the following final reports will be delivered to the College one week prior to the October board meeting each year: • College Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) – 25 paper copies • College Single Audit Report – 25 paper copies • Auditor’s Communication to the College Board of Trustees including management letter – 25 paper copies • Illinois Cooperative Work Study Grant Report (if applicable) – 12 copies https://www.oakton.edu/_pdfs/financial-services/financial-reports/22-final-audit-occ.pdf Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 7 In addition, an electronic copy of each of these reports will be supplied to the College. Examples of these reports will be available at the pre-bid meeting and are posted on the College’s website at: https://www.oakton.edu/about/offices-and-departments/business-and-financial- services/budget-audit-reports.php Proposal Calendar: Request for proposal issued: January 18, 2023 Mandatory pre-bid meeting January 23, 2023 11:00 AM First addendum (listing firms attending pre-bid) issued January 25, 2023 Deadline for receipt of questions by audit firms: January 31, 2023 11:00 AM Deadline for Oakton’s response to questions: (Addendum #2) February 2, 2023 (if needed) Due date for proposals: February 8, 2023 11:00 AM Oral presentations if requested February 15, 2023 Board approval: March 21, 2023 Minimum Qualifications of the Audit Firm: 1. The firm must have experience in auditing Illinois governmental entities, with a strong preference for firms with Illinois public higher education experience. 2. The firm must have experience in performing Uniform Guidance audits (single audits). 3. The firm must employ sufficient numbers of professional audit staff to perform the audit in a timely manner. 4. The firm must be licensed to practice public accounting in Illinois. 5. No firm shall be qualified for consideration if a former employee or partner of the accounting firm submitting such RFP has been employed by Oakton College for two years or less immediately prior to the submission of the RFP and such accounting firm has performed auditing services for Oakton College. Requirements of Successful Audit Firm All working papers and reports shall meet the minimum legal retention requirements and such papers shall be made available to the College and its grantors without charge. The audit firm will prepare a draft of the audit report including financial statements, required supplementary information, and the notes, in consultation with the College. It is expected that the audit firm will create all of the schedules found in the Special Reports Section (pages 126 – 141 of the FY 2022 College ACFR) based on the trial balance and other financial data supplied by the College. Greater consideration will be given to firms that have developed processes which enhance the cost efficiency and accuracy of generating audit schedules including those found in the Special Reports section of the ACFR. https://www.oakton.edu/about/offices-and-departments/business-and-financial-services/budget-audit-reports.php https://www.oakton.edu/about/offices-and-departments/business-and-financial-services/budget-audit-reports.php Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 8 The audit firm must have an upload/download website for submittal of work papers and retrieval of audit firm documents by the College. If required by the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the audit firm will audit and issue an opinion on the Illinois Cooperative Work Study Program Grant (if awarded to Oakton). The audit firm should also provide in the ACFR: an Independent Accountant’s Report on the Schedule of Enrollment Data and Other Bases upon Which Claims are Filed and Reconciliation of Total Semester Credit Hours and an Independent Auditor’s Report on Compliance with State Requirement for State Adult Education and Family Literacy Restricted Grant. College Responsibilities The College will schedule a pre-audit planning meeting with the audit firm in the second half of March or early April. College staff will complete its audit preparations in time for fieldwork to begin as early as the first week of August. Preliminary fieldwork will be scheduled in late May / early June. College staff will prepare appropriate work papers, schedules and analyses and obtain documents as requested by the auditors. College staff will prepare the transmittal letter, Management’s Discussion and Analysis, Statistical Section, and supply non-financial data needed for the Special Reports section such as credit hour information. College staff will prepare confirmation letters, representation letters and miscellaneous correspondence as requested by the auditors. The College will provide the auditors with an appropriate workspace in which to conduct the audit. Other Information The College uses Ellucian’s Banner software. Selection Process All proposals will be opened at the stated proposal deadline time. The Board of Trustees, the President, VP of Administrative Affairs, the Controller, the Assistant Controller, and a Financial Aid staff member will review and analyze the proposals according to the criteria listed below. Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 9 The Board of Trustees may request prospective firms to make an oral presentation to the Board and selected College staff. The Board will consider and vote on the recommendation at its March 21, 2023 meeting. Firms that submitted proposals will be notified of the results of the Board vote on March 22, 2023. Criteria for Selection: Oakton College will evaluate the overall quality and responsiveness of the proposal using, but not limited to, the following criteria, which are listed in no particular order: • Completeness and overall organization and clarity of response • Demonstrates an understanding of the College’s vision and requirements of the RFP-including, but not limited to audit planning and procedures and the ability to respond to requested timelines • Relevant qualifications and experience of the Respondent-including, but not limited to experience of the firm working with tax capped districts, ICCB, Federal Uniform Guidance audits and Illinois public higher education Audits. • Satisfaction of previous and current clients related to operations and customer service • Results of peer and external quality control reviews • Training and timely technical support provided by the service provider • Audit firm’s ability to perform support and services in an accepted methodology- included, but not limited to the firm’s commitment to keeping up with new accounting standards and related requirements as evidenced by professional development of staff and the firm’s efforts to teach new accounting standards and other accounting-related subject matter to public higher education institutions. This criterion includes the audit firm’s efforts to provide services for the benefit of professional associations in the accounting field. • Evidence of financial stability and ability to provide the services required • Estimated cost of the audit as compared with other proposals • Acceptance of the College’s terms and conditions • References Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 10 Requested Proposal Information In order to achieve a uniform review process and to obtain the maximum degree of comparability, it is required that the following list of items be addressed by the proposing firm: 1. Provide a description of the firm’s practice, including: a. size of firm b. list of major clients c. membership in professional organizations d. longevity of practice e. list of public educational clients, specifically community colleges, colleges, and universities. 2. Resumes of all firm members who would be handling the College audit, as well as descriptions of the type and number of educational audits (specifically community colleges) that have been performed by the proposed audit team. 3. List of all public higher education audits (including community colleges) conducted in the last three years in Illinois as well as contacts at each public higher education client. 4. List of all foundation audits (including community college foundations) conducted in the last three years in Illinois, as well as contacts at each foundation client. 5. Describe any business, investment, or family relationship with College officials, or appointed employees. 6. Provide the results of the most recent peer review of your firm. 7. Provide a maximum, “not-to-exceed” fee proposal inclusive of all expenses for each fiscal year, beginning with fiscal year 2023 and through fiscal year 2025. For each of the three fiscal years, break out the fees into the following categories: financial audit, assistance with preparation of the ACFR (the report process), single audit, and Illinois Cooperative Work Study Grant audit (if required). All out of pocket expenses shall be included in your annual audit fee. 8. Describe the circumstances under which you would propose to change your fee and how you would communicate such potential changes to the College. 9. List, by partner and staff level, hourly billing rates to be charged, should the College expand the scope of the audit, or require additional services. 10. Information on what differentiates your firm from other firms. 11. Include three references with name, contact name, address, and phone number. Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 11 12. Describe the audit software you use, its capabilities, and its ability to automatically generate from the College’s trial balance and other financial data and various schedules in the ACFR. 13. Describe the website your firm uses for electronically uploading work papers as well as retrieval of audit firm documents by the College. 14. Detail (in percentage) the amount of time to be put in on the audit by the following categories: Partner/Manager __________ % In-charge Accountants __________ % Staff Accountants __________% Please submit this information, along with the completed pricing information on the next page (page 12). Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 12 PRICING PAGE Fees proposal shall be a total fixed fee (including all expenses) broken down and shown as follows:1,2 FY2023 Hours FY2023 Cost FY2024 Hours FY2024 Cost FY2025 Hours FY2025 Cost Financial Audit Assistance with Preparation of the ACFR Single Audit Illinois Cooperative Work Study Grant Audit (if required) Total 1. Please include your standard price sheet, showing fee structure for all auditing procedures your firm is able to perform. 2. The above fees shall include reasonable communication regarding audit, tax, or compliance issues throughout the year. Annual Audit Fees: June 30, 2023 $___________________________ June 30, 2024 $___________________________ June 30, 2025 $___________________________ Please attach additional information about your firm, as described in the “Requested proposal information” section. Please indicate if your company is a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Female Business Enterprise (FBE), Persons with Disabilities Business Enterprise (PBE), Small Business Enterprise (SBE), or Veteran Owned Business (VOB). ________________________________ _______________________________________ ___________________________________ NAME OF FIRM AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE _______________________________________ ___________________________________ ADDRESS PRINTED NAME _______________________________________ ___________________________________ CITY STATE ZIP DATE PHONE NUMBER __________________________________________ EMAIL ADDRESS STATE OF ____________ ) Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 13 ) SS. COUNTY OF __________ ) CONTRACTOR'S CERTIFICATION Pursuant to Illinois Revised Statutes Chapter 38, Article 33E (Public Contracts), the undersigned certifies that he/she is a duly authorized agent of the contractor submitting the attached bid to Community College District 535, Oakton College and that said contractor is not barred from bidding on this public contract as a result of a violation of either Section 33E-3 or 33E-4 of said statute. Signed this __________ day of ____________, 2023. By: ___________________________________ Title: ___________________________________ Address: ___________________________________ ___________________________________ SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me this _____ day of __________, 2023. ____________________________________ Notary Public Please return this form with your proposal. Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 14 DESIGNATION OF CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION Notes to Authorized Representatives completing this Designation: • Under Illinois law, prices and price quotes become public information once the information is announced at the public bid opening and may not thereafter be kept confidential. • Other information cannot be kept confidential unless it is a trade secret, and is identified as such by the party submitting a proposal at the time of submittal as specified in Section 7(1)(g) of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”, 5 ILCS 40/7(1)(g)). • “Trade secret” as defined in Section 2(d)of the Illinois Trade Secrets Act (765 ILCS 1065/2(d)) means information, including but not limited to technical or non-technical data, a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, drawing, process, financial data, or list of actual or potential customers or suppliers, that: (1) is sufficiently secret to derive actual or potential economic value from not being generally known to other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and (2) is the subject of efforts to maintain its secrecy or confidentiality that are reasonable under the circumstances. * * * * The attached material submitted in this Response to Oakton College Proposal #1 for Auditing Services trade secrets and / or commercial or financial information that are proprietary, privileged, or confidential. The disclosure of specifically identified content within the material would cause competitive harm to: _______________________________________________________________________ (insert name of individual or company submitting the response) as further explained below, such that it may be kept confidential under 5 ILCS 40/7(1)(g). We request that the pages or parts of pages of this Response, as next indicated, be treated as confidential material and not be released without the prior written approval of our Authorized Representative named on the following page. Page #(s) Topic Why disclosure would cause competitive harm _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Oakton College Proposal # 1 Page 15 If the designation of this information as confidential is challenged, the undersigned hereby agrees to provide legal counsel or other necessary assistance to defend the designation of confidentiality, and agrees to hold the College harmless for any costs, damages, or penalties arising out of the College’s agreeing to withhold the information. Failure to complete and include this form in the bid/proposal response may mean that all information provided as part of the bid/proposal response will be open to inspection and copying. The College considers other markings of “confidential” in the bid/proposal documents to be insufficient. The undersigned agrees to hold the College harmless for any damages arising out of the release of any materials unless they are specifically identified above. Company Name: _____________________________________ Authorized Representative: _____________________________________ Signature Authorized Representative: _____________________________________ Type or Print E-mail address: _____________________________________ Date: _____________________________________ Please be sure to include one copy of your RFP response that has confidential and/or proprietary information removed/redacted. Please mark this as “FOIA Copy.” The College will use this copy at the public bid/RFP opening, and this copy must include your pricing