Title
A Resolution of the City Commission accepting the recommendation of the Chief Procurement Officer to award Request for Proposals (RFP) 2026-013 for External Auditing Services to CBIZ CPAs P.C., the highest ranked responsive responsible proposer, pursuant to Section 2-763 of the Procurement Code entitled “Contract Award” and Request for Proposal (RFP) 2026-013.
Lobbyist: N/A
Body
The purpose of this RFP is to establish a contract for External Auditing Services with a qualified and experienced independent Certified Public Accountant firm (“Proposer”), licensed to practice in the State of Florida, for the purpose of providing an annual examination of the financial statements and records of the City beginning with the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026. Audits shall be conducted for the purpose of forming an opinion of the basic financial statements taken as whole and to determine whether operations were conducted in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.
On June 1, 2026, the Procurement Division of Finance formally advertised, issued, and distributed External Auditing Services, Request for Proposals (RFP) 2026-013. One hundred and forty-four (144) prospective proposers were notified of the RFP package from INFOR, the City’s web-based e-procurement system.
On July 10, 2026, six (6) firms responded in response to the RFP: CBIZ CPAs P.C., Cherry Bekaert LLP, Citrin Cooperman & Company LLP, Eide Bailly LLP, Garcia, Espinosa, Miyares, Rodriguez, Trueba & Co., LLP, and RSM US LLP.
The responses were reviewed by the Procurement Division in order to determine responsiveness to the requirements of the RFP. During the responsiveness review, it was determined by Procurement, after consulting with the City Attorney’s Office that Eide Bailly LLP, was deemed non-responsive based on their failure to demonstrate the Section 3 - State of Florida projects qualification requirement. The Procurement Division finalized its’ due diligence process and confirmed that CBIZ CPAs P.C., Cherry Bekaert LLP, Citrin Cooperman & Company LLP, Garcia, Espinosa, Miyares, Rodriguez, Trueba & Co., LLP, and RSM US LLP were all deemed to be responsive to the requirements of the RFP and responsible proposers.
On August 14, 2026, the Evaluation Committee convened to evaluate the five (5) responsive and responsible proposals and ranked the firms in the following order of preference: CBIZ CPAs P.C. (first ranked), Citrin Cooperman & Company LLP (second ranked), RSM US LLP (third ranked), Cherry Bekaert LLP (fourth ranked), and Garcia, Espinosa, Miyares, Rodriguez, Trueba & Co., LLP (fifth ranked). The Evaluation Committee determined that CBIZ CPAs P.C., was the highest ranked responsive-responsible proposer to provide the requested services.
The Committee further recommended that, if negotiations fail with CBIZ CPAs P.C., negotiations could be conducted with the next two (2) ranked firms, Citrin Cooperman & Company LLP and RSM US LLP. until an Agreement satisfactory to the City is achieved.
The Chief Procurement Officer recommends accepting the Evaluation Committee’s recommendation to award and negotiate an agreement with CBIZ CPAs P.C. for RFP 2026-013 External Auditing Services for an initial period of three (3) years with the option to renew for three (3) additional one (1) year period in an amount not to exceed the available budget or utilize an alternate method to negotiate a contract that is satisfactory to the City.
Recommended Action
Approve