Auditor Selection Committee

From time to time, the Town Council may establish, by resolution, an advisory Auditor Selection Committee. The task of this committee is to provide the Town Council with a recommendation regarding proposals from independent auditing firms regarding the Town's annual financial audit as required by state law.

The Town's auditor selection procedures are subject to Section 218.391 Florida Statutes, which provides that the primary purpose of the audit committee is to assist the Town Council in selecting a certified public accounting firm that is both duly licensed under chapter 473 Florida Statutes and qualified to conduct audits in accordance with government auditing standards as adopted by the Florida Board of Accountancy.

The Auditor Selection Committee must be comprised of at least three appointed members (current residents of Orchid), one of whom must be a Councilmember who shall serve as Chair of the Auditor Selection Committee.

The Town Council has established Auditor Selection Committees in the past via resolution, which have included the requirement that at least one member of the committee should have prior experience in public accounting, that the term of an appointment is one year, and that there is no compensation for serving. In exercising its responsibility, recent Auditor Selection Committees have not had any audit oversight responsibilities and did not have the authority to expend Town funds. All meetings of the committee were open to the public in accordance with the Sunshine Law.

The process is as follows:

In the form of a Request for Proposals (RFP), the Auditor Selection Committee establishes factors to use for the evaluation of proposals by certified firms. If compensation is one of the factors established, it shall not be the sole or predominant factor used to evaluate proposals.The RFP shall include information on how proposals will be evaluated.
The RFP is publicly announced in a manner that includes a brief description of the audit and how firms can apply.
The Auditor Selection Committee evaluates proposals received by the deadline and ranks in order of preference no fewer than three firms deemed to be the most highly qualified to perform the required services. (If fewer than three firms respond to the RFP, the committee recommends such firms as it deems to be the most highly qualified.)
The Auditor Selection Committee makes its recommendation to the Town Council.

The most recent Auditor Selection Committee was formed via Resolution No. 2018-14, adopted on September 10, 2018. That Auditor Selection Committee was automatically disbanded on the one-year anniversary of that date. There is no current Auditor Selection Committee.