Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 12-25.004 - Contract Auditor Prerequisites

An applicant and the applicant's firm, prior to being considered for a contract or renewal of a contract to provide auditing services pursuant to section 213.28, F.S., shall comply with the following qualifying criteria:

(1) Must be a certified public accountant in good standing under the laws of the state in which the applicant is licensed;

(2) Must be willing to certify that they have not performed accounting, auditing, management consulting, or tax services for any taxpayer or person that is a subsidiary, parent, sister, or other affiliate of the taxpayer on which they are requested to perform a tax compliance audit or special audit project pursuant to a contract with the Department during the 60-month period immediately preceding the signing of a contract to perform tax compliance audits or special audit projects;

(3) Certify that they will not perform accounting, auditing, management consulting, or tax services for any taxpayer or person that is a subsidiary, parent, sister, or other affiliate of the taxpayer on which a tax compliance audit or special audit project has been conducted pursuant to a contract with the Department, for a period of thirty-six consecutive calendar months from the date the Department's assessment of tax due, denial of refund, issuance of a refund, or a "no change" becomes final or the special audit project is completed to the express written approval of the Department;

(4)

(a) Shall not have provided private broker services to the Department, as defined in this rule; and,

(b) Shall not utilize or benefit from the provisions of section 213.27, F.S. (Contracts with Debt Collection Agencies) or section 213.30, F.S., (Compensation for Information Relating to a Violation of the Tax Laws) while under contract to the Department or with regard to any information obtained during the performance of a contractual obligation with the Department.

(5) Comply with contractual requirements regarding the confidentiality of tax information, which acknowledges the applicant's legal responsibility to not disclose any taxpayer or departmental records.

(6) Timely provide the information, as specified by the Request for Information (when applicable), required by the Department for use in the applicant ranking procedure. "Timely provide" means the information must either be hand delivered to the Contract Manager's Office or postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service by the deadline established in the Request for Information. Facsimile information will not be accepted.

(7) Shall not have any currently unpaid Florida state tax liability, and, to the best of the applicant's knowledge, be in compliance with Florida revenue laws. This provision applies to any business entity owned or controlled by, or related to, the applicant, including a parent, subsidiary, brother or sister company, or other affiliated entity.

Notes

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 12-25.004

Rulemaking Authority 213.06(1), 213.28(4) FS. Law Implemented 213.28, 213.53(2) FS.

New 5-11-92, Amended 3-20-94, 10-30-96, 7-31-00.

New 5-11-92, Amended 3-20-94, 10-30-96, 7-31-00.