Santa Cruz County Grand Jury • 2005-2006

Contracting for the Services of an Independent Auditor of County Finances

6 pages

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⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.

⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.

Findings 7 findings

It has been the practice of the county to request proposals for independent audit services every three or four years.

The current independent audit firm has provided services for seven years.

The 2001-2002 Santa Cruz County Grand Jury Final Report recommended that retention of an independent auditor should be reviewed every three years and changed at least every six years.

This Request for Proposal process was to select an independent auditor to prepare an annual audit for the County of Santa Cruz beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005. The contract would be awarded for one to three years, whichever would be the most cost effective for the county. - 2 Counting Your Dollars:

The independent audit firm provides various reports to the Santa Cruz County Audit Committee throughout the year. These reports require County Audit Committee review.

The Request for Proposal process began with preparation of the bid documents that: • outlined the requirements of the county; • described the basis on which the bids would be judged; and • requested the qualifications of the bidders. Invitations to Bid were sent to 44 qualifying accounting firms, locally and throughout northern and central California. Four bidders attended the bidders’ conference on December 10, 2004. Proposals were received on January 14, 2005 from all four firms present at the bidders’ conference. The proposals were evaluated according to the criteria established in the bid documents as outlined in Appendix A. Using this comprehensive criteria, the County Audit Committee recommended awarding the contract to the firm that best met the county’s needs: Bartig, Basler, and Ray.

Two members of the Santa Cruz County Grand Jury are active members of the County Audit Committee. Conclusions

Recommendations 4

R1

The County of Santa Cruz Auditor should continue to actively seek and qualify new bidders for future invitations for proposals and should update the current list.
R2

Review of the contract for independent audit services or invitation to bid should be scheduled every three years with no one firm providing services for more than two consecutive three-year contracts.
R3

The County of Santa Cruz should continue to notify the Grand Jury of County Audit Committee activities.
R4

The County Audit Committee should continue to meet at least twice each year, more frequently if needed. Counting Your Dollars: - 3