Item 21 - Award a Contract to CliftonLarsonAllen LLP for Professional Auditing Services

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We are sensitive and understanding of the fact that we report to those charged with governance, and our audit professionals maintain objectivity and independence in issuing audit opinions. If we identify significant fraud, illegal acts, or significant delays during the audit process, we will alert the audit committee immediately. Information related to overall fiscal health or other concerns of your organization observed during audit testing will be presented in the exit presentation and as part of the management letter. We will also help you create opportunities for improvement through recommendations and suggestions for strengthening your policies, accounting procedures, and processes. Working remotely under special circumstances CLA exists to create opportunities for our clients, our people, and our communities. For several years now we have fostered a remote culture throughout the firm understanding that flexibility to work remotely enables us to better serve our clients under a variety of circumstances. In fact, we had already implemented a number of tools, before the Covid-19 pandemic developed, such as Assurance Information Exchange (AIE) and Microsoft® Teams, which we utilize to provide seamless service to our clients. We continue to invest in technology to facilitate working remotely. Use of technology in the audit We're reimagining the audit process through technology to elevate your experience! Iff-ilSECURE, I NTERACTIVE REQUEST LISTS Assurance Information Exchange (AIE) — CLA offers a secure web -based application to request and obtain II�IIf documents necessary to complete client engagements. This application allows clients to view detailed information, including due dates for items that CLA requests. Additionally, the application allows clients to attach electronic files and add commentary related to the document requests directly on the application. AIE is provided at no additional cost, subject to the terms of the Assurance Information Exchange Portal Agreement. Prosystems fx Engagement — To facilitate the audit workpaper storage and the trial balance software, we use Prosystems fx Engagement. Prosystems itself houses all audit workpapers and reports. The trial balance software within Prosystems allows us to group the City's accounts in any way we need to facilitate audit analysis, audit workpapers, and financial statement support. To ensure an efficient and accurate review of the City prepared ACFR, CLA will group the City's trial balance to match the financial statement grouping. Since the grouping occurs as soon as we receive a trial balance from the City, we are able to tie out the financial statements starting from day one of the audit. This removes the risk for delays in reviewing the ACFR and ensures that we are analyzing the City's data by a fund view as well as an account view from the start of the audit to avoid last minute questions and changes. TeamMate Analytics and Expert Analyzer (TeamMate) — To analyze and understand large data sets, we use TeamMate Analytics and Expert Analyzer. We customize the application by industry in order to perform the most applicable procedures. This allows us to go beyond sampling and instead analyze the entire general ledger for targeted anomalies. Far beyond the audit application, our six -phase process of Risk Assessment, Data Analytics and Review (RADAR) can also provide actionable insights to help you understand your entity better. Microsoft® Teams — Our services approach focuses on impactful interactions. We've said goodbye to the days of setting up camp in our clients' conference rooms for weeks on end. We know our clients have organizations to run, so our interactions have purpose. To assist with communications when we are not onsite, we utilize tools City of Santa Ana RFP No. 24-009 Page 42 of 63