Independent Auditing Services and Financial Statement Preparation

Request for Proposal #26-05
INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT
PREPARATION
CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH
204 Ash Street
Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
Due: 10:00am, May 13, 2026
Proposal Issued by: Auditor Selection Committee
Published: April 17, 2026
For Proposal Documents and Updates: Visit http://www.fbfl.us/bids and
www.Demandstar.com.

CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH, FL
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #26-05
INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 4
2. ANTICIPATED SCHEDULE ......................................................................................... 5
3. ELIGIBILITY .................................................................................................................. 6
4. AGREEMENT TERMS AND RENEWALS .................................................................. 6
5. SCOPE OF SERVICES ................................................................................................ 6
6. AUDITING STANDARDS TO BE FOLLOWED .......................................................... 7
7. REPORTS TO BE ISSUED .......................................................................................... 7
8. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................................... 8
9. WORKING PAPER RETENTION AND ACCESS TO WORKING PAPERS ............. 9
10. ASSISTANCE TO BE PROVIDED BY THE CITY TO THE AUDITOR AND
REPORT PREPARATION ................................................................................................ 9
11. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ............................................................................... 10
12. COST AND TIME PROPOSAL .................................................................................. 12
13. TECHNICAL PROPOSAL .......................................................................................... 13
General Requirements ................................................................................................... 13
a) Firm Qualifications (20 points): .............................................................................. 13
b) References and Client Listing (5 points): .............................................................. 15
c) Management, Supervisory and Staff Experience (20 points): ............................ 15
d) Methodology including, Technical Approach, Understanding the Scope of
Services (30 points): ...................................................................................................... 15
e) Pricing, Cost and Time Proposal (25 points): ....................................................... 16
14. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................. 17
Tab A.................. .......................................................................................................... 17
(i) Title Page: .................................................................................................................. 17
(ii) Table of Contents: .................................................................................................... 17
(iii) Transmittal Letter: .............................................................................................. 17
Tab B - Firm Introduction ............................................................................................. 18
Tab C - Qualifications/Experience ............................................................................... 18
Tab D - Other Services offered and their relevance to the city ............................... 18
Tab E - References/Governmental Client List ............................................................ 18
Tab F - Audit Plan .......................................................................................................... 18
Tab G - Independence ................................................................................................... 18
Tab H - Cost and Time Proposal .................................................................................. 18
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CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH, FL
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #26-05
INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION
Tab I - Sample Contract ............................................................................................................. 18
Tab J - Required Exhibits "A-H" .................................................................................. 18
Tab K - Certificates of Insurance: Professional Liability and General
Liability and Worker's Comp.................................................................. . 18
15. CITY SELECTION ...................................................................................................... 18
16. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ................................................................................... 18
17. EVALUATION CRITERIA .......................................................................................... 20
ATTACHMENT "A" ......................................................................................................... 27
EXHIBIT "A"................................................................................................29
EXHIBIT "B"...............................................................................................30
EXHIBIT "C"...............................................................................................33
EXHIBIT "D"...............................................................................................34
EXHIBIT "E"...............................................................................................35
EXHIBIT "F"...............................................................................................36
EXHIBIT "G"..............................................................................................38
EXHIBIT "H"..............................................................................................40
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CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH, FL
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #26-05
INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION
1. INTRODUCTION
The City of Fernandina Beach, Florida (City) is accepting competitive sealed proposals
from certified public accounting firms to provide INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES
AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION to the City for the audits of the
Financial Statements of the City.
The City of Fernandina Beach will receive sealed proposals from qualifying certified public
accounting firms through Demandstar.com (www.demandstar.com). Proposals must be
uploaded to Demandstar.com E-Bidding System prior to 10:00AM, May 13, 2026.
Hand-delivery, mailed, faxed or emailed submissions will not be accepted.
The City seeks to establish a relationship with a qualified certified public accounting firm for
the City's auditing services and financial statement preparation. Maintaining open and
frequent two-way communication between the successful firm and the City is essential.
Both parties will establish services and service levels through contract or written agreement,
ensure receiving timely responses, establishing fair pricing and compensation, and
upholding the highest ethical standards.
Instructions, Exhibits A-H and Response Form, Attachment A to this Request for
Proposal are required as part of the submittal.
CONTACT
Questions during the proposal period shall be submitted in writing to Purchasing Specialist,
Wanda Weaks, wweaks@fbfl.org. Respondents are hereby put on notice that no
contact shall be made with any of the City Commission members, City Manager other
City staff, or others that may be involved in the selection process to discuss this
request or to influence the outcome of the selection.
Responses to questions considered material to the solicitation shall be distributed via formal
addenda and posted to the City of Fernandina Beach's website; www.fbfl.us/bids, Bid Posting
web page and to DemandStar website www.demandstar.com. It is the Respondent's
responsibility to check the City's website for Addenda prior to submitting their proposal.
Any interpretations, clarifications, or changes will be made in the form of written addenda
issued by the Purchasing Specialist and posted on the City Website at www.fbfl.us/bids and to
DemandStar website at www.demandstar.com.
Any oral communications will not be authoritative and will not be binding on the City. It is the
sole responsibility of the Respondent to visit the City's website prior to submitting a proposal
to ascertain if any addenda have been issued, to obtain all such addenda, and to return
Acknowledged Addenda with each proposal.
If there is an Addendum it becomes part of the original RFP and shall be acknowledged by
attaching a copy of the Addendum, signed by an authorized representative of the person or
company submitting the proposal. Failure to do so may disqualify the submittal.
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CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH, FL
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #26-05
INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION
All Respondent are advised that under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, all responses are
deemed a public record and open to the public as provided for in said statute.
CONTRACT PERIOD
All services shall be provided for a three-year period, with two one-year renewals by mutual
agreement with negotiated changes, for a total potential contract length of five years.
2. ANTICIPATED SCHEDULE
As of the date of the issuance of this RFP, the timetable presented below provides the
operative guidelines for the sequence of anticipated events. Should a change be required,
the City will post such notification via the City's website at www.fbfl.us/bids and
www.demandstar.com. This schedule is approximate. All dates are subject to change at the
discretion of the City of Fernandina Beach.
Apr 07, 2026 Commission selects Evaluation Committee.
Apr 17, 2026 Request for Proposals Published
Apr 30, 2026 5:00pm Deadline for email questions to be submitted.
May 07, 2026 5:00pm Deadline for City's answers to be published.
May 13, 2026 10:00am Proposal Opening-Deadline for Receipt of Submittals.
May 26, 2026 Committee evaluation scores submitted to Purchasing Specialist.
May 29, 2026 10:00am Evaluation Committee meeting to discuss and finalize
scores.
Jun 02, 2026 Resolution and Summary added to Commission Agenda.
Jun 16, 2026 City Commission Decision/Approval to negotiate.
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CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH, FL
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #26-05
INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION
3. ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to respond to this solicitation, the proposing firm or principals must
demonstrate that they, or the principals assigned to the project, have successfully provided
services similar in magnitude to those specified in the Scope of Services section of this
solicitation to at least one city similar in size and complexity to the City of Fernandina Beach
or can demonstrate they have the experience with large scale private sector clients and the
managerial and financial ability to successfully perform the services. The proposing firm
shall also demonstrate the following:
a. The Respondent shall have been continuously engaged in the business of providing
Audit Services and Financial Statement preparation to local governments for at least
five years.
b. The Respondent has no conflict of interest with regard to any other work performed
by the firm for the City of Fernandina Beach.
4. AGREEMENT TERMS AND RENEWALS
The initial contract term shall be for a period of three years with the option to renew the
contract for two additional one-year periods, for a total potential contract length of five years.
The option for renewal shall only be exercised upon mutual written agreement by both
parties and upon approval by the City Commission. All terms, conditions and unit prices
shall remain the same as the original agreement, unless mutually agreed upon in writing.
5. SCOPE OF SERVICES
The Auditor is required to audit and to express an opinion on the fair presentation of the
financial statements of the governmental activities, the business-type activities, each major
fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information, including the related notes to the
financial statements, which collectively comprise the basic financial statements of the City
of Fernandina Beach.
The Auditor is required to prepare the supporting schedules contained in the Annual
Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) based on auditing procedures applied during the
audit of general-purpose Financial Statements and the combining and individual fund
Financial Statements and schedules in conformity with Governmental Accounting, Auditing,
and Financial Reporting Standards published by the Government Finance Officers
Association (GAAFR).
Finance Department staff will provide analytical schedules, roll forward schedules, process
narratives and Fund Trial Balances. The preparation of confirmation letters will be the
responsibility of the City of Fernandina Beach. The City will prepare the MD&A and the
Statistical Section of the ACFR. The auditor shall also be responsible for performing certain
limited procedures involving the required Management's Discussion and Analysis (MDA)
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CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH, FL
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #26-05
INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION
and the required supplementary information required by the Government Accounting
Standards Board as mandated by Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS).
The Auditor shall provide assistance in the implementation of statements issued and
adopted by the Government Accounting Standard Board (GASB) that apply to the City of
Fernandina Beach.
The auditor may be requested to perform other auditing services at the discretion of the City.
Any such additional work agreed to between the City of Fernandina Beach and the firm shall
be performed only upon a written agreement.
The auditor, from time to time, will be requested to assist with accounting and related issues
which will require timely responses to inquiries.
6. AUDITING STANDARDS TO BE FOLLOWED
To meet the requirements of this solicitation, the audit shall be conducted in accordance
with:
a. Auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America
b. The standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing
Standards
c. The requirements of Sections 218.39 and 218.415 of the Florida Statutes and
Chapter 10.550 of the Rules of the Auditor General
d. Provisions of the OMB Uniform Guidance and the Florida Single Audit Act, Section
215.97, Florida Statutes
e. Other applicable federal, state, and local laws or regulations or professional guidance
not specifically listed above as well as any additional requirements, which may be
adopted by these organizations in the future.
7. REPORTS TO BE ISSUED
Following the completion of the audit of the fiscal year's Financial Statements, the Auditor
shall issue:
a. Report on the fair presentation of the Financial Statements in conformity with
generally accepted accounting principles.
b. Report on the internal control structure based on the Auditor's understanding of the
control structure and assessment of control risk.
c. Report on the compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
d. Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs.
e. Report on internal control over financial reporting and compliance with the provisions
of laws, regulations, contracts and award agreements, noncompliance with which
could have a material effect on the financial statements in accordance with
Government Auditing Standards.
f. Report on Compliance for Each Major Project on Internal Control over Compliance
Required by Uniform Guidance.
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CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH, FL
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #26-05
INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION
g. Report on Fraud and Illegal Acts. The Auditors shall issue an immediate written report
to the City Manager and the City Commission of all fraud and any irregularities or
illegal acts, or indications of illegal acts, of which they become aware.
h. Internal control over compliance related to major programs and an opinion (or
disclaimer of opinion) on compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the
terms and conditions of federal awards that could have a direct and material effect
on each major program in accordance with the Single Audit Act Amendments of
1996 and Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, Uniform
Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal
Awards (Uniform Guidance) or on each major state project in accordance with the
Florida State Single Audit Act and the Department of Financial Services State
Projects Compliance Supplement, as applicable.
i. Non-reportable conditions discovered by the auditors shall be reported in the
Management Letter required by Florida Statutes, which shall be referred to in the
report on internal control structure and compliance.
j. A report on compliance with requirements applicable to federal and state grants and
aids appropriations.
k. Reports as may be required to comply with Florida Statutes, Sections 215.97, and
218.39.
Use of the audited financial statements, opinions or any of the abovenamed reports will NOT
result in additional compensation unless their use requires additional certification or services
on the part of the firm.
The auditor shall submit a signed audit report on the fair presentation of the Financial
Statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
of America no later than March 31, for the previous fiscal year ending September 30, along
with the required reports on internal control structure and compliance with laws and
regulations.
8. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
The City of Fernandina Beach will annually send its ACFR to the Government Finance
Officers Association of the United States and Canada for review in their Certificate of
Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting program. It is anticipated that the auditor
will be required to provide special assistance to the City of Fernandina Beach to meet the
requirements of that program by providing technical advice to ensure awarding of
certification.
The schedules of federal and state financial assistance and related auditor's report, as well
as the reports on the internal control structure and compliance, are to be issued in
conjunction with the ACFR.
The auditor will assist the City in complying with changes in reporting requirements to remain
in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
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CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH, FL
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #26-05
INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION
The successful company selected will make "good faith effort" that any employee that works
on the City of Fernandina Beach audit will be returned each year to the City of Fernandina
Beach audit if they are employed by the Firm in their Municipal Audit Section of the Firm.
9. WORKING PAPER RETENTION AND ACCESS TO WORKING PAPERS
All working papers and reports must be retained in accordance with requirements and
procedures set forth by the General Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies as
promulgated by the Division of Archives, History and Records Management (a division of
the Florida Department of State) at the auditor's expense, unless the firm is notified in writing
by the City of Fernandina Beach of the need to extend the retention period. The auditor will
be required to make working papers available, upon request, to the following parties or their
designees:
a. City of Fernandina Beach,
b. U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO),
c. Cognizant Agency,
d. Auditors of entities of which the City of Fernandina Beach is a sub-recipient of grant
funds,
e. Parties designated by the federal or state governments or by the City of Fernandina
Beach as part of an audit quality review process.
f. In addition, the firm shall respond to the reasonable inquiries of successor auditors
and allow successor auditors to review working papers relating to matters of
continuing accounting significance. As requests for copies of working papers are
fulfilled, the auditors will be required to notify the City Comptroller of the request, as
appropriate.
10. ASSISTANCE TO BE PROVIDED BY THE CITY TO THE AUDITOR AND REPORT
PREPARATION
Finance Department staff and responsible management personnel will be available during
the audit to assist the firm by providing information, documentation, and explanations. The
preparation of confirmations will be the responsibility of the City of Fernandina Beach.
Finance Department staff will provide all data as requested. The audit firm is responsible to
format the data to accommodate their required schedules and work papers.
The City of Fernandina Beach will provide the auditor with reasonable workspace, desks,
chairs, and inquiry access to the City's financial system. The auditor will also be provided
with access to telephone lines, photocopying facilities, access to City accounting software
and internet for the on-site audit staff. The auditors will provide their own laptop computers
and necessary peripheral devices.
Any cost or charge incurred not associated with the engagement will be paid by the Auditor.
The auditor shall create all individual, combining and entity-wide Financial Statements, and
issue the Independent Auditor's Report. The City will provide the transmittal letter,
management's discussion and analysis, statistical tables and review the update to the notes
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CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH, FL
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL #26-05
INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION
to the financial statements. The auditor will assemble ACFR based upon information,
schedules, notes and statistics the City provides. The City will provide the trial balances for
each individual fund and component unit. Preparation and color printing (up to 15 copies) of
the ACFR shall be the responsibility of the Auditor and included in the cost of the basic audit.
The Auditor shall provide printed and bonded color copies with a laminated front and back
cover.
Mandatory Requirement: The Auditor shall provide a PDF formatted electronic copy of the
ACFR in a fully ADA compliant digital format using Arial 12 font.
11. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The City of Fernandina Beach (hereinafter referred to as "the City") is one of three
municipalities located in Nassau County on Florida's First Coast and is the County Seat.
Fernandina Beach, Florida is a chartered City Commission/City Manager form of municipal
government, which offers a traditional mix of services to a population of approximately
14,000. The City employs approximately 244 full-time equivalent employees with an
annual budget of $244 million including a General Fund budget of approximately $31
million.
More detailed information on the government and its finances can be found in the City's
Annual Budget document, ACFR, and Code of Ordinances available through the City Clerk's
office and the Finance Department, located at the City of Fernandina Beach, City Hall or
online at www.fbfl.us.
Fund Structure: The City of Fernandina Beach uses the following fund types and account
groups in its financial reporting:
Fund Type/Account Group Number of Funds
General Fund 1
Special Revenue Funds 13
Debt Service Fund 2
Capital Funds 3
Enterprise Funds 7
Internal Service Funds 3
Fiduciary Funds 2
The number of Funds may be increased or decre ased depending on the City's requirements.
Basis of Accounting: All Governmental Fun ds are accounted for using the modified
accrual basis of accounting. All Proprietary Funds are accounted for using the accrual basis
of accounting.
CRA: The City of Fernandina Beach has one Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)
with a base year beginning in the year 2013 and unsetting in the year 2053.
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