Financial Audit and Tax Filing Services Request for Proposals (RFP) #2023.2024-0001

Organization Information

The Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend Region, Inc. (ELC) operates as a not-for-profit corporation and incorporated as the Leon School Readiness Coalition in 2001 as required by the School Readiness Act of 1999 (F.S. 411.01). In response to legislative requirements, ELC has gone through several transitions, mergers as well as name changes, and expanded its service area in 2005 to encompass the seven counties it serves today.

Headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, ELC currently has 47 employees and proudly serves Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, and Wakulla Counties. A contracted partner with the Florida Department of Education’s (DOE) Division of Early Learning (DEL), ELC is responsible for the administration of the School Readiness (SR) and Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) programs.

Statement of Need

ELC invites qualified companies that have a demonstrated history of providing financial auditing services for early learning coalitions or similar organizations created by Florida Statute, non-profit organizations primarily funded by state and federal grants or contracts, and government entities, to submit proposals to this solicitation, Financial Audit and Tax Filing Services Request for Proposals (RFP) #2023.2024-0001.        

The objective of this RFP is to procure a contract for a qualified independent financial auditor to provide financial audit and annual Form 990 tax filing services for ELC for Fiscal Years ending June 30, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027. The desired financial auditor will demonstrate their ability and history providing the services described in the Statement of Work (SOW).

Responsive proposals demonstrate Proposer has a minimum of ten years’ experience conducting audits of annual financial statements with organizations similar to ELC, as described in the SOW, and the staffing capacity to provide these services in a high-quality manner with excellent customer service at a reasonable cost to the organization.

ELC’s online RFP template will only accept timely proposals that include responses to all questions and all required documentation.

Contract Term

The original contract term will be for a five-year period. After completion of the first term, ELC may renew the agreement one time contingent upon satisfactory performance and availability of funds.

ELC anticipates the first Term will begin November 2, 2023, or on the date the contract is signed by the last party required to sign (“execution date”), and end November 1, 2028, or five years from the date executed.

ELC may exercise the option to extend any current term for a period of no more than six months, if necessary, to complete any current fiscal year audit in progress. Any approved extension will not change the approved funding amounts allocated for each audit and will only allow the time necessary to complete any current audit in progress.

RFP Schedule

Procurement Schedule		Due Date	Time (EST)
1.	Release RFP	08/03/23	7:30 AM
2.	Deadline to e-mail Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply	08/07/23	5:00 PM
3.	Deadline to e-mail Technical Questions	08/07/23	5:00 PM
4.	Anticipated date to post FAQ’s on ELC’s website	08/10/23	5:00 PM
5.	Proposal due date (E-mail PDFs to ELC)	08/16/23	5:00 PM
6.	Public opening of all Proposals (Zoom Meeting)	08/16/23	5:01 PM
7.	Formal evaluation period	08/17/23 to 09/19/23 09/14/23
8.	Proposer Presentations to Eval Panel	08/28/23	9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
9.	Anticipated date to post Notice of Intent to Award (NOIA)	09/14/23 09/19/23	9:00 AM
10.	Anticipated End of 72 Hour (Three Business Day) period to protest NOIA.	09/19/23 09/22/23	9:00 AM
11.	Anticipated end of 10Calendar Day Period for Formal Written Protest with Bond (1% of Contract Value). F.S. 60A-1.021, 287.042(2) (c) and 120.57(3)(b).*	09/29/23 10/2/23	9:00 AM
12.	Executive Committee reviews and recommends action on Professional Services Contract	10/19/23	9:00 AM
13.	Board of Directors Votes on Executive Committee recommendations for Professional Services Contract.	11/02/23	9:00 AM
14.	Anticipated Contract Start Date	11/02/23 or when executed

General Instructions to Respondents

      Electronic Submission

All Proposers must use the electronic templates provided by ELC to submit their LOI’s and proposals and submit them on or before the noted deadline date/times based on the date/time stamp applied by ELC’s server.

1. Letter of Intent Form

Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply forms must be received on/before Monday, August 7, 2023.The purpose of the LOI is to collect the company name, e-mail address, and contact person for each Proposer so ELC can efficiently communicate any notices/updates regarding this RFP to all interested parties.

Complete/submit the Letter of Intent (LOI) form using the following link:

• https://form.jotform.com/232140927453150
• Required Proposal Template

Completed proposals must be submitted using the standard template provided by ELC and must be received on or before 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), Wednesday, August 16, 2023.

Plan for possible heavy system traffic and submit your proposals at least a few hours prior to the noticed deadline time to avoid having the system reject any late or incomplete proposals. Use the Save and Continue Later option at the bottom of the template to periodically save your work. The system provides error messages for any incomplete sections or sections with errors.

Complete the standard application template by using the following link:

• https://form.jotform.com/232118115116140

See below links to download complete RFP and any other required documents.

Additional Documents:

• Financial Statements for FYE June 30, 2022
• Form 990 for FYE June 30, 2022

Notice of Intent to Award (NOIA)

The Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend Region, Inc. (ELC) publicly noticed RFP 2023.2024-0001 in the Florida Administrative Register (FAR) and on its website on 08/03/23. ELC also e-mailed a solicitation notice to twelve vendors including five with Certified Minority Business Enterprise (CMBE) status as identified in MyFloridaMarketPlace (MFMP).

ELC received proposals from two responsive vendors, Moss, Krusick & Associates, LLC and Verdeja, DeArmas & Truillo, LLP, who have the qualifications, resources, and experience necessary to complete the work detailed in the Financial Audit and Tax Filing Services Request for Proposals (RFP) #2023.2024-0001 in a high quality and timely fashion. One other company submitted and withdrew its Letter of Intent (LOI).

ELC designated a three-member evaluation team to score the written proposals, and a three-person panel evaluation team to score timed presentations by both Proposers using the same question outlines.

This notice does not constitute a binding commitment by ELC. After the selected vendor accepts its Notice of Intent to Award (NOIA), ELC will coordinate with them to negotiate terms, conditions, and prices to develop an Agreement for Services.

Should the highest ranked Proposer decline its NOIA, ELC will move to the next highest rank Proposer until one accepts the NOIA.

ELC will enter into an Agreement for Services with the selected firm upon approval by its Board of Directors. The first contract term will equal five years from the contract execution date and may be renewed one-time for a second five-year term contingent on available funding and Contractor’s satisfactory performance.

Rank-Ordered Proposers

Vendor Name	Rank Order	Vendor Score And Percentage	Vendor Quote (5-Year Term)
Moss, Krusick & Associates, LLC	1	318/330 (96.36%)	$98,500.00
Verdeja, De Armas & Trujillo, LLP	2	314/330 (95.15%)	$113,200.00

ELC followed the scoring framework outlined in Sections II through X in Appendix B of the RFP (maximum combined proposal and presentation score for each evaluation equals 110 points). Each proposal and its corresponding presentation received three scores. ELC summed the total points received by each Proposer and divided that amount by 330 points to determine the overall Vendor Score and Percentage.