County issues call for outside accounting services

Whitman County commissioners Monday issued a qualifications call for professional services to compile an assessment of the county’s financial management.

Cost of such a project had earlier been estimated in the $80,000 range in a preliminary quote from the Government Finance Officers’ Association.

Monday’s call opens up the project to other firms who could provide the assessment services. Deadline for submitting proposals to the commissioners’ office is Aug. 18.

Commissioners opted to seek an assessment because the State Auditor could not issue an official opinion about the 2012 county’s financial statements after auditing the books.

The absence of a formal state finding resulted in Standard & Poor’s dropping of the county’s bond rating.

State auditors now are conducting an audit of the 2013 financial statements.

The service request seeks to have an assessment of the county’s current financial system and processes include:

• Documentation of the system and processes currently in place;

• A list of specific recommendations for improving the accuracy, functionality and efficiency of the county’s financial system;

• Recommend changes which would enable better and timelier financial management information necessary for decision makers.

Information requested from companies applying to conduct the assessment includes:

• Professional qualifications to conduct the assessment and the experience necessary to make recommendations regarding the county’s financial management system;

• Experience in conducting comprehensive assessments of county government, process documentation and recommendation for improvement of processes;

• Previous experience in conducting financial assessments and making recommendations for county government financial operations in this state;

• Documentation showing successful implementation of the company’s recommendations by other clients;

• Documentation showing the necessary resources being available to complete the job quickly;

• Ability to comply with state statutes and rules regarding contracting for services with a public entity.