The Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) is soliciting competitive proposals from qualified certified public accounting firms to provide independent professional auditing services for fiscal years ending June 30, 2026, 2027, and 2028, with an option to extend for an additional three years by written amendment.
The selected firm will be required to audit and express an opinion on the fairness of presentation of SCPPA's combined and individual project statements of net position, statements of revenues, expenses and changes in net position, and statements of cash flows in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. The audit is to be performed in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the California Code of Regulations, Title 2, Section 1131.2. While Power Purchase Agreement projects are considered one opinion unit in the financial statements, the audit firm must expand its testing in individual power purchase agreement projects and set individual materiality for each. The firm will assist SCPPA in the resolution of complex accounting issues and the implementation of Governmental Accounting Standards Board standards, draft combined and individual project financial statements with related footnotes and supplementary schedules, and prepare management representation letters.
The audit firm must engage with SCPPA's Audit Sub-Committee prior to the start of the audit for planning, during the audit for progress updates, and at the end of the audit to present results and recommendations. The firm must attend SCPPA's regularly scheduled Finance Committee and Board meetings in October or November to present final audit results and recommendations. Following the completion of each fiscal year audit, the auditor shall issue all required reports no later than 115 days after June 30th (by October 23rd), which is an absolute requirement due to SCPPA's annual bond indenture compliance filing obligations. These reports include a report on the fairness of presentation of financial statements, a report on internal controls, a report addressed to the Board on Communications with Those Charged with Governance, and a management letter listing suggestions for improvement.
Key dates include: RFP issuance on January 16, 2026; clarification questions due by January 30, 2026; responses to clarification questions due by February 5, 2026; proposal deadline of February 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM PT; proposal review in February 2026; interviews if necessary in March 2026; selection of respondent for negotiation in March 2026; and Notice of Intent to Award in April 2026 following contract negotiation. The audit commencement is scheduled with records ready by August 1st, detailed audit plan to be provided by the auditor including timeline for draft reports, and final reports issued by October 23rd.