Appointment as Public Accountant and for the Provision of External Audit and Advisory Services

This RFP is intended to obtain proposals from responding firms (“respondents”) for an appointment as public accountant and for the provision of external audit and advisory services for the fiscal year commencing August 1, 2018, with the possibility of annual renewals thereafter.

Issue Date: May 16, 2018

Response Deadline: June 7, 2018 at 5 PM Eastern

Interviews of select respondents – June 22, 2018

Selection to be announced – By end of October 2018

Inquiries and Submissions Should Be Directed to Howard Maker, Commissioner & CEO, howard.maker@ccts-cprst.ca

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Background

The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services Inc. (“CCTS”) is constituted without share capital under Section 211 of the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act.  It was created in 2007 with a mandate to resolve complaints from consumers and small-business customers about their retail telecommunications services, including local and long distance telephone, internet access and wireless services.  On September 1, 2017, the organization’s mandate was expanded to include complaints related to subscription television services, at which time the organization adopted its current name.  All Canadian telecommunications service providers and all licensed television service providers[1] must participate in CCTS. The organization’s head office is located in Ottawa, ON.

CCTS operates on a not-for-profit basis and, as such, is exempt from income tax pursuant to section 149 (1)(l) of the Income Tax Act. It is fully funded by its Participating Service Providers based on a funding formula detailed in the Participation Agreement, which service providers execute upon becoming CCTS participants.

More information about CCTS, along with our Annual Reports (which include our financial statements), is available at www.ccts-cprst.ca.

Scope of Services

The 2018-19 audit is to be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, and the financial statements are to be prepared in accordance with Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations.

The appointment may also involve the provision of related financial advisory services from time to time, as may be required.

The organization’s fiscal year end is July 31. The audit will be conducted as soon thereafter as possible. The selected candidate will be required to:

• meet with the Audit Committee Chair after July 31, 2019 to plan the audit;
• provide draft financial statements for review by the CCTS Audit Committee no later than the end of September 2019;
• attend a meeting of the Audit Committee to deliver and discuss the statements;
• deliver the draft financial statements as reviewed by the Audit Committee to CCTS at least 10 days prior to the organization’s Annual General Meeting, which takes place on a date to be determined in October 2019; and
• provide two versions of the final financial statements, one in each Official Language, within 5 days of approval of the statements at the CCTS Annual General Meeting.

RFP Process

Who May Respond – Any firm licensed to provide professional auditing services.  Preference will be given to respondents with a fully staffed office in Ottawa, ON.

How to Respond – All responses are to be submitted by email in PDF or MS Word format, together with any supplementary materials, to the email address on the cover of this document.  Responses should be limited to a maximum of 5 pages, not including attachments provided in response to items 4 and 5 under “Response Outline” below.  Responses must be received by CCTS no later than the date and time specified on the cover of this document.

Questions – CCTS wishes to ensure that all potential respondents have access to the same information in formulating their responses.  Any respondent wishing to be copied on CCTS’ responses to questions asked by other potential respondents prior to the response deadline is invited to provide an email address to which all questions and responses will be copied.

Response Outline

In responding to this RFP, respondents should provide, at a minimum, the following information and supporting documentation.  This proposed structure is intended to minimize the efforts of respondents and their analysis by CCTS.

1. Respondent Background Information, including firm size, structure, areas of practice, and demonstrated capacity to deliver services in both Official Languages;
2. Respondent’s experience and expertise in the provision of audit services in the not-for-profit sector;
3. Two or more relevant references;
4. Identification of individual who will manage the relationship with CCTS;
5. Identification of professionals who will participate in the delivery of audit services (with accompanying CVs and biographical information);
6. Audit approach and strategy;
7. Quality control procedures, confirmation of independence, and conflicts of interest;
8. Proposed fee for the full audit service, including estimates for future years; and
9. Hourly rates of professionals identified in items 4 and 5, as well as rates charged by their support staff, in the event of requests for additional advisory services

Evaluation Criteria

As at the date of issue, CCTS intends to review and evaluate responses based on the following criteria and scoring:

RFP RULES

• The RFP does not represent any commitment on behalf of CCTS, nor is it a commitment to purchase.  The RFP, any acceptance and any proposal selected will be non-binding and will be subject to further negotiations between the parties. Any oral undertaking will have no legal standing unless confirmed in writing.
• CCTS may choose, in its discretion, not to respond to expressions of interest or any responses to this RFP or any proposal(s) relating to or arising from the RFP. All questions received from potential respondents prior to the RFP submission deadline, and any answers which CCTS provides to them, will be distributed on a periodic basis prior to the RFP submission date to all respondents who provide an email address and request to receive them.
• CCTS reserves the right to terminate this RFP or dismiss any response at any time.
• Responses that are not complete or that exceed the maximum length specified herein may not be considered.
• CCTS reserves the right to:
  • reject any or all of the response(s), quotation(s) or proposal(s), for any reason whatsoever
  • select all or any part of a quotation for further negotiations
  • negotiate and/or request re-submission of all or part of a particular response, quotation or proposal from one or more respondents, and to reject or not to consider any re-submission.
• CCTS may select any, all or none of the responses, quotations or proposals submitted, in the sole discretion of CCTS.  CCTS shall not be obliged or bound to accept or reject any response, quotation or proposal that is:
  • compliant or not compliant with selection criteria
  • the lowest priced, even for identical items
  • received later than the indicated response deadlines
• CCTS shall not be obligated to explain its final selection of respondent(s) or disclose anything about the responses, quotations or proposals received or selected.
• Any request for date extensions must be obtained in writing. CCTS will evaluate the request and, if an extension is granted, notify the requesting respondent.  CCTS is not obligated to and may or may not notify other respondents of such extension(s).
• All expenditures incurred by respondents in preparation and submission of responses and all activities relating to the RFP and any proposal(s) relating to or arising from the RFP are solely the responsibility of the respective respondents, and will not be reimbursed by CCTS in whole or in part.
• This RFP shall not be construed as a commitment by CCTS to award a contract or contracts.
• By choosing to obtain this document, respondents (as well as parties who obtain the document but decide not to respond) agree that all information provided by CCTS in connection with this RFP is strictly confidential. Such information shall be maintained in confidence and not disclosed to any third party or used for any other purpose other than responding to the RFP or any subsequent requests from CCTS, if applicable.

Information provided by CCTS is based on estimates, and is not warranted to be accurate.

[1] And their related exempt television service providers