Tax and Audit Services

A.      Purpose  

Invest PGH Inc. (“IPGH”) is seeking proposals from licensed Certified Public Accounting firms (“qualified firms”) to provide auditing and tax services for the years 2020 through 2026 (IPGH’s fiscal year ends December 31st). Specifically, this will include audits of various financial statements and the preparation of federal tax forms, including Internal Revenue Service Form 990, as well as any state tax forms. Qualified firms may submit proposals for one or both services. IPGH reserves the right to award these services in whole or in part.  

B.      Background on IPGH  

IPGH is an affiliate of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (“URA”) and an emerging Community Development Financial Institution (“CDFI”). IPGH’s mission is to promote and create economic and community development opportunities for underserved persons and low and moderate-income communities in the City of Pittsburgh (the “City”). IPGH achieves its mission by providing access to capital to existing businesses, residents, entrepreneurs, and neighborhood and community-based organizations involved in activities that include, but are not limited to: (i) the creation or expansion of businesses, and (ii) the creation or the retention of jobs and the creation and preservation of affordable housing. IPGH’s business activities consist of originating and servicing loans and providing technical support to its borrowers.  IPGH currently operates under an administrative agreement between the two entities.  

IPGH is certified under the Pennsylvania Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988, as amended, exclusively for charitable, scientific, or educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. IPGH received its 501(c)(3) designation from the Internal Revenue Service in April 2020.

In the coming year, IPGH expects to receive CDFI designation from the U.S. Department of Treasury, continue capital raising activities by targeting private, public, and philanthropic sources of funds, deploy capital into disinvested neighborhoods within the City with the previously mentioned goal of providing capital in order to encourage the development and expansion of underserved businesses and individuals and the preservation of affordable housing.

Yearly, IPGH requires the following services:

• Audit the financial statements of the Invest PGH Inc. for each year ending December 31st with December 31, 2020 as the first year for which services are required under this RFP and December 31, 2026 as the final year for which services are required under this RFP. The audit must be in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAS).   
• Prepare a Management Letter based on the results of the audit. ·         Prepare the audit report and the related required communications and present the audit report in person to IPGH’s Board of Directors.
• Prepare federal and state tax forms and advise on tax reporting as a non-profit CDFI.
• Coordinate with associated consultants who are reporting to the CDFI fund and bookkeepers for the organization.

A.      Firm’s Identifying Information

1.       Identify the full legal name, address, and type of legal entity (e.g., corporation, partnership, limited partnership, trust, joint venture, sole proprietorship) with whom the contract will be entered into and all trade names/assumed names, which are used by that entity.  

2.       Current W-9 Form

3.       Name and telephone number of the representative of the respondent who is authorized to discuss and/or negotiate his/her company’s proposal.

B.      Identifying Information of the Firm’s Staff, Affiliates, and Contractors Involved in Providing the Requested Services

1.       Provide brief resumes of the individuals in your firm who would be assigned to provide the requested services to IPGH.

2.       Identify the lead person who will be responsible for coordinating the required services, as well as third party contractors, if any. Provide job descriptions for each position that would be involved in the performance of any contract resulting from this RFP and indicate the responsibilities and qualifications of such personnel. Indicate how much time each person will dedicate to the project described in this RFP. Provide an organizational chart by job title for those individuals assigned to provide relevant services.

3.       Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Participation (MWBE)   Proposals must include a MWBE narrative. Respondents are required to state as succinctly as possible what, specifically, your firm is doing to promote opportunities for minority and women professionals within your organization. MWBE participation can be satisfied by:  

          a.        Ownership or Partnership of firm;  

          b.        Employment level of minorities and/or women in the firm;

          c.        Staffing of minorities and/or women on URA matters;  

          d.        Use of minority or women-owned businesses as vendors;  

          e.        Subcontracting with firms owned and controlled by minorities and/or women. If this is to be done, that fact, and the name of the proposed subcontracting firms, must be clearly identified in the proposal.  

C.      Relevant References  

1.       Provide a list of the firm’s clients over the last three (3) calendar years (client name, address, phone number, and contact person).  

2.       Provide a brief description of the scope of work performed for each client identified in the list.  

D.      Description/Detailing of Firm’s Qualifications to Provide the Requested Services  

1.       Description/Detailing of audit and tax services  

          a.        Detail your firm’s experience/expertise in loan portfolio tax reporting with multiple sources.  

          b.        Describe how your firm will approach the audit of the organization, including the areas that will receive primary emphasis.  

          c.        Detail your firm’s capacity to provide the requested services, including how the firm will continue providing services should the firm experience staff turnover.

          d.        Detail your firm’s technical approach, including the firm’s use of technology in providing audit and tax services.

          e.        Detail your firm’s familiarity with the CDFI program and related tax, audit, and accounting practices and restrictions. Include any details related to the firm’s experience providing the requested services CDFIs.

          f.         Detail your firm’s employment of minority or women consultants, and/or employment of MWBE firms as primary or sub-consultants.

2.       Explanation of timing of services  

          a.        Please explain how much time will be spent on bookkeeping activities and how regular check entries, wires, and check requests will be handled. Also, please explain your process for providing reports and your support during regular audits and for tax filing.  

3.       Fee Schedule

          a.        Please provide a fee structure that is reflective of the scope of work required and can be broken down into monthly or yearly payments.

A.      RFP Timetable  

1.       RFP advertisement:                                   October 26, 2020  

2.       Proposals due date:                                   November 30, 2020 by 9am  

3.       Anticipated award date:                             December 21, 2020  

4.       Commencement of contract(s):                 December 28, 2020  

B.      Submission Requirements

1.       The firm shall submit one response electronically to the attention of the emails below. Responses should not exceed twenty (20) pages.

2.       Submissions must be delivered by the time indicated below by email or electronic delivery. Submissions lacking one or more of the requested documents may be considered irregular. IPGH reserves the right to reject any irregular submission and reserves the right to waive any irregularity in submissions. It is the firm's sole responsibility to read and interpret this RFP and the written instructions contained herein. Questions should be directed to:   Rebecca Davidson-Wagner (President, Invest PGH Inc.) at rwagner@ura.org and James Reid (Research & Funding Analyst) at jreid@ura.org   Submissions should be directed to: Rebecca Davidson-Wagner (President, Invest PGH Inc.) at rwagner@ura.org and James Reid (Research & Funding Analyst) at jreid@ura.org

3.       Responses are due on or before November 30, 2020 by 9 AM. Responses to the RFP that are not received prior to the time and date specified will be considered late. LATE RESPONSES WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR AWARD.  

C.      Restrictions  

1.       Information Information contained herein shall be considered as clear and complete unless written attention is called to any apparent discrepancy or omission thereof before the opening of proposals.  

2.       Proposal Preparation Costs All costs incurred in the preparation and presentation of the proposal shall be wholly absorbed by the proposer. All supporting documentation submitted with the proposal will become the property of IPGH unless otherwise requested by the proposer at the time of submission. The proposal and documentation submitted may be subject to the PA Right-to-know Act of 2008, and the proposer understands and consents to the release thereof should said Act so require and/or should IPGH exercise discretion to release such information.  

3.       Debarred, Suspended and Ineligible Organizations   The proposer certifies by submission of a proposal that it is not a debarred, suspended, or ineligible organization by any agency of federal, state or local government. No proposal received from a debarred, suspended, or ineligible organization will qualify for an award from IPGH.   In addition, any arrearage on City taxes shall make the proposer ineligible for consideration.  

4.       Organization Selection

          a.        IPGH will be the sole judge as to which proposals best meet the selection criteria. The selection of the professional service provider is subject to action by IPGH’s Board of Directors. The organization selected will be chosen on the basis of the greatest benefit to IPGH based on, but not limited to, the following criteria:  

                  i.            Experience/Expertise, including the role of certified public accountants involved in performing the work.  

                  ii.           Fee Structure/Price  

                  iii.          Expertise  

                  iv.          Capacity  

                  v.           Technical approach  

                  vi.          MWBE participation

          b.       IPGH reserves at its sole discretion the right to reject any or all proposals received, waive any submission requirements contained within this RFP, or waive any irregularities in any submitted proposal. The final selection of the firm(s) shall be made by the IPGH’s Board of Directors.