Naples auditor selection committee approves revised RFP, sets May 1 deadline for proposals

The City of Naples Auditor Selection Committee unanimously approved a revised request for proposals (RFP) March 31 to hire an external auditor for a three-year term with two optional one-year renewals, setting proposals due May 1 and an initial evaluation on May 7.

The committee’s action, moved by committee member Dan and seconded by Chair Ted Blankenship, followed staff presentations and several edits to the draft solicitation intended to clarify qualifications and evaluation criteria. Chair Ted Blankenship said the contract term is three years with the possibility of two one-year extensions, and emphasized the importance of selecting a firm that can meet the city’s needs.

Stefan, a city staff member who presented the draft, said the incumbent firm Malden and Jenkins has served as the city’s auditor for many years. “Malden Jennings has been the city's audit firm for the past 15 consecutive years,” Stefan said, outlining the auditor’s on-site inventory verifications and annual financial-report compilation duties.

Why it matters: The external auditor produces the city’s financial statements and testing that feed the annual comprehensive financial report and state reporting. Committee members said the changes to the RFP are intended to balance cost with firm and staff expertise so the city gets a high-quality audit during a compressed procurement timeline.

Key edits and schedule: Staff and members agreed to correct several typographical and term-date errors in the draft, add explicit licensing language, and adjust the scoring breakdown. The solicitation will require that the firm’s partner and manager be licensed certified public accountants in the state of Florida, and staff confirmed they will add a bullet allowing vendors to describe use of updated procedures and technology, including artificial intelligence, in the audit approach. The committee agreed to reduce the schedule/price component and increase emphasis on firm experience; staff said they will set the schedule values (price) weight at 10 and firm experience at 30 in the evaluation spreadsheet and make corresponding adjustments to the submission forms.

Proposals and evaluation process: Staff said the RFP will be posted immediately and that proposals will be received on May 1; the committee will meet on May 7 to evaluate submittals and may call up to two or three shortlisted firms for presentations on May 11 if the evaluation results warrant interviews. Felix Gomez, the city’s purchasing and contracts manager and the point of contact for the procurement, told members staff will provide paper copies of proposals for committee review the afternoon of May 1 and deliver electronic copies as soon as practicable. Gomez also explained that addenda answering vendor questions will be posted to the city website and distributed to the committee.

Vote and next steps: Dan moved to approve the RFP as amended; Chair Ted Blankenship seconded the motion and the committee voted aye unanimously. Staff will post the solicitation, publish any addenda, prepare the committee’s scoring spreadsheet once proposals arrive, and circulate conflict-of-interest forms to members. The city council will receive an update at its May 20 meeting, and final selection is scheduled to occur in time for council action before the June 17 summer recess.

The committee adjourned after confirming the meeting schedule and logistics for proposal pickup and review.