Specifications include, but are not limited to: The City of New Orleans desires to obtain a Financial Consultant to assist the Department of Finance in identifying opportunities to improve the financial conditions, financial reporting processes and operations of the City. The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to establish a contractual relationship with an experienced and qualified certified public accountant (CPA) firm specializing in government matters to provide accounting and related consulting services to the City in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. This RFP is not intended to request proposals for ‘independent auditing services’ which are currently being provided to the City under other contracts. While ‘assurance technical skills’ will be important in serving the City, the scope of work for this engagement will require a CPA firm to provide services which may likely impair auditor independence. The scope of services in this RFP will require the selected firm to have the ability to dive deeply into the current and historical accounting records to analyze and propose corrections (if required) in concert with the assistance of the Department of Finance. Additionally, the selected firm will be required to provide advice on key accounting and operating matters with the goal of assisting in the long term financial success of the City of New Orleans. Detailed Scope of Work There are many areas that currently require added focus in order to assist the Department of Finance in identifying opportunities to improve the financial condition, financial reporting processes, and operations of the City. This RFP is requesting qualified firms to put forth their credentials to evaluate current conditions and recommend a course or courses of action for the City, on a high level, to proceed with further analysis and corrective actions. It is envisioned that this preliminary planning occur as part of a 45-60 day engagement from the time of commencement. Below are some of the key matters that need to be included in this high level plan: a. Evaluate current status and prepare a plan to allow for an assessment of cash account reconciliation practices for the City’s numerous bank accounts. The focus of this plan will require analysis of the revenue sources deposited into accounts, the process of making disbursements from the accounts, and the agreement to general ledger support. Significant focus will be required related to grant funds and capital improvement projects, whose sources and uses of funds are required to be maintained separately. b. Evaluate current status and prepare a plan to allow for an analysis of the payroll activities, procedures and internal controls to determine that payroll transactions, including wages, benefits and associated taxes and withholdings, are supported by approved documentation and follow prescribed standard operating procedures. c. Evaluate current status and prepare a plan to allow for an analysis of all cost and funding methods (including Federal funds, bond proceeds, and Cooperative Endeavor Agreements) of significant capital projects related to FEMA, HUD, Bond and State Revolving Funds.