Audit Firm - Request for Proposals

Springboard to Opportunities is seeking proposals from qualified CPA firms to provide financial audit and tax services for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025. We invite your firm to submit a proposal by February 10, 2026, for consideration. Springboard’s CEO, Controller and Board Treasurer (along with the Board of Directors) are responsible for selecting the auditor, and this request for proposals has been issued at the Board’s direction. The sections that follow include an overview of Springboard to Opportunities, a description of the services requested, and additional information to guide your submission.

Background and Filing Requirements of Springboard to Opportunities

Springboard to Opportunities is a 501(c)(3) organization. Annual support is between $5 million and $9 million per year, and the organization employs 12 people in 2 locations. Springboard to Opportunities has a December 31 fiscal year-end, with a requirement to file an audited financial statement and tax return by November 15 of each year. The desired time frame for fieldwork is the month of May. The audit report would need to be presented to the board in October of each year.

Services to be Performed

Your proposal is expected to cover the following services:

1. Annual audit to be completed in accordance with aforementioned filing requirement(s)
2. Federal and state tax filings for the organization
3. Management letter communicating any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting that were identified during the audit
4. Meetings with the CEO, Controller and Board Treasurer and board of directors, as necessary

Key Personnel

Following is a list of key persons you may wish to contact with respect to this engagement.

• Dr. Aisha Nyandoro, CEO, 769-251-0924
• Mrs. Angie Turner, CPA, Controller, 601-665-2335, angie@springboardto.org
• Mr. Elliott Flaggs, Esq., Board Treasurer

For coordination purposes, we ask that all requests for additional information, visits to our site, review of prior financial statements and tax returns, and/or appointments with key personnel are directed to our Controller, Angie Turner.

Relationship With Prior CPA Service Provider

Matthews, Cutrer & Lindsay, PA has served as Springboard to Opportunities’ external auditor since we began operations. We are issuing this RFP to follow the best practices recommendation to rotate auditors every 5 years. The current auditor is invited to submit a proposal, and the decision to solicit proposals does not reflect negatively on the performance of the previous auditor. We do ask that the current auditor’s proposal include a new audit team in order to help us achieve our rotation goals.

In preparing your proposal, be advised that management will give you permission to contact the prior auditors. Respondents may contact the previous auditor solely for the purpose of understanding the scope, complexities, and timing of past audits.

The selected successor auditor will be responsible for initiating communications with the predecessor auditor in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) and the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct.

Springboard to Opportunities’ most recent audited financial statements and Form 990 are available upon request.

Your Response to This Request for Proposal

In responding to this request, please provide the following information:

1. Detail your firm’s experience with providing auditing and tax services to entities in the not-for-profit sector, as well as associations of a comparable size to Springboard to Opportunities.
2. List the AICPA Audit Quality Center(s) that you are a member of.
3. Provide information about whether you provide services to any related industry associations or groups.
4. Discuss the firm’s independence with respect to Springboard to Opportunities. Explain how you monitor and maintain your independence on an ongoing basis.
5. Discuss commitments you will make to staff continuity, including your staff turnover experience in the last three years.
6. Identify the partner and manager who will be assigned to our job if you are successful in your bid; provide biographies for these individuals. Indicate whether, and if so, how the firm plans to utilize offshore/outsourced staff on the audit engagement. Indicate any complaints that have been leveled against them by the state board of accountancy or other regulatory authority, if any. Indicate any corrective actions that have been taken by the firm with respect to these individuals.
7. Describe how your firm will approach the audit of the organization, including the use of any association or affiliate member firm personnel and the areas that will receive primary emphasis.
8. Discuss the firm’s use of technology in the audit and whether part or all of the audit can be done remotely.
9. Discuss the communication process used by the firm to discuss issues with the management and audit committees of the board.
10. Provide estimates of the staffing levels and time required to complete the scope of work. Furnish current standard billing rates for classes of professional personnel, including an expense policy describing how incidental costs (for example, travel and mileage) are billed.
11. Describe how you bill for questions on technical matters that may arise throughout the year.
12. Provide three names and contact information of other similarly sized not-for-profit clients of the partner and manager that will be assigned to our organization.
13. Describe what differentiates your firm from the other firms being considered, and why our selection of your firm as our independent auditors is the best decision we could make.
14. Describe how your firm will work to meet Springboard to Opportunities’ reporting deadlines.
15. Include a copy of your firm’s most recent Peer Review report and the firm’s letter of response, if applicable.
16. Describe the firm’s approach to the resolution of technical disagreements among engagement personnel, and between the firm and the not-for-profit client.
17. Please be prepared to submit information on the firm’s liability insurance coverage if you are selected.
18. Set forth your fee proposal and ensure that the fee is sufficient to cover the work that you expect to perform if you are awarded this engagement by completing the below table (update as applicable)

Audit:

IRS Form 990:

State Tax and Informational 990:

Total Proposed Fees Travel/Out of Pocket:

Evaluation of Proposals

The CEO, Board Treasurer, Controller, and Board of Directors of Springboard to Opportunities will evaluate proposals on a qualitative basis. This includes:

• A review of the firm’s peer review and related materials
• Experience with providing comprehensive external audit services to the not-for-profit sector as well as demonstrable technical expertise in accounting.
• Experience with advising organizations with similar needs within the last three years and evidence of understanding the challenges and constraints within the sector
• Experience with advising charitable organizations with a diverse range of activities
• The quality and experience of the proposed external audit team
• Interviews with senior engagement personnel to be assigned to our organization
• The firm’s completeness and timeliness in its response to us
• The suitability of the audit approach
• The ability to provide the full range of services required including audit, taxation and specialist technical accounting advice
• The firm’s approach to customer service, quality assurance, and environmental considerations.
• Value for money, particularly the added value that the audit process will bring to the organization.

Please let us know if you choose not to respond to this RFP. If you choose to respond to this request, please do so by February 10, 2026.

Please note: RFPs submitted subsequent to the indicated due date may not be considered.

RFP key dates are as follows:

January 30, 2026

RFP questions due

February 10, 2026

Proposals due to Springboard to Opportunities

February – March 2026

Meetings with prospective firms

April 10, 2026

Vendor Selection Date

Late April 2026

Kick-off or pre-audit meeting (post tax season)

Sincerely,

Dr. Aisha Nyandoro

Chief Financial Officer

Elliott Flaggs, Esq.

Board Treasurer

Angie S Turner, CPA

Controller