Procedures for the Selection of Financial Service Providers

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This online version is for convenience; the official version of this policy is housed in the University Secretariat. In case of discrepancy between the online version and the official version held by the Secretariat, the official version shall prevail.

Approving Authority: President

Original Approval Date: May 2, 2012

Date of Most Recent Review/Revision: May 28, 2016

Administrative Responsibility: VP: Finance and Administration

Parent Policy: Policy for the Selection of Financial Service Providers (5.6)

The procedure for selecting financial service providers will follow the Broader Public Sector Procurement Directive (BPS Directive). It will consist of the following steps:

1.01 The Office of the Vice-President: Finance and Administration in consultation with Procurement Services shall prepare a report recommending a review of the financial service to the appropriate standing committee of the Board of Governors. A written scope of the required services, time frames, budget dollar range and current status will be included in the report.

1.02 For the selection of financial service providers who report directly to, or have significant interactions with, the Board of Governors or its Committees (Investment management services for the University pension fund and Laurier's trust and endowment funds; Investment performance consultant services for the University pension fund and Laurier's trust and endowment funds; Actuarial services; External audit services), the appropriate Board Committee shall establish a Request for Proposal (RFP) Review Team. The Review Team must have representation from the appropriate board committee as well as university staff from the Office of the Vice-President: Finance and Administration or other applicable departments.

1.03 For the selection of financial service providers whose impact and interactions are largely administrative, the RFP Review Team may have representation from the appropriate committee(s) and must have university staff from the administrative areas that interact with the service provider.

1.04 To establish a list of potential candidates, the RFP Review Team shall review the professional listings of potential service providers in consultation, where applicable, with the Director of Procurement Services. The committee shall also review all applicable information, including the files of those candidates who have previously provided similar service to the university. Based on this review, the RFP Review Team shall select the candidates to whom requests for proposals will be sent, and shall determine the deadline for the submission of proposals to the university.

1.05 The RFP Review Team shall apply the same selection criteria (as determined by the RFP Review Team) and rank each nominee accordingly. Based on the ranking of the RFP Review Team, and after due deliberation, the RFP Review Team shall establish a short list of candidates.

1.06 The RFP Review Team shall carefully consider all candidates on the short list, and interviews may be conducted with each candidate. The RFP Review Team will then rank each candidate based on both the initial RFP submission and the short list presentations (if applicable). A background and reference check may be conducted if this is deemed necessary.

1.07 Once the RFP Review Team has selected the nominee(s) deemed most appropriate for the task, the University will negotiate an agreement with the selected service provider based on the defined scope of the project.

1.08 Once an agreement is negotiated, including scope of work, the RFP Review Team shall prepare a report with recommendations to the appropriate standing committee of the Board of Governors, with a copy to the Vice-President: Finance and Administration, for subsequent approval by the Board of Governors. The selected candidate shall be advised by the RFP Review Team that the negotiated terms of the agreement are subject to approval by the appropriate standing committee of the Board of Governors and the Board of Governors.

1.09 If appropriate, a standard form of the service provider's contract may form the basis of an agreement. After the contract has been approved by the Board of Governors, a standard Wilfrid Laurier University Purchase Order shall be issued to define the scope of work.