RFP: Financial Auditor

The Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) is seeking a certified public accounting firm to audit its annual financial statements for Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 2023 – 2027, with an option to extend the contract for up to two years.

LACERA as a California Public Retirement System is required to furnish audited financial statements to the State Controller annually (see CA Government Code 7501-7504). To assist your firm in estimating the level of effort required to render an opinion on the compliance requirements, the Minimum Audit Requirements and Reporting Guidelines for Public Retirement Systems issued by the State of California Controller’s Office are available at Min Audit Requirements (CA Gov). LACERA’s financial accounting transactions are recorded on a modified accrual basis, using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and it’s financial statements prepared in accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) requirements. Additionally, the audit must be performed in accordance with Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) as set forth by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards (GAS).

Scope of Work

The selected Financial Auditor (AUDITOR) would provide the following services:

Perform an audit and express an opinion on the fair presentation of LACERA’s annual financial statements, which include the following:
- Pension Trust
- OPEB Trust
- OPEB Custodial Fund
Prepare a report on LACERA’s internal control over financial reporting.
Perform an audit and express an opinion on the fair presentation of LACERA’s GASB 68 schedule.
Perform an audit and express an opinion on the fair presentation of the schedule of changes in fiduciary net position by employer for Los Angeles County's portion of the OPEB Trust.
Review the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report against the guidelines for the Government Financial Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.
Perform special projects as requested and defined by LACERA.

AUDITOR will coordinate with the external, financial auditors of the County and with LACERA's actuary to provide the County the information and data needed for accurate and timely completion of the County's annual financial statements. AUDITOR will comply fully with SAS No. 122, Statements on Auditing Standards: Clarification and Recodification, AU-C section 600, Audits of Group Financial Statements.

Submission Requirements

Response to this RFP should be submitted no later than 5:00 PM PDT on January 3, 2023. Send an electronic copy in PDF format via email to namick@lacera.com.

If Respondent requires any confidential information to be exempt from public disclosure, then submissions should also include one electronic copy marked “REDACTED”. The redacted copy should redact all material from the proposal that the respondent believes in good faith is exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act, (California Government Code section 6250 et seq. the “Act”). Individual redactions should appear as blacked out material. Large sections, tables, or entire blank page(s) shall include the word “REDACTED” or “PROPRIETARY” inserted. Each respondent must indicate the basis for each redaction under the Act (defined below) with a citation to the code section and subsection relied upon. LACERA cannot guarantee that redacted information will not be publicly available, and LACERA reserves the right in its sole discretion to produce the entire RFP without redaction. Please see the “Notice to Respondents Regarding the Public Records Act AND RALPH M. BROWN ACT” (section 5 of the RFP) for further information. An electronic copy of both the original and the redacted response, each labeled accordingly.

Questions Relating to This RFP

All questions, inquiries, and requests for additional information concerning this RFP should be received no later than 5:00PM PDT, December 8, 2022, and should be emailed to Nathan Amick at namick@lacera.com. All questions received and responses thereto will be posted on LACERA’s website (www.lacera.com) under the "Business Opportunities" section that relates to this RFP on or about 5:00PM PDT, December 15, 2022.

Tentative Timeline

The following table provides a tentative schedule of important dates and deadlines for this RFP. All dates are subject to modification by LACERA without notice.