The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB) invites firms to submit a Proposal for the following: An external audit firm to provide attest audits of the WCB financial statements and WCB retirement plan financial statements.
Description of Services
The WCB requires the Contractor, an audit firm, to provide the following Services:
a) Attest Audit, WCB Financial Statements
Section 69(1) of The Workers Compensation Act (the "Act") stipulates that the accounts of the WCB must be audited each year by an independent auditor appointed by the Board of Directors.
As a publicly accountable enterprise, the financial statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The independent auditor will perform an examination of the annual financial statements of the WCB in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards.
As an outcome of the examination, the independent auditor shall issue an auditors' report as to whether the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the WCB, the results of its operations and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with IFRS.
A statement of audit results, findings and recommendations shall accompany the report on the financial statements and should include matters such as:
- Financial statements;
- Accounting policies and practices;
- Internal controls, include information technology controls;
- Accounting systems;
- Legality of actions; and
- Other matters as required.
The first period to be audited is the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024.
b) Attest Audit, Financial Statements of the WCB Retirement Plan
The WCB Retirement Plan (the "Plan") is an employer-sponsored defined benefit pension plan, jointly-funded by employee and employer contributions. The financial statements of the Plan are prepared in accordance with Canadian accounting standards for pension plans.
The independent auditor will perform an examination of the annual financial statements of the Plan, to be performed in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards.
As an outcome of the examination, the independent auditor shall issue an auditors' report as to whether the Plan financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Plan, the results of its operations and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian accounting standards for pension plans.
A statement of audit results, findings and recommendations shall accompany the opinion on the financial statements and should include matters such as:
- Financial statements;
- Accounting policies and practices;
- Internal controls;
- Accounting systems; and
- Other matters as required.
The first period to be audited is the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024.
c) Auditors' Report, Compensation Disclosure Report of the WCB
The WCB requires an examination of the amount of compensation paid to each of the WCB's directors, officers, and employees for the purposes of the annual disclosure of compensation over the legislated compensation threshold. The Compensation Disclosure Report is prepared by the WCB in accordance with the requirements of The Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act and requires an auditors' report. The Compensation Disclosure Report is prepared each year as a separate document and made available publically on the WCB's website.
The first period to be examined is the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024.
d) Auditors' Report on Specified Procedures Report (the "SPR")
The WCB prepares an annual schedule showing the allocation of the administrative and other costs (on a transaction basis) to the Labour Program of the Government of Canada in accordance with an agreement dated August 18, 2021. The agreement specifies that these calculations must be certified by the independent auditor and the SPR satisfies the requirement.
The first period to be examined is the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024.
The Services shall normally be performed during Business Hours. However, the WCB may request some of the Services to be performed outside Business Hours from time to time, as deemed necessary, in the unfettered discretion of the WCB. The Contractor shall not be entitled to charge overtime rates unless specified in the Fee Schedule.
The Contractor will not be required to have and maintain workers' compensation coverage for its workers who will be providing the Services, unless required pursuant to The Workers Compensation Act.
The Services shall normally be provided physically onsite at the WCB's facilities located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with some support provided remotely from the Contractor's facilities located in Canada, as applicable, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
The Proposal shall provide the following information in the following format:
a) TITLE
- A page showing the RFP subject, the full legal name of the Vendor's firm, its local address, the name of a contact person, his/her telephone number, and the date prepared.
b) TABLE OF CONTENTS
- The table should clearly identify the material by section and by page number.
c) LETTER OF INTRODUCTION
- A letter of introduction containing the name, address, and telephone number of the individual authorized to represent and bind the Vendor to all commitments made in the Vendor's Proposal, and an understanding of the work to be performed.
d) PROFILE OF THE VENDOR
- State whether the Vendor is local, regional, or national. Give the location of the office from which the work is to be performed, and the number of partners, managers, supervisors, seniors, and other professional staff specific to audit engagements at that office. Include details on extent participants outside the local office will be relied on.
- Describe the Vendor's workers' compensation and insurance industry audit and consulting experience and expertise.
- Describe the Vendor's expertise with respect to IFRS 17 in the workers' compensation context, and the Vendor's approach with respect to review of the IFRS 17 accounting policies.
- Describe the Vendor's ethical and moral values and conflict of interest guidelines as they relate to an attest audit engagement.
- Describe the Vendor's approach to addressing change orders, change in scope, or significant changes in accounting standards. Include examples of matters that would give rise to change orders or change in scope.
e) SUMMARY OF THE VENDOR'S QUALIFICATIONS
- List the Vendor's staff who will be involved in the audit, specifying each individual's role, experience/qualifications, and location. Brief resumes for each person should be attached to the Proposal. Resumes should be no longer than three (3) pages in length per staff member and clearly demonstrate how their experience and qualifications relate to the Services to be provided and their role in providing the Services.
- Describe the Vendor's pension plan audit experience.
- Describe the Vendor's access to actuarial expertise required to confirm the insurance liability valuations.
- Describe the information technology expertise including the names and number of staff experienced in computer audit techniques and who will work on the audit.
f) AUDIT APPROACH
- Describe the Vendor's audit approach:
- A detailed description of the Vendor's approach to the performance of the annual audit, including any innovations that would result in superior outcomes.
- This description should include the tools/software used to perform the audit.
- Describe the extent and timing of the planned use of WCB's accounting, actuarial, operational audit, and information technology personnel where applicable.
- Describe the technical specifications of the software/platform/tools which will be used to conduct the audit.
- Describe the timing of the audit work and the management letter.
g) ADDITIONAL DATA
- See additional information requested in Schedule "A" section 8.2. With regard to subsection 8.2(f) "statement accepting the WCB's Standard Terms and Conditions OR a statement identifying each of the specific Standard Terms and Conditions that is objectionable with (i) reason for objection; and (ii) proposed alternative language", please also refer to Schedule "A" section 3.18 which states "The Agreement will be governed by the Standard Terms and Conditions provided in this RFP unless the WCB agrees to proposed amendments of same requested in a Proposal. If a Vendor does not provide alternative language for its proposed changes to specific clauses, and instead attempts to rely on a statement indicating generic types of contractual obligations it does not fully accept, the WCB may, in its sole and absolute discretion: (i) deem the Vendor to have accepted the Standard Terms and Conditions as originally drafted; (ii) choose to seek further clarification to negotiate specific amendments with the Vendor; or (iii) eliminate the Vendor for failing to submit a Proposal which adequately responded to this requirement.". If the Vendor is accepting the Standards Terms and Conditions, please state in this section "The Vendor accepts the Standard Terms and Conditions". The Vendor may also submit a copy of its firm's standard engagement letter together with an explanation of which terms and/or conditions from its standard engagement letter are being requested as a basis of negotiation to amend the WCB's Standard Terms and Conditions.
- With regard to Schedule "B" section 27 which states "The Contractor shall not transport or store the WCB's Confidential Information outside Canada, including but not limited to the storage of electronic data, without the express prior written consent of the WCB.", Vendors are expected to provide the following in their Proposal:
- physical location of their servers (including backups) where any WCB data (including, but not limited to, WCB Confidential Information) may be stored and/or processed once disclosed to the Vendor; and
- a comprehensive description of the Vendor's hardware/software in use and security/privacy protocols in place, which will ensure all WCB Confidential Information will remain secure for the duration of the Services and any time after completion.
- Give any additional information considered essential to the Proposal in this section. If there is no additional information to present, state in this section, "There is No Additional Information We Wish To Present".
Proposals will be evaluated by a review team comprised of the Chief Financial Officer and representatives of the WCB Finance Department. Ranking of Proposals will be based on:
a) Extent and quality of the Vendor's related audit experience;
b) IFRS 17 experience, specifically in the context of workers' compensation, both locally and with demonstrated ability to readily access national experts;
c) Specific experience of the Vendor's staff to be assigned to the engagement;
d) Quality and appropriateness of the Vendor's proposed work plan and assigned personnel;
e) Ability to meet the timing of the audit work and reporting deadlines;
f) Technical specifications and description of the tools/software used to perform the audit;
g) Cost based on best value; and
h) Adherence to the terms of this RFP.
Short-Listed Vendors should be available for interviews between August 20, 2024 and August 23, 2024. Interviews may be conducted in person or via video conference, at the WCB's discretion.
The WCB expects to enter into a five (5) year engagement with the Contractor as the independent auditor for the fiscal years 2024 through 2028, however, work with respect to planning the transition of the audit shall begin as soon as practicable upon execution of the Agreement.
The compensation information provided in Schedule "D" Fee Schedule is not to be included in the body of the Proposal. This information should be included in a separate electronic file and be submitted separately on MERX from your main Proposal. Compensation electronic files will be reviewed by the WCB after all main Proposals have been reviewed.
