Request for Proposals: Corporation for Supportive Housing Retirement Plan 403(b)

Introduction

1. Objective

Corporation for Supportive Housing (“CSH”) is accepting proposals from CPA firms for a limited scope audit related to its employee 403(b) retirement plan.

Founded in 1991, CSH’s mission is to advance solutions that use housing as a platform for services to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people, maximize public resources and build healthy communities.  Our work stems from our fundamental belief that supportive housing—affordable housing combined with services—is the solution to ending homelessness for those individuals who face the most complex challenges, such as physical and behavioral health conditions and substance use disorders.  Read more about CSH online at www.csh.org.

2. CSH’s Rights and Options

CSH reserves the following rights which may be exercised at CSH’s own discretion:

a. To supplement, amend, substitute, or otherwise modify this Request for Proposal (RFP), including the schedule, or to cancel this RFP, at any time;

b. To take any action affecting this RFP, this RFP process, or the services or facilities subject to this RFP that would be in the best interests of CSH;

c. To require one or more service providers to supplement, clarify or provide additional information to assist in CSH’s evaluation of the submitted proposals;

d. To conduct investigations with respect to the qualifications, experience, capabilities, and financial standing of each service provider;

e. To waive any defect or irregularity in any proposal received;

f. To reject any or all proposals;

g. To share the proposals with CSH employees and contractors in addition to the Evaluation Committee as deemed necessary by CSH;

h. To award all, none, or any part of the services and enter into contracts with one or more of the respondents deemed by CSH to be in the best interest of CSH, which may be done with or without re-solicitation;

i. To discuss and negotiate with any respondent(s) their proposal terms and conditions, including, but not limited to, financial terms;

j. To terminate discussions and negotiations with any respondent at any time and for any reason; and

k. To enter into any contract deemed by CSH to be in the best interest of the CSH, with one or more of the respondents.

3. Terms and Conditions

a. CPA firm will meet all reasonable deadlines for completion of annual audit within the agreed upon time frame, including the October 16, 2023 filing deadline for the 2022 audit;

b. If, through any cause, the CPA firm shall fail to fulfill the obligations agreed to in a timely and proper manner, CSH shall have the right to terminate its contract by specifying the date of termination in a written notice to the Provider at least thirty (30) days before the termination date. In this event, the Provider shall be entitled to just and equitable compensation for any satisfactory work completed;

c. The CPA firm shall not assign any interest in the contract and shall not transfer any interest in the same without prior written consent of CSH.

d. Insurance Requirements: The selected CPA firm shall carry and keep in force throughout the periods in which the audit services are provided a comprehensive general liability, workers’ compensation, employer’s liability insurance, errors and omissions in the amounts and form as required to do business in the State of New York. The awarded CPA firm must furnish a Certificate of Insurance to CSH prior to commencement of services. The CPA firm shall also furnish a certification of said insurance to CSH certifying that CSH will be given thirty (30) days written notice of non-renewal, cancellation, or other material change.

e. The CPA firm can be located anywhere in the United States, and the services may be provided virtually.  CSH subcontractors cannot have existing, pending, or expired debarments that preclude them from doing business with the United States government and cannot have convictions for, nor have any pending indictments for, fraud or a criminal offense in connection with a public contract or subcontract. 

Procurement Process

The following chart shows the schedule of events for this Request for Proposal. The key deadlines for this process follow:

Questions may be submitted to Eileen A. Hawes, Chief Financial Officer at eileen.hawes@csh.org.

Please note that the contract may be renewed for a one-year period for two terms.

Proposals must be submitted with the following information clearly notated in the subject line of the email: “Response to CSH Employee 403(b) Retirement Plan Audit”.

When received, all proposals and supporting materials, as well as correspondence relating to this RFP, shall become the property of CSH.

No responsibility will be attached to CSH and its affiliates for prematurely opening proposals not properly addressed or identified. Each proposer is solely responsible for the timely delivery of their proposals. Proposers accept all risks of late delivery regardless of fault. Any proposals received after the date and time specified shall not be considered.

Proposal Submission

Please submit your proposal no later than the close of business on July 18, 2023.  Proposals shall be emailed and addressed to the following:

Eileen A. Hawes

Chief Financial Officer

CSH

eileen.hawes@csh.org

Project Scope

Our current employee count of 175 requires us to solicit bids for an annual audit of the plan. The retirement plan committee assumes the fiduciary responsibility of selecting the firm based on the bid responses, in order to be compliant with all ERISA and DOL regulations. CSH is soliciting proposals for a limited scope audit related to its employee retirement plans. CPA firms submitting proposals must provide audit services as required by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.

The Plan's Form 5500 is prepared by the Plan Administrator, Principal Financial Services, Inc., and should not be included in the bidder's scope of work.

CPA Firm Requirements

We seek a vendor who will become thoroughly knowledgeable of our organization and our employees’ retirement needs, and one who is:

I. Proactive – offering specific solutions to help us maximize CSH’s retirement benefits to employees;

II. Creative – presenting new ideas regarding possible plan design and administrative improvements;

III. Responsive – responding to administrative and participant requests in a timely fashion; and

IV. Professional – exhibiting at all times an ethical, meticulous, and highly-detailed oriented manner.

Current Plan Provisions and Statistics

The relevant current plan provisions and statistics of our plan are summarized as follows:

Plan Details

Audit Proposal Content

A. FIRM BACKGROUND

Include years in business as a Certified Public Accounting firm; size and structure; prior experience auditing 403(b) entities of similar size and with sources of revenue similar to that of CSH; and any other information which you consider relevant to CSH’s better understanding of your firm.

B. SUGGESTED AUDIT APPROACH SUMMARY

Include testing/methods used; how you will consult with our staff during and after the audit engagement; your firm’s policy and procedures for notifying an organization’s officials of suspected illegal acts and malfeasance; a preliminary listing of schedules requested from clients by your firm; and audit review procedures conducted by your staff (field, manager, partner).

C. AUDIT TEAM COMPOSITION

Include the proposed audit team; number of years with the firm; level of responsibility within the firm; CPA status; approximate percentage of time spent on the audit by each member of the proposed audit team; and types of clients served.

D. SUPERVISION

Include the professional experience in non-profit audits of each senior and higher level person anticipated to be assigned to the audit; and the anticipated percentages of time each senior and higher level personnel will be on site or otherwise overseeing execution of audit procedures.

E. QUALITY CONTROL AND PEER REVIEW

Include participation in AICPA-sponsored or comparable quality control programs and whether the firm is or has been the subject of any DOL findings or referrals, or any AICPA or State Society Ethics referrals. The firm shall detail the nature of any current litigation and provide its latest Peer Review Report, Letter of Comments and firm’s response, if any.

F. REFERENCES AND EXPERIENCE

Include at least three (3) client references for which you have provided similar services on a contractual basis during the last two years, including name, address, contact, phone number, email and a short description; provide a narrative detailing prior experience auditing 403(b) retirement programs; and discuss whether your firm has experience auditing prototype plans administered by the Principal Financial Group.

G. EPB SCALE

Include the scale of Employee Benefit Plan (EPB) clients the firm currently audits. For example, provide the number of plan audits similar in size to CSH’s 403(b) retirement plan.

H. PROPOSED AUDIT FEE

Include the number of hours at each staff level/hourly rate for each audit team member, along with the estimated number of hours for the audit; provide the annual audit fee for fiscal year ending 2022, 2023, and 2024 to include labor, expenses, and any out-of-pocket costs (this price will be a guaranteed fixed cost for an additional two years, with no escalation for 2023 and 2024).

I. SUPPLEMENTARY NARRATIVE

To foster creativity, respondents are encouraged to provide a narrative describing any options, alternatives, or other opportunities not addressed in the RFP that, in the respondent’s opinion, would strengthen CSH’s employee retirement programs.

EVALUATION OF AUDIT PROPOSALS

CSH will evaluate audit proposals on a qualitative basis. This includes our review of the firm’s peer review report and related materials, interviews with senior engagement personnel to be assigned to our organization, results of discussions with other clients, and the firm’s completeness and timeliness in its response to us.