Below are the questions (and VCTC’s responses) for the Request For Proposals For Professional TDA Financial and Compliance Auditing Services. All questions and answers will be posted. The deadline to submit questions is January 25, 2019.
| Question: | Who were the prior auditors? |
| Response: | Conrad, LLP. |
| Question: | How long is the contract? |
| Response: | The contract was for three years, plus two additional one-year terms that were exercised. |
| Question: | What were the prior auditor’s fees yearly and in the aggregate? |
| Response: | The yearly fees were FY 13/14 $ 38,922 FY 14/15 $ 48,425 FY 15/16 $ 48,425 FY 16/17 $ 48,425 FY 17/18 $ 48,425 Total $232,622 |
| Question: | How many TDA audits are anticipated each year? |
| Response: | Approximately 35, but could vary. Please see the Table 1 of the RFP for details. |
| Question: | Were there any issues of non-compliance? |
| Response: | Over the last five years, VCTC has worked with some of the local agencies to facilitate compliance. |
| Question: | Is there any bid preference for:
a) Local bidders such as CPUC certified minority business ? (As an example, the CPUC regulations require an |
| Response: | Please see Attachment E – Professional Auditing Services RFP Evaluation Form. The proposals will be evaluated based on the attachment. |
| Question: | Is there a list of transit consulting firms who may wish to bid with a CPA firm? |
| Response: | VCTC does not have such a list. |
| Question: | What is the time frame of the work is desired or expected to commence and what is the time frame the work is desired or expected to be completed? Was a 90-day extension granted in the prior year? |
| Response: | Please see Attachment A – Scope of Services. Ideally, the work should be schedule for October and November, where possible. It is desirable to have the audit reports finalized and reports issued shortly after field work is completed at each agency. It is also desirable that the firm have all audit reports finalized and issued by December 15th of each year but no later than December 30th of each year. The requests were for 30 and 60 day extensions. For FY 17/18, there were four (4) agencies that requested a total of seven (7) audit extensions. Another agency that performed its own audit requested an extension as well. |
| Question: | Are there any substantial changes to the funding levels or changes in operations which would affect the current proposal as opposed to the prior years? |
| Response: | There are three (3) agencies that are now receiving STA and SGR funds that have not received those funds before. Those audits are included in Table 1. |
| Question: | How many weeks on-sight and/or off sight were the prior engaged entities working? (Or what was the estimated bid hours, or both?) |
| Response: | I do not have the detailed information to answer that question. Depending on the number of audits at each agency, I believe the number of days on site ranged from 1 day to 3 days on average. |
| Question: | Is the scope of work only from the Performance Audit Guidebook for Transit Operators? Or are there other sources/regulations for the work? |
| Response: | The scope of work has more requirements than the Performance Audit Guidebook. Please refer to the “General Project Description” and “Scope of Work” sections for some of the sources to be complied with. |
| Question: | Is there a list of entities which may joint venture this work with a CPA firm? This is because the prior bidders were a CPA firm and a transit consulting firm? |
| Response: | VCTC does not have such a list. The prior bidder was a CPA firm and did not sub-contract with a transit consulting firm. |
| Question: | Why is the Commission considering changing the auditor? |
| Response: | The contract is up with the current auditors. VCTC staff feels it is in its best interest to see what all qualified candidates have to offer. |
| Question: | Will your prior auditor be invited to bid? |
| Response: | Yes, the RFP is open to qualified candidates. |
| Question: | How long has your prior auditor been performing the audit? |
| Response: | Five years. |
| Question: | How can we obtain a copy of your prior year financial statements? |
| Response: | The FY 17/18 TDA audits are not scheduled to be on the agenda until April as staff takes all the audits at one time and there are some extensions. The prior FY TDA audits can be found on VCTC’s website in the archived agendas. The FY 16/17 TDA audits are attachments to the April 2018 agenda The FY 15/16 TDA audits are attachments to the April 2017 agenda FY 14/15 TDA audits are attachments to the February 2016 agenda FY 13/14 TDA audits are attachments to the February 2015 agenda |
| Question: | For both interim and year end, how many staff did the audit team consist of in the past and how many weeks did the auditor spend in the field? |
| Response: | There was usually only one visit to each site after the fiscal year was over. I do not have that detailed of information about number of “weeks and staff” but depending on the number of audits at each agency, I believe the number of days on site ranged from 1 day to 3 days and staffing ranged from 1 to 3 people. |
| Question: | Is the scope of the service requested the same as last year? |
| Response: | The scope was expanded to include State Transit Assistance and State of Good Repair funds that is new to three agencies. |
| Question: | Have there been any changes in your accounting system or software since last year? |
| Response: | There have not been any changes to VCTC’s accounting system/software, but I do not have that information for the other agencies. |
| Question: | Do you expect to have any retirement or replacement of key employees in Finance? |
| Response: | Not for VCTC, but I do not have that information for the other agencies. |
| Question: | What were the prior year audit fees and can you provide the break down by components? |
| Response: | The yearly fees were
FY 13/14 $ 38,922 Total $232,622 |
| Question: | Is there anything specific that you are looking for with the successor auditors? |
| Response: | Please see Attachment E – Professional Auditing Services RFP Evaluation Form. |
| Question: | What are the things you liked and didn’t like about your current auditors? |
| Response: | The current auditors were responsive to questions throughout the year. The current auditors assisted in assuring the recipients were treating issues consistently. The current auditors were always willing to assist when issues arose. It was appreciated when audits were finished soon after the field visit. |
| Question: | Were there any material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the prior year? |
| Response: | No. |
| Question: | How much were the total federal expenditures in prior years and can you provide a copy of your last single audit if you had one? |
| Response: | This is not applicable to the TDA, Prop 1B, LCTOP audits. |
| Question: | How many major programs are usually tested each year for the single audit? |
| Response: | This is not applicable to the TDA, Prop 1B, LCTOP audits. |
| Question: | How many audit adjusting journal entries did you have in the prior fiscal year? |
| Response: | I do not have this information for all of the audits. |
| Question: | Any litigation not included in the 2019 Financial Statements? |
| Response: | I do not have this information for all of the audits. |
| Question: | Will there be any significant events in FY 2019-20? |
| Response: | The only major change I am aware of is that three agencies will now receive STA and SGR funds. |
| Question: | Are there any significant changes in operations expected for FY 2019-20? |
| Response: | Not that I am aware of. |
| Question: | Who is your current auditor? What do you like about the service provided by
your current auditing firm? What don’t you like? |
| Response: | The current TDA auditors are Conrad, LLC. The current auditors were responsive to questions throughout the year. The current auditors assisted in assuring the recipients were treating issues consistently. The current auditors were always willing to assist when issues arose. It was appreciated when audits were finished soon after the field visit. |
| Question: | Are your prior year auditors included or excluded from the current RFP process? |
| Response: | The RFP is open to all qualified candidates. |
| Question: | What were the fees for the previous audit? Please identify the audit fees for each audit/task. |
| Response: | The yearly fees were
FY 13/14 $ 38,922 |
| Question: | How many auditors were onsite by week for both interim testing and final fieldwork? |
| Response: | There was usually only one visit to each site after the fiscal year was over. I do not have the details of each site visit but depending on the number of audits at each agency, I believe the number of days on site ranged from 1 day to 3 days and staffing ranged from 1 to 3 people. |
| Question: | What were the hours of the previous audit? |
| Response: | The hours for the current fiscal year are incomplete as the audits are not finished. The billed hours so far this year total 1,088. For Fiscal Year 2016/2017 billed hours were 1,422.25. |
| Question: | Were there any major changes in the engagement requested in the RFP compared to last year’s engagement? |
| Response: | There are three (3) agencies that are now receiving STA and SGR funds that have not received those funds before. Those audits are included in Table 1. |