PROFESSIONAL AUDITING SERVICES

The Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County, Maryland (hereinafter referred to as “HOC”) is soliciting proposals for Professional Auditing Services.

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2026-RFP-032
• Department: Finance
• Department Head: Timothy Goetzinger (Sr. Vice President)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-07-07T16:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Expertise and Experience (50 pts) —
  • The firm’s past experience and performance on comparable government engagements including:
    • Public Housing Authorities.
    • Housing Finance Agencies.
    • Real Estate Firms.
  • The firm’s past experience with auditing comparable size government organizations of two (2) billion dollars in assets. 
  • The quality of the firm’s professional personnel to be assigned to the engagement and the quality of the firm’s management support personnel to be available for technical consultation.
• Audit Approach (20 pts) —
  • Adequacy of proposed staffing plan for various segments of the engagement.
  • Adequacy of sampling techniques.
  • Adequacy of analytical procedures.
• Price (25 pts) —
  • Total costs, including fees for comfort letters, hourly rates for additional work, etc., will be considered and given a maximum value of 25% of the overall response. 
  • The lowest offeror receives 25 points, and each higher offeror receives the percentage difference between their bid and the lowest bid, multiplied by the maximum number of points available.
• Minority/Female/Disabled Firm (5 pts)

Submission Requirements

• Cover Page (required) —

  Title page showing the request for proposals’ subject; the firm’s name; the name, address and telephone number of a contact person; and the date of the proposal.

• Transmittal Letter (required) —

  A signed letter of transmittal briefly stating the proposer’s understanding of the work to be done, the commitment to perform the work within the time period, a statement why the firm believes itself to be best qualified to perform the engagement and a statement that the proposal is a firm and irrevocable offer for a minimum of 120 days. 

• Independence (required) —

  Include firm's affirmative statement that it is independent of the Housing Opportunities Commission as defined in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States and independent of the Montgomery County Government and any other component units of that entity, as defined by those same standards.

• Qualifications and Experience (required) —

  Statement of firms qualifications and experience which should include the size of the firm, the size of the firm’s governmental audit staff, the location of the office from which the work on this engagement is to be performed and the number and nature of the professional staff to be employed in this engagement on a full-time basis and the number and nature of the staff to be so employed on a part-time basis.

  If the proposer is a joint venture or consortium, the qualifications of each firm comprising the joint venture or consortium should be separately identified and the firm that is to serve, as the principal auditor should be noted, if applicable 

• External Quality Control Review Report (required) —

  Submit a copy of the report of firm's most recent external quality control review, with a statement whether that quality control review included a review of specific housing authority engagements.

  The firm shall also provide information on the results of any federal or state desk reviews or field reviews of its audits during the past three (3) years. In addition, the firm shall provide information on the circumstances and status of any disciplinary action taken or pending against the firm during the past three (3) years with state regulatory bodies or professional organizations.

• License(s) (required) —

  Statement indicating that the firm and all assigned key professional staff are properly licensed to practice in the State of Maryland.

• Firm's or Proposed Subcontractor's Professional Relationships (required) —

  Provide list and description of firm’s (or proposed subcontractor’s) professional relationships involving the HOC or any of its component units, or Montgomery County for the past five (5) years, together with a statement explaining why such relationships do not constitute a conflict of interest relative to performing the proposed audit.

  In addition, the firm shall give the HOC written notice of any professional relationship entered into during the period of this agreement.

• Staffing Plan (required) —

  The firm shall identify the principal supervisory and management staff, including engagement partners, managers, other supervisors and specialists, who would be assigned to the engagement and indicate whether each such person is licensed to practice as a certified public accountant in Maryland. The firm also should provide information on the government auditing experience of each person, including the past three (3) years and membership in professional education for organizations relevant to the performance of this audit. 

  Refer to the RFP for additional information. 

• Prior Engagement with HOC (required) —

  List separately all engagements within the last five (5) years, ranked on the basis of total staff hours, for HOC by type of engagement, (i.e., audit, management advisory services, etc.). For each engagement, the firm should indicate the scope of work, date, engagement partners, total hours, the location of the firm’s office from which the engagement was performed, and the name and telephone number of the principal client contact.

  Refer to the RFP for additional information.

• Similar Engagements with Other Government Entities (required) —

  For the firm’s office that will be assigned responsibility for the audit, list the most significant engagements (maximum of 5) performed in the last five (5) years that are similar to the engagement described in this request for proposals.  These engagements should be ranked based on total staff hours.  Indicate the scope of work, date, engagement partners, total hours, and the name and telephone number of the principal client contact.

• Audit Approach (required) —

  The proposal should set forth a work plan, including an explanation of the audit methodology to be followed, to perform the services required in this request for proposals. 

• Identification of Potential Audit Problems (required) —

  The proposal should identify and describe any anticipated potential audit problems, the firm’s approach to resolving these problems and any special assistance that will be requested from HOC.

• Report Format (required) —

  Include sample formats for required reports

• Price Proposal (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Proposer Guarantees (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• HOC's Contractor Background Screening Certification Form (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• HOC Works Opportunities Plan (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Is your firm a Minority Business Firm? (required)
• MFD Type (required)
• Section 3 Business Firm (required) —

  Is your firm a Section 3 Business Firm per Paragraph 40 from Form HUD 5370?

• Non-Collusive Affidavit (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Bid Bond (required) —

  Upload a copy of your Bid Bond here.

• Is your project Construction or Non-Construction? (required)
• Liquidated Damages (required) —

  Do you need Liquidated Damages for this project?

• Brief Description of Service(s) and/or Products (required)
• Will there be a Pre-Proposal Conference? (required)
• Pre-Propsal Conference Options (required)
• Minority/Female/Disabled (“MFD”) Percentage (required) —

  Please provide the percentage required for your RFP.

  Answer Format: Twenty-five percent (25%)

• 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.
• Are Bonds applicable for this project? (required)
• Select which bonds apply: (required)
• Applicable Owner's Insurance Requirements (required) —

  Select all options that apply to your project

• Applicable Contractor's Other Insurance Requirements (required) —

  Select all options that apply to your project.

• Applicable Subcontractor Insurance Requirements (required) —

  Select all options that apply to your project.