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HomeMy WebLinkAboutE- 5 Audit Services Contract • IFrill. AZUSA CONSENT CALENDAR TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: MARCIE MEDINA, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE VIA: RICK COLE, CITY MANAGER Ze DATE: MARCH 4, 2002 SUBJECT: AUDIT SERVICES CONTRACT RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council approve the proposal for audit services from Lance, Soli • &Lunghard for a new three year contract with a one year option renewal BACKGROUND The City conducted an extensive interview process in evaluating proposals for auditing services four years ago. The City then appointed Lance, Soli &Lungard Certified Public Accountants for audit services for four years ending with fiscal year ending June 30, 2001. Changing auditors involves a training period, during which the auditors become familiar with the City and staff. It took our current auditors at least three years to get familiar with Azusa's accounting system, policies &procedures and to build good interaction with City staff. For these reasons, staff is recommending that the City extend the current agreement with Lance, Soil &Lunghard for an additional three years with an option to renew for one additional year. At the conclusion of this period, staff will rebid the service to insure high quality audit services in the future. FISCAL IMPACT First year services will total $56,002 and will be included in the Finance Department's FY2003 operating budget. The agreement calls for a modest (approximately 2%) increase per year with a maximum price of $60,200 in the fourth year of service. l1L3.am@ 03 2North B3rea Boulevard �„ 4. Suite 20lllr icimme 6 Brea,CA 92821-4056 1,�I 701n ),�Lunghard (714)672 0022 ,i LLP Fax (714) 672-0331 \1 /# RSARy CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS www.Islcpas.com pNxly 1949-19991999 Brandon W.Burrows Donald L.Parker Michael K.Chu David E.Hale A Professional Corporation January 31, 2002 Donald G.Slater Richard K.Kikuchi Retired Robert C.Lance 1914-1994 Richard C.Soil Marcie Medina Fred192-Lu9nghard,Jr. Director of Finance City of Azusa 213 E. Foothill Blvd Azusa, CA 91702-1395 .:-- _ _s_ Dear Ms. Medina: As you are aware, our contract with the City of Azusa for auditing services will expire with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001. Over the past four years, we have provided the City and Redevelopment Agency with auditing and accounting services which: • Produced a CAFR meeting all the requirements necessary to receive the Government Finance Officer's and California Society of Municipal Officer's Award for excellence in financial reporting. • Met all Federal and State filing requirements for various audits and reports, including the State Controller's Office requirements for the Redevelopment Agency's Controller's Report. • Provided assistance and information to your staff and helpful recommendations to management, when requested. We have made it a priority to provide the City of Azusa and the Azusa Redevelopment Agency with the best service available and we would like to continue to provide this level of service to the City and Agency. Since we are familiar with your accounting system, we will be able to perform an efficient audit, which will benefit the City and Agency with continuity of firm personnel and minimal disruption to City staff during the audit. In addition, we have structured staff rotation in your engagement so that the City will always receive a fresh look at its system and records. As you well know, the City of Azusa will be implementing GASB 34 during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003. Lance,Soll & Lunghard, LLP will guide you through this entire process. Because of our familiarity with your system and personnel, we feel that this transition process will be a smooth one. Therefore, we will provide this assistance to the City of Azusa at MEMBER CALIFORNIA SOCIETY OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS LS Lane Soil cs Lura c: rd LIP CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS Ms. Marcie Medina, Finance Director City of Azusa Audit Proposal January 31, 2002 Page 2 no extra charge. We anticipate holding an initial GASB 34 meeting to establish benchmarks and a schedule for the next two years in the month of January of 2002. Toward this end, we would like to propose a new three-year contract with a one year option to provide continuous and undisrupted auditing services to the City of Azusa. This contract would start with the 2001-02 fiscal year and would end with the 2004-05 fiscal year. With regard to fees for our services, we have kept the first year constant and then incorporated a minimal increase. As noted before, we will provide GASB 34 implementation assistance at no extra charge to the City. Our proposed fee schedule for the next four years are as follow: 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 City of Azusa $ 24,110 $ 24,800 $ 25,500 $ 26,300 Azusa Redevelopment Agency 10,158 10,500 10,800 11,100 Azusa Public Financing Authority 1,340 1,400 1,400 1,400 Single Audit 4,900 5,000 5,200 5,400 LA County Title III Senior Program 1,798 1,900 2,000 2,100 Head Start Program 2,039 2,100 2,200 2,300 Azusa Agricultural Water Company 1,471 1,500 1,500 1,500 Azusa Valley Water Company 2,580 2,700 2,800 2,900 Special Audits(3 per year) 5,106 5,300 5,500 5,700 City Investment Portfolio 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 Redevelopment Agency Investment Portfolio 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 Total $ 56,002 $ 56,700 $ 58,400 $ 60,200 The services to be performed, fee structure and billing methods would remain unchanged from our prior agreement. This would include the termination section that provides for termination of the agreement upon 15 days written notice from either party. Again, we look forward to continuing to provide quality services to the City and the Redevelopment Agency. To update your file, we have previously provided to you a copy of our most recent Peer Review Report, which is a quality control review of our firm by an independent CPA firm. We have just completed a current Peer Review in August of this year. We fully expect the results to be unqualified, as in the past, and we will forward the report to you as soon it is issued. Lace r!ghard LLP CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS Ms. Marcie Medina, Finance Director City of Azusa Audit Proposal January 31, 2002 Page 3 Should you or any other representative of the City of Azusa have additional questions regarding this proposal, please do not hesitate to contact us at (714) 672-0022. Very truly yours, l..o' RICHARD K. KIKUCHI, CPA PARTNER