Contracting

The Office occasionally issues Requests for Proposals for contract audits and will post details on this page when an RFP is issued.

The Office issued an RFP for a 5 year audit contract for the University of Utah Research Foundation (UURF) in mid-December of 2019.

The Office recently awarded a contract for audit services for the University of Utah Research Foundation. The contract was awarded to Squire and Company following careful review and evaluation of the proposals considering technical experience of the firm, qualifications of staff, responsiveness of proposals, and cost of the proposed audit services.

Overview of Audit Contracting with the Office of the Utah State Auditor

Various state agencies are audited by independent CPA firms in order to assist the Office in completing the State’s annual financial and compliance audit in a timely manner.  The independent audits are performed under contract with the Office of the Utah State Auditor.

Decision to Contract for an Audit

The decision to contract for an audit is based on various factors including:

• Deadlines for issuance of the audit report.
• Availability of internal Office staff to meet these deadlines.
• Professional expertise required for the audit (i.e. specialized industries such as Health Care).
• Other agency requests, as needed.

When a decision has been made to contract for an audit, the following steps are followed:

1. The Office issues a Request for Proposal (RFP) inviting CPA firms that have expressed interest in performing state audits to submit a bid proposal.
2. Bid proposals are received and evaluated by the Office and the state agency to be audited.
3. The Office consults with the state agency to determine the best bid proposals based on cost, industry experience, CPA firm expertise and qualifications, and prior experience with the CPA firm.
4. CPA firms are notified of acceptance / rejection of their bids.
5. Contract for services is prepared by the Office and signed by the Office, CPA firm, auditee, and oversight entity (if applicable).

Firm Qualifications

To qualify to perform audits of State agencies under contract with the Office, the CPA firm must:

• Be properly licensed for public practice as a CPA firm in the State of Utah.
• Be independent of the State agency in accordance with the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct – Independence Rule.
• Meet the requirements of Government Auditing Standards, published by the U.S. General Accountability Office, including, continuing professional education, independence, internal quality control, and external triennial peer review.
• Agree to notify the Office of changes of partner, manager, supervisor, or other senior personnel assigned to the engagement.
• Agree to not accept other auditing or non-auditing work with the agency without the approval of the Office.
• Agree to not discriminate against any individual because of race, color, religion, age, sex, disability, or national origin, and that these shall not be a factor in consideration for employment, selection for training, promotion, transfer, recruitment, rates of pay, or other forms of compensation, demotion, or separation.
• Agree to make all working papers available to the Office and provide copies of the working papers as requested by the Office.

Auditing Standards

Audits

Audits contracted for the Office must be performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards established by the AICPA, and Government Auditing Standards established by the U.S. General Accountability Office.

Other Engagements

Other engagements associated with the above audits may be included in the contract, such as NCAA Agreed-upon Procedures, Bond compliance reports, and Attestation engagements.

These engagements must be performed in accordance with other engagement standards established by the AICPA and when applicable Government Auditing Standards.

Contracting Schedule

The fact that an agency is currently being audited by an independent CPA firm is not a guarantee that it will continue to be. In addition, all contracts may be cancelled at will by either the Office or the CPA firm upon 60 days written notice.

Standard Contract

All CPA firms performing audit work for State agencies under the direction of the Office must sign a standard contract for service. The contract specifies the audit requirements, including reporting due date, as well as the audit fee.

Contacts

With questions or if a firm would like to be on the list to receive notification of issued RFP’s, please contact:
Mandy Teerlink,Technical Writer
(801) 538-1363
mteerlink@utah.gov