Connecticut State Colleges and Universities extends Grant Thornton audit contract for two years; APA has right of first refusal

The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Audit Committee voted to extend its contract with Grant Thornton for two additional years as an amendment to the existing contract.

Chair Don Williams said Grant Thornton has conducted audit services for the system since 2021 and presented an amendment to extend the engagement. Annette Pavone, the system controller, told the committee that institutions are in the midst of Banner (SaaS) financial-management implementations and recommended a two-year extension to avoid disruption while those implementations finish. Pavone said the two-year price remains flat from the most recent audit.

Committee discussion included the difficulty of attracting bidders for statewide financial audits and a 2021 state requirement that gives the Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) the first opportunity to perform the audit. Pavone told the committee the system obtained permission to extend for two years and that, when the system goes back out to bid, the APA will have the first option; if the APA chooses to conduct the audit, it would be selected.

The transcript records the contract figures discussed: the existing contract listed in the meeting was $3.275 million and the two-year extension price quoted was $950,000, bringing the total to approximately $4.225 million. Committee members asked questions about the bid environment; the motion to extend was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. The transcript does not provide a roll-call tally.

Committee members said staff will return to scheduled procurement processes at the end of the two-year extension and initiate a bid process timed to complete after software implementations.