The Town of Petrolia is requesting proposals from qualified firms of Chartered Professional Accountants to audit its financial statements in accordance with the CPA Canada Handbook, the Public Sector Accounting standards and the Province of Ontario municipal reporting requirements for municipalities. The audit is to address the Municipality and its local Boards as per statutory requirements of the Municipal Act.

The responsibilities of the auditors will generally be limited to the expression of an opinion on the financial statements, discussions with respect to presentation and disclosure, comments and observations in regards to any aspect of the accounting, reporting or financial affairs of the Municipality. The proposing firm should also have the required expertise to advise and give recommendations to the Municipality if required with respect to on-going changes in reporting requirements, new property tax legislation and performance measurement issues and the physical preparation of financial statements. The auditors will also be required to make a short presentation to the draft audited financial statements (about 15 minutes) to Council. 

The Town of Petrolia is a lower tier municipality within the County of Lambton with a population of approximately 6,000. The Municipality operates under the authority of the Ontario Municipal Act as well as other legislation as appropriate. 

Audited financial statements must be provided for:

• The Corporation of the Town of Petrolia Consolidated Financial Statements
• The Corporation of the Town of Petrolia Trust Funds (Care and Maintenance of Cemetery, Englehart, Burley Fulton, and Colvin)

Town of Petrolia Departments:

CAO          Operations                Treasury/Finance

Clerk         Marketing, Arts & Communications

Facilities & Community Services     Fire

The Town of Petrolia’s financial software is Keystone. For PSAB purposes, the Municipality uses CityWide to track our Tangible Capital Assets. 

Term of Contract:

Section 296 (3) of the Municipal Act allows for the appointment of external auditors for the full five-year term, subject to satisfactory performance. However, performance will be reviewed annually and Council may in its discretion revoke the appointment upon thirty (30) days prior should there be any unsatisfactory aspect of performance. The opinion of the Municipality in this regard shall be final.

Pricing:

Contract and pricing to remain in effect for audit years 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026,. for a total of five years.

Eligibility:

Before preparing a response, candidates are advised to ensure that their firm can meet the following eligibility criteria. The firm must:

• Have significant experience (at least 10 years) in providing similar audit services and management reviews to other Ontario municipalities;
• Have well developed professional auditing techniques and a sound system of control and review of audit work performed;
• Have experienced, well –qualified staff who can work on the audit consistently from one year to the next; and
• Be licensed under the Public Accountancy Act.

Scheduling of Work:

Before October 31^st of the audit year, the Municipality’s auditors shall meet with appropriate staff members of the Municipality to discuss and agree upon a schedule for the completion of the audit on various financial statements for the audit year.  The audit shall be completed no later than June 15^th in the year following the audit year so that all financial reports of the municipality may be filed as required by legislation.  Conduct sample systems testing and document reviews twice throughout the audit year (suggest late summer and mid-fall).

Nature of Services Required:
 

Qualified Statements

The auditors shall, immediately upon discovery of information or conditions which would otherwise lead to the inclusion of a qualified opinion with respect to any of the Municipality’s financial statements, inform and fully discuss such matters with the CAO/Treasurer. 
Also, the auditors shall, as far as possible, allow a reasonable time for the CAO/Treasurer to investigate, analyze, report and take corrective action so as to avoid the inclusion of such qualification.

Meeting and Subsequent Assistance
The auditors shall attend such meetings as are called to discuss their work and reports and shall provide such information as requested which will enhance the understanding of Council members concerning matters pertaining to the annual financial statements.

Interim Review and Post-Audit Management Letter
No later than 60 days following of the audited financial statements, the auditors shall prepare and deliver to the CAO/ Treasurer a draft letter conveying their findings. The auditors shall also provide recommendations as to such corrective measures as may be required.

Adherence to the critical dates and requirements outlined within this proposal and the annual schedule will be an essential feature of satisfactory performance under the audit contract.

Minimum Services/Deliverables

The audit services provided will be in accordance with the scope of work outlined in the timeliness described.

Confidentiality

The successful auditor shall not at any time before, during or after the completion of the engagement divulge any confidential information communicated to or acquired by the Auditor or disclosed by the Municipality or its Boards in the course of carrying out the engagement. No such information shall be used by the Auditor on any other project without prior written approval.

Audit Team

The Municipality reserves the right to approve or reject members of the audit team assigned to the Municipality and further reserves the right to approve or reject any replacement staff once the original audit team has been approved.

Proposal Consent

The Request for Proposal is intended to provide a framework for the Municipality to evaluate each proposal and determine which submission most closely addresses the Municipality’s needs.

Bidders are encouraged to provide any additional information or innovative approaches not specifically outlined in the context of this proposal.

Acceptable proposals must include and be structured in the following format:

Section A- Company Acceptance

• A statement, signed and dated by an authorized signing officer, agreeing to be bound by the proposal terms, conditions and descriptions of services to be provided as stated herein, upon acceptance of the proposal by the Municipality.
• Firm Profile: Detail breadth of other audit assignments and clients; resource and support services available; strengths relevant to the audit; and information on professional memberships.
• Project Experience: A summary of past projects in municipal auditing.
• References: provide municipal client references (minimum of two).

Section B - Pricing Overview

• Overview: Completion of the Proposal Pricing Form provided.  The Municipality may produce its own Financial Information Return (FIR), and therefore a separate fee quotation is required for the FIR preparation.  The Proposal Pricing Form includes a section for FIR price proposals.  Note that out of pocket expenses shall be the responsibility of the bidding firm; eg, travel, report production, etc

Proposal Evaluation:

Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of information provided by the bidder at the time of submission as well as the previous experience of the bidder in this marketplace.

Proposals will be evaluated by an evaluation team comprised of appropriate staff members of the Municipality. The evaluation team will compile a “short list” and will contact those bidders for interviews if deemed necessary. The Municipality may ask firms to provide further information or clarification on the contents of their submissions.  The evaluation criteria may include but not be limited to the following:

1. Bidder’s statement of understanding of the project
2. Information obtained through the references provided in the submission
3. Firm’s relevant experience, as well as the project team/staff’s experience
4. Proposal Pricing Form
5. Interview
6. Compliance with the Proposal submission requirements

Conditions:

The Municipality reserves the right to discuss any and all proposals, to request additional information from proponents and to accept or reject any or all proposals.  The lowest bid proposal will not necessarily be accepted. Proposals will be evaluated and the contract awarded based on an evaluation to determine which proposal best meets the needs of the Municipality as decided upon by our Council.  The Municipality retains the right to request additional information from Bidders and failure to provide such additional information may be considered a basis for rejecting proposals.

Additional Information provided to Bidders:

• The Corporation of the Town of Petrolia Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2020 (on Town website)
  The Corporation of the Town of Petrolia Trust Funds for the year ended December 31, 2020 (on Town website)
  The Corporation of the Town of Petrolia 2020 Financial Information Return (on Town website)
  DRAFT Internal Controls Policy, upon email request to rcharlebois@petrolia.ca

Response to Questions

All inquiries and questions will be responded to in writing through Bids & Tenders issued by the CAO/Treasurer or Deputy Treasurer. 

All responses will be forwarded to all Invitees.