GASB 34 - Request for Proposal (RFP) Prototype




	. GASB 34 Request for Proposal (RFP) Prototype This document has been created in order to assist those who will be preparing GASB 34 Requests for Proposals (RFP). The document covers information needed to comprehensively describe various component requirements for GASB 34 compliance. This prototype RFP was developed based on RFPs received from state and local governments, plus various school districts. The RFP is designed only to describe the scope of work required. It does not contain any standard terms, conditions and legal disclosures, which must accompany RFP's, and which vary according to statute and regulations. Section 1 - Background Section 2 - Services Required Section 3 - Qualifications and Response Requirements Section 4 - Project Schedule Section 1 - Background This section is designed to describe the legal entity. Sample County District (District) provides services to residents of Sample County, Sample State that covers approximately 75 square miles in western Sample State. The District's Purchasing Department is soliciting bids for an asset management system and fixed asset inventory in response to the requirements of GASB 34. This RFP address only non-infrastructure assets as defined in GASB 34. This Request for Proposal covers: " Asset Classification Strategy " Complete Asset Inventory including bar code labels " Asset Management Software including bar code readers " Fixed Asset Accounting Software " Asset Valuation including estimated useful lives " Data Interface " Asset Reconciliation Each of these topics is described in Section 2 below. Present Practices This section describes how assets are recorded and tracked at the current time. The District presently labels all asset of greater than $500 purchase price with a metal property tag with a unique number. This capital limit was raised in 1997 from $100 and many assets of lower value have asset tags on them. These assets are entered into the County's Capital Asset List as they are added and the list is updated as assets are moved and retired. This list contains 14,600 assets and a specimen of the list is attached. The last complete inventory to confirm this list was conducted in the second quarter of 1995. Many assets are received and tagged at the District's warehouse but some assets will be delivered directly to a District facility. The District is considering raising the Capital limit and will solicit input from the Vender in determining the appropriate limit. Facilities It is essential that an accurate list of the facilities be provided to permit the venders to accurately determine the scope of the inventory. The District presently operates 34 facilities throughout the county. Below is a list of these facilities: Address Size Capacity Type 1233 Oak Street 75,000 sq. ft. 300 empl. Main Office 456 Maple 3,000 sq. ft. 58 empl. Parks Office 3445 Corporate 10.000 sq. ft. ------- Warehouse 3445 Corporate 2,500 sq. ft. ------- Equip. Shed 2444 Larkin 125,000 sq. ft. 40 rooms School K-6 : : [It is best to provide as much detail as possible. For example, if you can identify that a particular office uses systems workstations rather than private offices or a warehouse contains most non-asset items, the resulting bids will be more comparable. Conversely, while estimates are helpful, understand that any vender will ultimately bill fees based on the work actually performed.] Data Requirements This section outlines the information that needs to be recorded during the inventory. The following is unusually long and is presented to aid in the analysis. Field length and formats are helpful but not required. The District requires the following information to be captured for each asset or group of assets. Asset Number (Bar Code) Serial Number Dimensions Location Department User Name Old Tag Number Asset Group Manufacturer Model Description Finish Fabric Color Cost Center Lease Number Requisition Number Funding Source Disposal Code Cost (Value) Date Inventoried Quantity Condition Product Category Data Base Conversion This section is included only if a complete current inventory is available or if significant data is available only in the existing asset records. Note that for a data conversion to be practical, a common data field (old tag number or serial number) must be accurate, up-to-date and available in the current database. The District presently maintains asset information on Capital Asset List. It is maintained on an AS400 data base on the County's computer system. This list is believed to be 60% accurate. The District will solicit recommendations on the practicality of converting information in this database to the new asset management database. A specimen copy of this database is available in a delimited format for any vender who requests a copy. Section 2 - Services Required This section describes the primary services required. Each is more fully described in a subsequent section. This list is comprehensive and should be edited to individual requirements. The District requires all of the following services/products to be provided: 1. Asset classification - The District requires the successful vender to recommend a practical, maintainable approach to information about assets including all of the following: " Revised capitalization limits that conform to GASB 34 requirements. " Asset grouping and tagging policy. " Asset inventory policy. 2. Inventory Service - The successful vender shall perform a comprehensive inventory of a District's assets in conformity with the classifications above. Each asset will be identified, tagged (if appropriate), evaluated as to condition, valued and entered into the asset database. 3. Asset Management System - The vender will provide an asset management system capable of maintaining all asset information. Included in this requirement will be installation, documentation, training and procedural documents. 4. Asset Valuation - For all capital assets identified during the inventory, the vender will provide either an estimated historical cost or fair market value and an estimated useful life. 5. Fixed Asset Accounting Software - The District requires a fixed asset accounting system capable of accounting for all fixed assets reportable under GASB 34. 6. Data Interface - The vender will convert asset data contained in the asset management system into the fixed asset accounting system for capital assets only. 7. Reconciliation - The District requires the reconciliation of its existing records to those created by the vender for capital assets. Asset Classification The District requires that the vender provide recommendations for revising its capitalization limits, asset tagging process and inventory policy to conform to GASB 34 and provide usable management information. These recommendations must minimize time spent accounting for capital assets while safeguarding all assets. Particular attention must be given to identifying non-capital equipment and the methodology for periodic inventories. Inventory Service The District requires a comprehensive inventory of all fixed assets. During the inventory, all of the information specified in Data Requirements will be captured except useful lives and value. Assets will be tagged in conformity with the accepted asset classification above and using label placement standards prescribed by the District. Any assets not tagged will be counted by location. The vender will supply asset tags in accordance with the following requirements: Size: .5" X 1.75" Material: Polyester or Mylar (4 mil) Adhesive: High performance permanent (4 mil) Symbology: Code 39, w/o self check digit Image: 9 digit, 9.4 CPI, with human readable Overlamination: 1 mil, mat finish Additional Text: "Property of Sample County" Estimated Useful Life 10 years Vender will provide reasonable assurance that the inventory is materially accurate and include a copy of their quality control process with their response. Asset Management System The Vender will supply an asset management system that operates Windows 95/98/2000/NT. It will support access by 10 clients and use an ODBC compliant database that will be fully relational. The system will be compatible with the bar code scanning equipment supplied by the vender. Vender will supply software installation on the District's network, on site systems training, complete documentation including users guide and on-screen help, procedural analysis, process documentation and continuing software support and maintenance. The system will be comprised of two programs - one operating on the network and one on the data collection terminal (bar code scanner). Below are the functional requirements of each: Data Collection Terminal Functional Requirements: Hardware 1. Laser Scanner with 80 character display 2. 1,500 asset capacity 3. Serial Communication 4. Full function alpha/numeric keyboard 5. Self contained unit single handed unit Software 1. Ability to add, relocate, update and delete asset records. 2. Provide (add) and maintain user defined data fields. 3. Modify reader prompts without downloading new program. 4. Maintain bar coded (specific identification) and non-bar coded inventories. 5. Ability to capture different transactions within single data collection upload. Asset Management System Requirements: 1. Ability to maintain separate inventory databases within single system. 2. Interface with vender supplied bar code reader program. 3. Add, modify, and delete assets in bar code reader data collection tasks. 4. Support global changes to asset data. 5. Fully relational ODBC compliant database. 6. Password protection and related security. 7. Unlimited user defined data fields. 8. Ad hoc report writer capability. 9. Support asset query by location, condition, asset number, description, and user defined data fields. 10. Complete transaction history reporting. 11. Export any data set to ASCII (flat or delimited), Internet HTML or Excel format. 12. Support single user or network configurations. 13. Maintain product description table, eliminating re-entry of description for each asset record. 14. Maintain drop-down look up tables for any data field. 15. Ability to replicate new asset additions, including user defined data fields 16. Support both asset tagging and non-tagging of assets in one system 17. Interactive editing of uploaded reader data. 18. Verification of reader data prior to posting in database, including user defined data. 19. Maintain digital images of product standards. Asset Valuation Upon completion of the physical inventory, the District requires that all capital assets be valued at historical cost and the estimated useful life for each. The District will provide a copy of the Country's Capital Asset List for use in assigning the costs. If cost information is missing or not usable, the vender must supply an estimate of each. Historical costs may be assigned based on common asset descriptions and conditions. Non-capital assets are to be assigned a value of $0. Fixed Asset Accounting Software The Vender will supply a fixed asset accounting system, which operates under Windows 95/98/2000/NT. It will support access by 5 clients and use an ODBC compliant database that will be fully relational. Vender will supply software installation on the Districts network, on site systems training, complete documentation including users guide and help, procedural analysis, process documentation and continuing software support and maintenance. Below are the functional requirements of the package: 1. Support straight-line depreciation and asset classes. 2. Support user defined depreciation methods. (This is important for infrastructure assets). 3. Provide complete audit trail. 4. Allow monthly closing with journal entries. 5. Provide complete open time line for each asset. 6. Allow splitting of assets. 7. Integrate with asset management system including support of bar code data. 8. Complete departmental (cost center) support. 9. Include custom report writer. 10. Provide import/ export capability. 11. Support multiple organizations (companies). Data Interface For all capital assets, the vender will supply an automated conversion of data collected during the asset inventory and asset valuation to the Fixed Asset Accounting System. The vender will coordinate the conversion with the District's accounting Department to assure that all necessary information is converted. The vender may use any appropriate automated tools and will be responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the information provided to the District. The vender shall provide an automated method to maintain the data base on a prospective basis. All capital asset additions, movements and retirements must be identified and passed from the asset management system to the fixed asset accounting system. Asset Reconciliation The vender must prepare a reconciliation of the capital assets identified in the fixed asset accounting system to the District's records on the County Capital Asset List. The District requires each of the following lists: " Matches - Assets which have identical old tag numbers and serial numbers. " Partial Matches -- Assets which have either identical old tag numbers or serial numbers. " Not Found -- Assets which appeared in the County's Capital Asset List which were not located during the inventory. " Not Expected - Capital assets identified during the inventory which do not appear on the County's Capital Asset List. " Non Capital Asset -- Assets which appear on the County's Capital Asset List but no longer meet the capitalization requirements. Section 3 - Qualifications and Response Requirements This section outlines the requirements that will apply to each response to the solicitation. Any disclosures and qualifications of the venders should be specified. The District requires that all responses to this solicitation contain all of the following information. 1. Company Name, Address and Phone 2. Primary Contact Name Address, Phone, FAX and email address 3. Federal Employer's Identification Number and State and Date of Incorporation 4. Evidence of General Liability, Workmen's Compensation and Employee Bonding Insurance 5. List of 10 Completed Projects of similar size and complexity including a project overview of each. 6. List of 3 References for Inventory Services including Name, Organization, Phone and email address. 7. List of 3 References for Asset Management Software including Name, Organization, Phone and email address. 8. List of 3 References for Fixed Asset Accounting Software including Name, Organization, Phone and email address. 9. Description of Quality Control Process used during the Inventory phase. 10. For each of the following, provide a description of the process used: " Asset Classification " Inventory Service " Asset Valuation " Data Interface " Reconciliation 11. Describe the warranty and technical support of hardware and software provided. 12. For each product/services described in Section 2, provide detailed pricing information for each item. Information should include a fixed or unit cost for each, the basis for that cost and an estimate for to complete the work as specified. In several cases, an estimate may be required of the quantity required operate the proposed solution. Section 4 - Project Schedule This section outlines the time constraints for the project. It is essential that adequate time be allowed for both the response and the performance of the actual work. The schedule below is the District's expected timetable for this project. Please note in the response if you are not able to comply with it and, if not, your recommended alternative. Issuance of the Solicitation Day 1 Deadline for questions from Venders Day 20 Deadline for Submission of Responses Day 40 Selection of Finalists Day 55 Product Demonstrations by Finalists Day 56 through 70 Final Vender selection Day 80 Project Commencement Day 90 Software Installation Day 180 Project Completion Day 200