Follow-Up for Bid Specification Requirements for Solicitations, November 2018

Background and Objectives The Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller’s Internal Audit Department and Office of the Inspector General has completed an audit of Bid Specification Requirements for Solicitations. The audit was planned and conducted in conformance with the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards) . Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. The purpose of the audit was to review compliance with applicable county ordinances, and policies and procedures related to bid specification requirements for solicitations. Background The Board of County Commissioners Sarasota County Ordinance No. 2016-019 (Ordinance), known as the County Procurement Code (Procurement Code), establishes the policy for the procurement of goods and services for the County, in accordance with Chapter 125, Florida Statutes. The Procurement Code and relevant Florida Statutes provides the foundation on which the Procurement Manual was created. The Procurement Manual references applicable Florida Statutes, Sections of the Ordinance and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) throughout the entirety of the document. The SOPs are incorporated into the Procurement Manual in order to ensure compliance with required rules and regulations. When a purchase of goods or services exceeds $5,000 the requesting department completes a solicitation worksheet and submits it to the Procurement Department. The Procurement Department works with the requestor to ensure the scope of work, technical specifications, due dates, insurance, and all other necessary items are complete. Specifications shall be written to encourage fair and open competition whenever possible and awards shall be made based upon criteria set forth within the solicitation. Once the bid specifications are agreed upon, the solicitation is reviewed by the Procurement Manager and then released within BidSync by the Procurement Analyst. BidSync is the software that Sarasota County has partnered with to host the County’s bid opportunities. Vendors are then allowed to review the solicitation, ask questions for clarification, and submit their bids. 3 | A u d i t o f B i d S p e c i f i c a t i o n R e q u i r e m e n t s J a n u a r y 2 0 1 8