Financial Audit Services

Richland County (County) is seeking electronic proposals from qualified vendors to provide independent certified public accounting firms to perform the annual financial statement audit of the County for an initial term of three (3) fiscal years, with the option, at the County’s discretion, to extend the contract for two (2) additional one-year periods.

Background

Richland County is located in the center of South Carolina and covers a total area of 756 square miles. The County surrounds the state capital city of Columbia, which is also the County seat. Established in 1785, the County has grown to become home to just over 400,000 residents, and represents a thriving business, industrial, governmental, and educational center. The County employs approximately 1765 people and operates a general fund budget in excess of $100 million dollars.

The County is governed by an 11-member council, which in turn appoints an Administrator to handle daily operations and to provide professional expertise in government management. Under state law, the County is the primary governmental unit for the administration of law enforcement, justice, health, education, taxation, social service, library service, agricultural service, and the maintenance of public records.

Project Details

• Reference ID: RC-787-P-26
• Department: Finance
• Department Head: Stacey Hamm (Director of Finance)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-04-02T19:00:00.000Z

Addenda

• Addendum #1 (released 2026-03-17T18:36:02.952Z) —

  Please use the See What Changed link to view all the changes made by this addendum.

  The Question Deadline has been moved to Thursday, April 2, 2026. 

Evaluation Criteria

• Performance History (40 pts) —

  Performance History- Provide a comprehensive list of similar projects completed within the last 10 years. Provide information on personnel to be used on the project, their qualifications & past experience. The proposal is easy to understand with the greatest amount of disclosures.

• Technical Factors (25 pts) —

  Response to the proposal clearly states an understanding of the work to be performed. Appropriateness and adequacy of procedures, necessity of procedures, reasonableness of time estimates, appropriateness of assigned staff levels, timeliness of expected completion & meeting statutory deadline, ability of the firm to improve the County, number of locally based personnel for audit engagement. Proposer’s experience in governmental auditing. Qualifications of projected personnel and do they have governmental experience.

• Experience, Certification, License & Qualification (20 pts) —

  At a minimum: license to practice in the State of South Carolina, certified professional accountant, certified accountant, profile, independence, continuing education, other licenses and certifications.

• Cost (15 pts) —

  The Proposer shall submit in a separately sealed envelope the total cost for the Financial Audit Services as outlined in the scope of services. In addition, the Proposer shall include the cost to prepare the CAFR as a separate line item. It will be at the County’s discretion as to whether or not the selected proposer will prepare the CAFR.

Submission Requirements

• Statement of Assurance, Compliance and Non-collusion (required) —

  By clicking "Please confirm" below, the VENDOR hereby attests that every provision of this Statement of Assurance, Compliance and Non-collusion has been read and understood.

  The VENDOR hereby provides assurance that it’s represented in this Agreement that it:

  1. Shall comply with all requirements, stipulations, terms and conditions as stated in the Submittal/Submittal document; and
  2. Currently complies with all Federal, State, and local laws and regulations regarding employment practices, equal opportunities, industry and safety standards, performance and any other requirements as may be relevant to the requirements of this solicitation; did not participate in the development or drafting
     specifications, requirements, statement of work, etc. relating to this solicitation; and
  3. Is not guilty of collusion with other persons, entities, businesses, and the like possibly interested in this Agreement and in arriving at or determining prices and conditions; and
  4. No person associated with VENDOR is an employee of OWNER;
  5. Should VENDOR have any currently existing agreements with the OWNER, VENDOR must affirm that said contractual arrangements do not constitute a conflict of interest in this Agreement; and
  6. That the person submitting a response to this request for solicitation is an agent who is officially authorized to represent the VENDOR.
• Drug-Free Workplace Certification (required) —

  Can you certify the following?

  In accordance with Section 44-107-30, South Carolina Code of Laws (1976), as amended, and as a condition precedent to the award of the above-referenced contract, the vendor (hereinafter contractor) certifies on behalf of the contractor that the contractor will provide a drug-free workplace by:

  1. publishing a statement notifying employees that the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensations, possession, or use of a controlled substance is prohibited in the contractor’s workplace and specifying the actions that will be taken against employees for violations of the prohibition;
  2. establishing a drug-free awareness program to inform employees about:
     1. the dangers of drug abused in a workplace;
     2. the person’s policy of maintaining a drug-free workplace;
     3. any available drug counseling, rehabilitation, and employee assistance programs: and
     4. the penalties that may be imposed upon employees for drug violations;
  3. making it a requirement that each employee to be engaged in the performance of the contract be given a copy of the statement required by item (A);
  4. notifying the employee in the statement required by item (A) that, as a condition of employment on the contract or grant, the employee will:
     1. abide by the terms of the statement; and
     2. notify the employer of any criminal drug statute conviction for a violation occurring in the workplace no later than five days after the conviction;
  5. notifying Richland County within ten days after receiving notice under item (D) (2) from an employee or otherwise receiving actual notice of the conviction;
  6. imposing a sanction on, or requiring the satisfactory participation in a drug abuse assistance or rehabilitation program by, any employee convicted as required in Section 44-107-50; and
  7. making a good faith effort to continue to maintain a drug-free workplace through implementation of the items above.
• Non-Compliance Justification (required) —

  Upload a document detailing why your company cannot provide Drug Free Workplace certification.

• Prompt Payment Certification (required) —

  Can you certify that you comply with the County's Prompt Payment requirements?

  1. Subject to the provisions on retainage provided in Paragraph (B) below, when a subcontractor has satisfactorily performed a work item of the subcontract, the Contractor must pay the subcontractor for the work item within seven (7) calendar days of the Contractor’s receipt of payment from Owner. A subcontractor shall be considered to have “satisfactorily performed a work item of the subcontract” when the Owner pays the Contractor for that work item.
  2. The Contractor may withhold as retainage up to five (5%) percent of a subcontractor’s payment until satisfactory completion of all work items of the subcontract. “Satisfactory completion of all work items of the subcontract” shall mean when the Owner accepts the last work item of the subcontract. The Contractor must release to the subcontractor any retainage withheld within seven (7) calendar days from the date the Contractor receives payment from the Owner for the last work item of the subcontract or within seven (7)
     days from Owner’s acceptance of the last work item of the subcontract, whichever is the latest to occur.
     However, upon documentation of good cause provided by the contractor and written concurrence by the Director of Construction, the Contractor may continue to withhold the 5% retainage.
  3. Prior to receiving payment of each monthly estimate, the Contractor shall certify to Owner that the construction estimate is complete and that all subcontractors have been paid for work covered by previous estimates, in accordance with sections A and B.
  4. Failure to comply with any of the above provisions shall result in one or more of the following sanctions:
     1. no further payments to the Contractor unless and until compliance is achieved;
     2. the Contractor being placed in default; and/or
     3. the Contractor being declared delinquent, such delinquency being subject to procedures and penalties provided in the Standard Specifications.
• Illegal Immigration (required) —

  Do you certify that you will comply with the applicable requirements of Title 8, Chapter to establish either: (a) that Title 8, Chapter 14 is inapplicable to you and your subcontractors or sub-subcontractors; or (b) that you and your subcontractors or sub-subcontractors are in compliance with Title fraudulent document, statement, or report pursuant to this chapter is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction, must be fined within the discretion of the court or imprisoned for not more than five years, or (a) comply with the applicable requirements of Title 8, Chapter 14, and (b) include in their contracts with the sub-subcontractors language requiring the sub-subcontractors to comply with the applicable requirements of Title 8, Chapter 14. [07-7B097- 1].

• Commercial Nondiscrimination Certification (required) —

  Offeror herby certifies and agrees that the following information is correct: In preparing its response on this project, the Offeror has considered all proposals submitted from qualified, potential Subcontractors and suppliers, and has not engaged in “discrimination” as defined in the County’s Commercial Nondiscrimination Ordinance, Section 2-647: to wit: discrimination in the solicitation, selection or commercial treatment of any Subcontractor, vendor, supplier, commercial customer on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, sex, age marital status, sexual orientation or on the basis of disability or other unlawful forms of discrimination. With limiting the foregoing, “discrimination” also includes retaliating against any person or to her entity for reporting any incident of “discrimination.” With limiting any provisions of the solicitation for response for this project, it is understood and agreed that, if this certification is false, such false certification will constitute ground for the County to reject the response submitted by the Offeror on this project, and termination of any Contract awarded based on the response. As part of the its response, the Offeror shall provide to the County a list of all instances within the immediate past 4 years where there has been a final adjudication determination in a legal or administrative proceeding in the State of South Carolina that the Offeror discriminated against its Subcontractors, vendors, supplier or commercial customers, and a description of the status or resolution of that complaint, including any remedial action taken. As a condition of submitting a response to the County, the Offeror agrees to comply with the County’s Commercial Nondiscrimination Policy as described under its Commercial Nondiscrimination Ordinance, Section 2-647, and further agrees to cooperate fully with the County in its inquiries relating to compliance with this policy.

• Familiarity Certification (required) —

  The undersigned, having fully familiarized with the information contained within this entire solicitation and applicable amendments, submits the attached proposal and other applicable information to the County, which I verify to be true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

  I certify that this proposal is made without prior understanding, agreement, or connection with any corporation, firm or person submitting a bid for the same materials, supplies or equipment, or services, and is in all respects, fair and without collusion or fraud. I agree to abide by all conditions of this solicitation and certify that I am authorized to sign this proposal.

  By clicking "Please confirm" below, I certify, under penalties of perjury, that the below company complies with section 12-54-1020(B) of the SC Code of Laws 1976, as amended, relating to payment of any applicable taxes. I further certify that this proposal is good for a period of one hundred and twenty (120) days, unless stated otherwise on the proposal form.

• Debarment Certification (required) —

  Offeror certifies, by clicking "Please confirm" below, that neither it nor its principals, nor its prospective subcontractors are presently debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment by Richland County or any state or federal department or agency.

• Upload a Certificate of Insurance (required) —

  Upload a Certificate of Insurance indicating the minimum coverages listed in this solicitation. 

• Technical Proposal (required) —

  Upload a copy of your proposal here.  

  Do not include any pricing information in your proposal. 

• Pricing Proposal (required) —

  Upload your Price Proposal here.

• Proposer is properly licensed certified public accountant or a licensed public accountant. (required)
• Proposer meets the latest revision of the independence standards of the General Accounting Office Standards for Audit of Governmental Organizations, Programs, Activities and Functions. (required)
• The respondent does not have a record of substandard audit work. (required)
• The proposer does not discriminate in employment of persons upon the basis of race, color, creed, nation origin, sex, age, or physical handicap. (required)
• Pricing (required) —
  • Choose Option 1 when you have set line items, for example:
    • This is a quote for goods or commodities.
    • This is a public works bid, with a pricing table that can be uploaded into OpenGov Procurement from an Excel spreadsheet.
    • Seeking services for hourly rate schedules.
  • Choose Option 2 when you need vendors to provide you with the line items.
• Type of Solicitation (required)
• Will there be a Pre-Proposal Meeting? (required)
• Attendance for Pre-Proposal Meeting (required)

Questions & Answers