Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) Financial Statement Audits

State of Delaware
Office of Auditor of Accounts
Request for Proposal
For
Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN)
Financial Statement Audits
Professional Services
April 15, 2026
AOA26-CPA01-DHIN
by
State of Delaware
Office of Auditor of Accounts
State of Delaware
Office of Auditor of Accounts
1128 South Bradford Street
Dover, Delaware 19904
Bid Closing Date: June 3, 2026
Deadline to Respond ("Submission Deadline"): June 3, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.
Eastern Time (ET)

Table of Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1
2. Proposal and Bid Submission Process ..................................................................................... 2
3. Term of Engagement ............................................................................................................... 5
4. Nature of Services Required .................................................................................................... 5
5. Description of the Engagement Entity .................................................................................... 7
6. Time Requirements ................................................................................................................. 8
7. Proposals ................................................................................................................................. 9
8. Cost Section ........................................................................................................................... 10
9. Minimum Requirements Section ........................................................................................... 10
10. Proprietary Section ................................................................................................................ 13
11. Evaluation Process ................................................................................................................ 15
12. Contract Conditions and Considerations ............................................................................... 17
13. Additional Services ............................................................................................................... 28
14. Notification and Manner of Payment .................................................................................... 29
15. Dispute Resolution ................................................................................................................ 30
16. Press Releases or Public Disclosures ...................................................................................... 30
Appendix A - Sample Schedule of Professional Fees and Expenses ...................................................... 32
Appendix B - Non-Collusion & Debarment Statement .......................................................................... 33
Appendix C - Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement for Contracted CPA Firms................... 34
Appendix D - Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement for Individual Audit Staff ................... 39
Appendix E - State of Delaware Terms and Conditions Governing Cloud Services and Data Usage
Agreement ............................................................................................................................................... 44
Appendix F - State of Delaware Terms and Conditions Governing Cloud Services and Data Usage
Policy ...................................................................................................................................................... 52
Appendix H - Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................................................. 58
AOA26-CPA01-DHIN
Table of Contents

State of Delaware
Office of Auditor of Accounts
Request for Proposal
1. Introduction
1.1 The State of Delaware, Office of Auditor of Accounts (AOA), seeks professional services
from qualified certified public accounting firms ("Firms") to perform an engagement in
accordance with services described in this Request for Proposal ("RFP") to enter purpose
for solicitation. This request for proposals ("RFP") is issued pursuant to 29 Del. C. 6981
and 6982.
The proposed schedule of events subject to the RFP is outlined below:
Public Notice Date: April 15, 2026
Deadline for Questions Date: May 6, 2026, at 4:00 PM (EST)
Response to Questions Posted by: Date: May 20, 2026, at 4:00 PM (EST)
Deadline for Receipt of Proposals Date: June 3, 2026, at 4:00 PM (EST)
Estimated Notification of Award Date: July 1, 2026
1.2 In accordance with 29 Del. C. Chapter 69, Subchapter VI, Professional Services, the Office
of Auditor of Accounts ("AOA") is publishing this Request for Proposal ("RFP") and
seeking proposals ("Proposals") from qualified certified public accounting firms ("Firms")
to perform an engagement, in accordance with services described in this RFP at Section 4.
Nature of Services Required, Financial Statement Audit for each of the fiscal years ended
June 30, 2026 and 2027.
1.3 There is no expressed or implied obligation for AOA to reimburse Firms for any costs or
expenses incurred in preparing Proposals in response to this request, and AOA will not pay
any costs or expenses incurred by any Firm associated with any aspect of responding to this
RFP, including Proposal preparation, printing, delivery, or the negotiation process.
Additionally, no indirect reimbursements (e.g., in the form of credits or reductions to any
agreed upon compensation) will be made to any Firm by AOA for any such costs or
expenses.
1.4 Public announcement of this RFP has been made in accordance with 29 Del. C. 6981.
1.5 A mandatory pre-bid meeting has not been established for this RFP and is not required.
1.6 This RFP is available in electronic form through the State of Delaware Procurement
website at https://mmp.delaware.gov/ by searching in the "Bids" section under this RFP
number. Paper copies of this RFP will not be provided by AOA or otherwise available
unless printed from this website.
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State of Delaware
Office of Auditor of Accounts
Request for Proposal
If AOA determines that is necessary to revise any part of the RFP, an addendum will be
posted on the State of Delaware Procurement website at https://mmp.delaware.gov/. The
terms of this RFP and any addenda are controlling, and any statement related to this RFP
made by any State of Delaware employee, contractor, or its agents does not alter any terms
of this RFP or bind AOA.
2. Proposal and Bid Submission Process
2.1 All questions regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing and must be received by the
date and time identified in Section 1.1 above via e-mail to AOA's contracting account:
Primary: oaoacontracting@delaware.gov
Courtesy Copy:
Andrea Bayline
Chief Administrative Auditor
andrea.bayline@delaware.gov
Robert Sisk
Deputy State Auditor
robert.sisk@delaware.gov
If a Firm is seeking clarification regarding a specific aspect of the RFP, the Firm must cite
the section and page number for reference. Responses to all submitted questions will be
posted on https://mmp.delaware.gov/ in the same manner as this RFP.
2.2 The lowest bid is not the deciding or the most significant factor in awarding professional
services contracts. Any Firm identifying contingencies will have its proposed cost adjusted
in relation to others that do not include the contingency so that it is comparable from a cost
perspective. Proposals that include sufficient details and realistic hours are likely to
receive a higher score overall.
2.3 The State of Delaware may retain consultants or legal counsel to assist in the review and
evaluation of responses to this RFP. Firms shall not contact the State's consultant or legal
counsel on any matter related to the RFP. Such contact may also result in the elimination
of the Proposal from further consideration and award.
2.4 Proposals must be sent via email to oaoacontracting@delaware.gov on or by the date and
time identified in Section 1.1 above (the "Submission Deadline"). The Minimum
Requirements Section, Proprietary Section, and Cost Section of the Proposal must be
submitted in three separate PDF searchable files. The Minimum Requirements and
Proprietary Sections can be submitted in the same email; however, the Cost Section of the
Proposal must be submitted in a separate email. The two email subject lines should clearly
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State of Delaware
Office of Auditor of Accounts
Request for Proposal
state "Minimum Requirements and Proprietary Sections" and "Cost Section." Any
Proposal received after the Submission Deadline will not be considered and will be
rejected. The Firm bears all risk of delays in delivery. No hard copy (paper) submissions
of Proposals, or physical media devices containing the Proposals, will be accepted.
AOA will provide an email response of acknowledgement for each email received.
A Firm may modify or withdraw its Proposal by written request, provided that both the
request and Proposal are received by AOA prior to the Submission Deadline. Any
changes, amendments, or modifications to a Proposal must be made in writing, submitted
in the same manner as the original response and conspicuously labeled as a change,
amendment, or modification to a previously submitted Proposal. Changes, amendments, or
modifications to Proposals shall not be accepted or considered after the Submission
Deadline.
All Proposals shall become the property of AOA upon receipt and are deemed firm offers
at that time unless an amended Proposal is submitted prior to the Submission Deadline.
2.5 AOA will not conduct a public opening of Proposals but will maintain a public log of the
names of all Firms that submitted Proposals. AOA's evaluation of the Proposals will begin
shortly after the Submission Deadline.
All documents submitted as part of the Proposal will be treated as confidential during the
evaluation process. As such, Proposals will not be available for review by anyone other
than AOA's Proposal Evaluation Team or its designated agents, as well as AOA's legal
counsel. The content of Proposals will not be disclosed unless such disclosure is mandated
by the State of Delaware Freedom of Information Act, Title 29, Delaware Code, Chapter
100. Once a written Proposal is received by AOA and a decision on contract award is
made, the content of selected and non-selected Proposals will likely become subject to
FOIA's public disclosure obligations.
AOA expects to receive Proposals that include proprietary information, such as services
that may not be provided by other Firms. The Firm must include this information in the
Proprietary Section of the Proposal.
A Firm's statement or position as to the confidentiality of any portion of its Proposal shall
not be binding on the State. The State shall independently determine the validity of any
Firm's confidentiality designation. Any Firm submitting a Proposal or using the
procedures discussed herein expressly accepts AOA's absolute right and duty to
independently assess the legal and factual validity of any information designated as
confidential business information. Accordingly, Firms assume the risk that confidential
business information included within a Proposal may enter the public domain.
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State of Delaware
Office of Auditor of Accounts
Request for Proposal
Firms shall be advised that as a publicly bid contract, no Firm shall retain the right to
declare its pricing confidential.
2.6 Non-conforming Proposals, defined as those that do not meet the requirements of this RFP,
will not be considered. AOA, in its sole discretion, shall determine whether a Proposal
conforms to the requirement of this RFP.
2.7 AOA expects that the Firm can fully meet and fulfill the representations made in its
Proposal and do so in a timely manner. Proposals must be realistic and must represent the
best estimate of time, materials, and other costs including the impact of inflation and any
economic or other factors that are reasonably predictable.
2.8 A Firm is fully responsible for the completeness and accuracy of its Proposal, and for
examining this RFP and all addenda. Failure to do so will be at the sole risk of the Firm.
Should the Firm find discrepancies, omissions, unclear or ambiguous intent or meaning, or
should any questions arise concerning this RFP, the Firm shall notify AOA's Designated
Contact, in writing, of such findings at least ten (10) days before the Deadline for Receipt
of Proposals. This will allow issuance of any necessary addenda. It will also help avoid
the opening of a defective Proposal and disclosure of a Firm's Proposal upon which award
could not be made. All unresolved issues should be addressed in the Proposal.
2.9 AOA reserves the right to retain, accept, or reject any or all Proposals or any part of any
Proposal, and, in its sole judgment and discretion, determine the merit and qualifications of
each product offered, or to solicit new Proposals on the same project or on a modified
project which may include portions of the originally proposed project, all or any of which
as AOA may deem necessary in the best interest of the State of Delaware and as permitted
under law.
2.10 By submitting a Proposal, the Firm acknowledges that it has carefully read all sections of
this RFP, including all forms, schedules, and exhibits hereto, and has fully informed itself
as to all existing conditions and limitations.
2.11 This RFP will become part of the awarded and executed contract and its terms will be
enforced as such.
2.12 AOA reserves the right to cancel this RFP at any time during the procurement process, for
any reason or for no reason. AOA makes no commitments expressed or implied, that the
publication of this RFP and the solicitation and submission of Proposals thereunder will
result in a business transaction with any Firm.
This RFP does not constitute an offer by AOA. A Firm's participation in this process may
result in the Firm's selection ("Selected Firm") by AOA to engage in further discussions
and negotiations in furtherance of the execution of a contract. The commencement of such
negotiations does not, however, signify a commitment by AOA to execute a contract nor to
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State of Delaware
Office of Auditor of Accounts
Request for Proposal
continue negotiations. AOA may terminate negotiations at any time and for any reason, or
for no reason.
2.13 The final award of a contract is subject to approval by the State of Delaware Auditor of
Accounts. In accordance with State law, the Auditor of Accounts has the sole right to
select the successful Firm(s) for award, to reject any Proposal as unsatisfactory or non-
responsive, to award a contract to other than the lowest priced Proposal, or not to award a
contract, as a result of this RFP.
After the Evaluation Committee reports its recommendation, and once the contract terms
and conditions have been negotiated and finalized, AOA will award the contract. Notice in
writing to a Firm of the acceptance of its Proposal by AOA and the subsequent full
execution of a written agreement between the Firm and AOA will constitute a legal
relationship between the parties, and no Firm will acquire any legal or equitable rights or
privileges until the occurrence of both such events.
AOA is not obligated to award a contract to the Firm that submits the lowest bid or to the
Firm that receives the highest total point score, rather the contract will be awarded to the
Firm whose Proposal is the most advantageous to the State of Delaware, as determined by
AOA in its sole discretion.
2.14 Once AOA has selected a Firm to engage in contract discussions and negotiations with
AOA, all Firms that submitted a Proposal within the established RFP deadline will be
notified and the contract discussions and negotiations with the selected Firm will begin
reasonably thereafter.
3. Term of Engagement
3.1 The contract period is for two years, consisting of two one-year engagements, with the
option to renew the contract at AOA's request for two additional one-year terms, subject to
the satisfactory negotiation of terms (including a cost acceptable to both AOA and the
Selected Firm) and the annual availability of an appropriation by the General Assembly.
AOA is under no express or implied obligation, legal or otherwise, to renew the contract.
4. Nature of Services Required
4.1 Engagement Description and Cycle
a. AOA is soliciting the services of qualified certified public accounting firms to perform
an annual financial statement audit and any federal audit requirements of the Delaware
Health Information Network (DHIN) for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2026 and June
30, 2027. DHIN has a June 30 fiscal-year end.
4.2 Engagement Standards
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State of Delaware
Office of Auditor of Accounts
Request for Proposal
a. To meet the requirements of this RFP, the engagement must be performed in
accordance with the applicable standards established by the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Government Auditing Standards, issued by
the Comptroller General of the United States.
b. The Selected Firm must immediately notify AOA regarding any known or potential
fraud, waste, or abuse identified during the engagement, regardless of materiality. The
course of action and additional procedures, if necessary, will be determined by AOA.
Failure to notify AOA immediately about any identified known or potential fraud,
waste, or abuse is considered contract non-compliance.
4.3 Other Engagement Information
a. The engagement letter issued to the Engagement Entity, which defines the terms and
scope of the audit, must not have any contract terms or an offer to provide additional
services. The engagement letter in no way modifies or adds conditions or terms to the
contract and is not considered part of the contract with AOA.
b. A Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 18 report performed on
the State's accounting and payroll system is available for the Selected Firm to use during
the engagement.
c. The Selected Firm agrees it will not prepare the financial statements, note disclosures,
or management discussion and analysis (MD&A). The Selected Firm should notify
AOA immediately of any requests to perform such services.
d. The Selected Firm agrees it will not provide auditor's reports (e.g., audit opinions) to
the auditee for incorporation into its reporting packages. The Selected Firm must
obtain the auditee-prepared report (e.g., financial statements), insert the Selected Firm's
opinion and signature, and provide the complete reporting package1 directly to AOA.
e. The selected Firm must provide to AOA all audit exceptions, whether verbal,
observation, or finding, even if the Firm deems the exception to be inconsequential to
the engagement.
f. Following the completion of each engagement, the Selected Firm must provide a
written reporting package in accordance with standards discussed in Section 4.2a
1 Financial reporting packages, for example, include, but are not limited to, the Independent Auditors' Report,
Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A), financial statements, note disclosures, Required Supplementary
Information, Supplementary Information, and the Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting, including
findings, if applicable. All reports received must be in compliance with generally accepted government auditing
standards (GAGAS). The firm must send each report in one, complete electronic file to AOA. Any management
letter comments and communications with those charged with governance must also be provided to AOA.
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State of Delaware
Office of Auditor of Accounts
Request for Proposal
above. AOA will finalize and distribute copies of the reporting packages, with the
exception of the management letter and any confidential information, to the appropriate
officials. The Selected Firm is not to distribute or issue any work products, reporting
packages, or findings without prior written consent from AOA. However,
communicating exceptions to management in a timely manner is encouraged, along
with discussion and in-depth review of the issue.
4.4 Retention and Access to Engagement Documentation
a. The Selected Firm shall maintain engagement documentation, reporting packages,
records, documents, and other evidence pertaining to the workpapers and reports related
to this engagement to the extent and in such detail as shall adequately reflect
performance hereunder for a period of five (5) years from the completion of the
engagement. Records involving any litigation-related matters shall be retained for one
(1) year following the termination or final resolution of such litigation. The Selected
Firm agrees to make such records available for inspection, audit, or reproduction to any
authorized AOA representative in the performance of its duties under the contract.
Upon written notice given to the Selected Firm, representatives of AOA or other duly
authorized State or Federal agency may inspect, monitor, and/or evaluate the cost and
billing records or other material relative to this contract. The cost of any contract audit
disallowances resulting from the examination of the Selected Firm's financial records
will be borne by the Selected Firm. Reimbursement to AOA for disallowances shall be
drawn from the Selected Firm's own resources and not charged to contract cost or cost
pools indirectly charging contract costs.
b. Engagement documentation is the property of AOA. Upon completion of the
engagement, the Selected Firm agrees to provide an electronic copy of all support
documents and workpapers related to this engagement to AOA, either in binder form
suitable for upload into CCH ProSystem FX Engagement software application or in
native form electronic documents when the CCH ProSystem FX Engagement binder is
impractical
5. Description of the Engagement Entity
5.1 Engagement Entity
a. For this RFP, the engagement entity is Delaware Health Information Network.
5.2 Engagement Contact and Location
a. The engagement entity's principal engagement contact will be Michael Sims, Chief
Financial Officer, or a designated representative, who will coordinate the assistance to
the Selected Firm. The Delaware Health Information Network is located at 107 Wolf
Creek Blvd, Suite 2, Dover, DE 19901.
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State of Delaware
Office of Auditor of Accounts
Request for Proposal
5.3 Delaware Health Information Network Background Information
a. The Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) was enacted by the Delaware
General Assembly in 1997 as a public-private partnership for the benefit of all citizens
of Delaware to advance the creation of a statewide health information network and to
address Delaware's needs for timely, reliable, and relevant health care information.
DHIN is not a health care provider and is not subject to claims under 19 Del. C. c. 68.
In addition, DHIN has no power, unless expressly granted, to pledge the credit or create
any debt or liability of the State or any agency thereof. DHIN's major operation is the
design and implementation of an integrated, statewide health data system. This health
care system share real-time clinical information among all health care providers across
the State to improve patient outcomes and patient-provider relationships, while
reducing service duplication and the rate of increase in health care spending.
DHIN is a related organization of the State and has not met the criteria to be included in
the State's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. DHIN's activities are financed
and operated as an enterprise fund such that costs and expenses of providing services
are recovered primarily through user charges.
6. Time Requirements
6.1 Preliminary Engagement Planning
a. AOA reserves the right to request, modify, and approve the detailed engagement plan
and the various related programs. The AOA Liaison will review and provide comments,
if necessary, within ten (10) business days.
b. Typically, a complete draft of the financial statements is expected to be available July
15.
6.2 Entrance Conference
a. An entrance conference must be held with the Engagement Entity's key personnel each
fiscal year. At the entrance conference, the Selected Firm must provide the Engagement
Entity with a time schedule for the engagement and a listing of all information needed.
b. The Selected Firm must work with the AOA Liaison to schedule the date and location
of the entrance conference for the AOA Liaison to attend.
6.3 Progress Reporting and Exit Conference
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