California government clients
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Pre-bid brief · Live RFP · Under NDA 
A prime CPA firm's pre-bid brief for Altadena RFP No. 31.
Altadena Library District, Accounting and Financial Consulting Services. One vendor, three years, the District's outsourced finance function.
Live · closes Jun 26, 5 PM PT
Awarding body Altadena Library District
Jurisdiction California
Status Responding under NDA
Solicitation
RFP No. 31Single-vendor award
District
$3.9M budgetAbout 43,000 residents
Term
3 years + 2 options5-year outer term
Techtiz role
Back-officeNDA-first, never agency-facing
Schedule of events
A 38-day window, one hard close.
Proposals are submitted electronically through the District website only. Late submissions are not accepted, with no exceptions.
RFP issued
RFP No. 31 released
Questions due
By 5:00 PM, to the District
Answers posted
District responds to questions
Proposals due, 5:00 PM PT
Electronic only. No late acceptance
Evaluation
District reviews proposals
Optional interview
One hour, in person or virtual
Board selection
Trustees approve the award
Tentative start
Agreement returned in 10 working days
38 days from issue to close. Today the clock is running.
The award model
One vendor, chosen on trust.
Not a multi-pool, not a weighted scorecard. A single qualified firm is selected at the District's sole discretion. The winning firm effectively becomes the District's outsourced finance function.
Selection basisQualifications and trust, no numeric weights. Award at the District's sole discretion, qualitative review of experience, personnel, understanding, and cost.
Who signsTwo people approve. Nikki Winslow, District Director, signs the agreement; General Counsel Jeffrey Mitchell approves as to form. The proposal speaks to one reader.
Board stepThe Board of five elected trustees sees the selection on July 20, 2026. References are called before that date.
What you becomeThe District's outsourced finance function across the full annual cycle, on a three-year term with two optional one-year renewals.
Scope · The differentiator
The scope requires monthly Community Facilities District bond-proceeds tracking, reconciled to US Bank, with separate management reporting.
This Mello-Roos requirement appears in almost no comparable small-district RFP. A credible bid names it as a documented specialty, not routine bookkeeping. It is the single strongest hook to show real District understanding.
This is the documented specialty Techtiz's back-office production runs, under the prime's review.
Task allocation
What a remote back-office can run, and what cannot leave the prime.
The line that makes a compliant Subcontracting model work for a California special district.
No licensing statute bars offshore work here. Instead the agreement governs: it prohibits subcontracting without the District's prior written approval, requires all District financial data to be kept confidential, and locks the named key employee to the account. Offshore support is permissible only with written District approval and a compliant NDA in place first.
Remote back-office Subcontracting
Under NDA and District approval
Budget research and template building
Ten-year cash-flow model building
GL and bank reconciliation work
Journal-entry drafts
Monthly financial statement drafts
1099 data compilation
Grant and cost-center reconciliation drafts
OPEB and State report draft preparation
Audit schedule preparation
Financial analysis and modeling
This is the back-office layer Techtiz runs, behind the prime's review and sign-off.
US prime only
Signed, filed, District-facing
Final review and sign-off
Posting journal entries to District systems
All tax and CalPERS filings and submissions
All District and auditor communication
Board and committee attendance
On-site internal-controls observation
Staff training delivery
Hard limit. No District financial data, GL records, bank statements, payroll and CalPERS data, CFD bond documents, or audit schedules, moves offshore without prior written District approval and a signed NDA in place first.
Where bids fail
Six ways a strong firm loses this one.
None of these is about accounting skill. Each is a contract or process trap.
The insurance numbers conflict RFP body vs agreement
The rule
The RFP body states $1,000,000 general liability. The agreement states $2,000,000. The agreement governs.
If you miss it
Bind at the lower limit and you are non-compliant. Bind at $2,000,000 and clarify before June 19.
How scoring works
Qualitative, not a points sheet.
There are no published numeric weights. The District decides on judgment, with an optional one-hour finalist interview led by a principal.
How it is decided
1
Qualitative review against the factors at right. No numeric weights, award at the District's discretion.
2
Two-person approval. The District Director signs, General Counsel approves as to form, the Board confirms on July 20.
3
Optional interview, one hour, led by a principal, in the week of July 6. Treat it as the close.
What they weigh
Experience & References. Comparable California public-sector work, three external references.
Personnel. Resumes, a named relationship manager, a named computer financial analysis specialist.
Proposer Qualifications. Demonstrated understanding of this specific district.
Total Cost. Fixed monthly fee for Years 1, 2, 3 plus an additional-services rate card with a not-to-exceed cap.
Non-Discrimination. EEO and any MWBE status.
Mandatory qualifications
Four gates from Section 3.0.
Miss any one and the proposal is not competitive. These are pass or fail before anything qualitative.
IRS and EDD knowledge
Knowledge of IRS taxation and California EDD law.
GASB implementation
Experience implementing GASB pronouncements.
CalPERS reporting
Reporting employee retirement and health data to CalPERS.
Engagement value
Three ways the monthly fee could land.
A fixed monthly fee for an ongoing finance function. These are planning scenarios against a $3.9M District budget.
Low
$7,500/ mo
About $90,000 per year.
MidRecommended
$10,500/ mo
About $126,000 per year. Model under NDA
High
$13,500/ mo
About $162,000 per year.
Below $7,500 raises a quality concern. Above roughly $13,000 draws negotiation pressure. A monthly fee above $8,000 to $10,000 gets Board scrutiny against the $3.9M budget.
Before you submit
Bind it right, file two questions.
Insurance bar. Resolve the $1M versus $2M conflict in favor of the agreement, so $2,000,000 general liability. Plus Workers Compensation $1M, Auto $1M, Errors and Omissions $1M endorsed for contractual liability, District named as additional insured, 30-day cancellation notice, coverage primary, certificates within five days of the effective date.
Portal failure
Congestion or an outage on deadline day. Submit early, not at 4:59.
Insurance conflict
Leaving the $1M vs $2M gap unresolved past June 19.
Key-employee availability
The named lead must hold across a multi-year term.
Weak references
They are called before the Board date. Confirm them.
CFD understaffing
Mello-Roos tracking needs a named owner, not a footnote.
Unapproved offshore use
Any offshore work without written approval and an NDA.
The competing field
A boutique California public-sector race.
From the bidder database. The two national firms can outspend the field, but the bench is small, local CPA shops that win on District-specific understanding. Public-source estimates for partner targeting.
28
Firms mapped to the solicitation
12
Highly relevant, 7 partially relevant
8
California-based primes
~$2.7B
Combined revenue, mostly two national firms
2national, $100M+ (Baker Tilly ~$1.8B, Eide Bailly ~$761M)3mid-market, $10M to $100M15boutique, under $10M
Full scope at a glance
The District outsources its finance function.
The engagement spans the entire finance cycle, roughly 20 deliverable categories, from the annual budget through year-end close, CalPERS, and staff training.
Budget & 10-year cash flowMid-year reviewGAAP year-end closeAudit coordinationMonthly GL reconciliationsBank reconciliationsJournal entriesCFD bond trackingGrant cost-center accountingMonthly financial statements1099sState Government Compensation reportOPEB trust reportingState Financial Transactions Report reviewInternal controlsBoard & committee attendanceBest-practices advisoryStaff trainingPayroll & EDD supportCalPERS support
Before you submit
Bind it right, file two questions.
Question 01
Which general liability limit governs?
The RFP body says $1M, the agreement says $2M. A plain clarification before June 19, legitimate and non-disqualifying.
Question 02
Is a US-prime-supervised remote support team under NDA permitted?
For document preparation and research, under the prime's responsible review. This directly enables a compliant back-office model.
How Techtiz fits
The back-office production layer, behind your firm.
Your licensed professionals hold the client relationship, all sign-off, all District and auditor communication, and Board attendance. We never contact the District.
NDA before any data
A mutual NDA and written District approval before a single record moves.
Drafts, you sign
We build models, reconciliations, and statement drafts. Your CPA reviews and signs.
Your firm faces the District
All communication, filings, and Board attendance stay with the prime.
CFD bond fluency
Mello-Roos proceeds tracking reconciled to US Bank, prepared for your review.
NDA Prime name, engagement value, and District data stay under NDA. We never contact the District.
Bidding RFP No. 31? The window is open.
Send us the RFP. We will scope the back-office work.
A US partner manager replies within one business day, under a mutual NDA, never agency-facing. Your firm holds the client, the sign-off, and the District relationship.
Frequently asked questions
Pre-bid brief & confidentiality
Quick answers about how to use this engagement example and what detail is available under NDA.
Why is the prime contractor name withheld?
Most SLED subcontract work sits under mutual NDA and prime branding requirements. Public summaries describe engagement type, technical surface, and outcomes. Partner names and proposal content are shared only with explicit written permission or under an executed teaming agreement.
Can Techtiz support our bid on a similar pursuit?
Yes. If your pursuit matches this engagement type, email sled@techtiz.co or use the teaming intake form. Within 1 business day a U.S.-based partner manager replies with a mutual NDA template and a calendar slot—never agency-facing.
What do we receive under NDA?
Full RFP-decode packs, compliance matrices, technical volumes, submission runbooks, and named-resume options scoped to your vehicle and timeline. Prime name, pricing, and agency data stay inside the prime boundary.
Does Techtiz contact the procuring agency?
No. Techtiz is subcontract-only and never faces the agency. Your program manager holds the client relationship, sign-off, and all agency communication.