REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR PROJECT AUDIT

Terms of Reference

Cordaid  Sierra Leone

CORDAID Sierra Leone and its Sexual Reproductive Health partners PPASL, Health Poverty Action, Christian Brothers  established a Consortium for Teenage Pregnancy Prevention. The consortium  implemented  a  one year project in three districts  with funding from the Dutch funds CORDAID-Memisa and Stop Aids Now (SAN). Cordaid  is seeking the services of an Audit Firm to conduct a project audit of four(4) partners.

Project Summary

Project Title: Teenage Pregnancy Reduction Project

Project Duration: 25 months

Project location: Bombali, Pujehun and Kenema Districts

Cordaid in Brief

CORDAID believes in a world without poverty and exclusion. We strive for a just and sustainable society where every person counts. We stand for knowledge and talent sharing between North and South, between farmers and businesses, between activists and policymakers. Where poverty, conflict and exclusion divide societies, we connect people and communities. We stand for professionalism, expertise and solidarity across borders. We make a difference where it is most needed.

We do that where natural disasters strike, where conflicts tear up communities and where under development keep families in extreme poverty and ill health. In the Netherlands we are known as CORDAID Memisa, CORDAID Menes in Nood, CORDAID Kinderstem and CORDAID Microkrediet.  In Sierra Leone, we focus on two key aras of support – Health System Sterngthening and Private Sector Development.

Cordaid Sierra Leone Country Office

CORDAID Sierra Leone County Office was established in October 2015 following official registration as a INGO in August 2015.  Although CORDAID has been working in Sierra Leone for over 20 years, this is the first time there has been an official country office in place – previous work was carried out on a donor or project basis.

The project intends to create and strengthen structures of sustainable collaboration between Sierra Leone adolescents, communities, local authorities and local service providers (health, education, police, FSU's, court) to jointly steer, collect evidence, monitor, act and give voice to the teenage pregnancy including HIV/AIDS and STIs, early marriage and SGBV reality in their catchment areas. Because of the different types of target groups involved and the ambition to collect evidence and to pilot a new model, the choice was made for a harmonized composition of target groups in the two (2) Districts. The direct target groups can be divided into three (2) types: A: adolescents and community members, B: service institutions and C: District and national authorities/stakeholders.

1. Objectives and Standards of the Assignment

1. The overall objective of the audit is to provide the Donors with a reasonable assurance on the appropriate use of funds provided to the Consortium Partners in accordance with the reporting requirements of the IP agreement(s), programme document, work plan(s) and budgets.

2. The audit is conducted in accordance with International Auditing Standards (ISA) 800 Special Considerations.

3. The auditor expresses an opinion on whether the Statement of Expenditure (EOS) for the programme is presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with the Partners’ accounting policy and the eligible expenditures incurred to implement activities in conformity with the terms of the IP agreement, work plan or programme document.

4. The statement of expenditure contains the transactions for the audit period and reports on the balance of any funds remaining unspent and due to the funding agency at the end of the project period. The transactions of the programme are also checked against the bank account reconciliations. The bank account is the account held by the Partner into which funds were deposited for the programme. The transactions are checked to determine whether they are adequately supported by appropriate documentation that evidences the validity of the transactions reported, and whether the goods and services procured have been received and used to implement the activities in line with the work plan or programme document.

5. The auditor also expresses an opinion whether the funds transferred to the IP were used for the purpose intended in accordance with the work plan or programme document, approved budget, and the requirements of the applicable funding agreement.

6. The Audit Report must quantify the monetary value of the net financial impact of the audit observations and clearly identify the reasons for qualification if the audit opinion is Qualified, Adverse or Disclaimer.

7. The auditor also assesses the implementing partner’s key internal controls in the areas of programme management, organizational structure and staffing, accounting policies and procedures, fixed assets and inventory, financial reporting and monitoring, and procurement and contract administration and reports on specific control weaknesses, audit observations and recommendations to address them, and indication of the risks associated with the weaknesses/observations. Management comments are expected.

8. Where the IP maintains a segregated bank account, then the report fund balance on Statement of Expenditure should also agree to the bank statement balance.

9. The content of the Audit Report and the list of key internal controls to be tested are described in these Terms of Reference.

2. Engagement Context

1. The selection of Auditor is established based on a thorough assessment of qualifications and the ToR, as well as a competitive bidding process in accordance with the Cordaid procurement and contracting rules and regulations for service providers.

2. The audit will be performed in the country of operation, at location(s) where the Partner maintains programme documentation, typically at the programme implementation sites. Each country office or the agencies’ headquarters will identify a focal person responsible for assigning the Auditor and liaising with the Partner(s) in order to ensure efficient coordination and establish deadlines. Should the location and/or scope of work change, the focal person and the Auditor will determine the requirements, mutually agree on the cost implications, and adjust the payment accordingly.

3. The Auditor will obtain an understanding of the engagement context of the programme subject to this audit, on the basis of the agreement, work plan or programme document signed by the Consortium Lead and the Partners.

4. Documents to be provided to the Auditor

In connection with the audit assignment, the Lead Partner) and the Implementing Partner will provide to the Auditor access to all information of the Lead Partner and the Partner that is relevant to the audit in advance of the engagement, such as:

1. Programme specific information (see Annex I)

2. The Implementing Partner Agreement(s) and respective Work Plan(s) or Programme Document(s) for the audited period;

3. Statement of Expenditures (EOS),

4. Assets and equipment Register (if necessary)

5. Statement of cash position for partners with specific operating fund account

6. Direct payment requests authorized by the implementing partner and included in the statement of expenses

7. List of disbursements made by the Lead Partner as part of support services provided to the implementing partners;

8. Any other relevant reports.

9. Additional information that the Auditor may request from the Lead Partner and the Partners for the purpose of the audit;

10. Unrestricted access to persons engaged by the Partners from whom the Auditor determines it is necessary to obtain audit evidence.

4. Expected Outputs

1. The Auditor will submit an audit report in accordance with the ISA and report must include at a minimum the following:

1. Audit Opinion;

2. Period covered by the audit opinion;

3. Total amount of expenses audited;

4. Audit observations and recommendations;

5. Ineligible expenditures;

6. Key internal controls weaknesses;

7. Statement of expenditure for the audit period;

2. The Auditor will clearly quantify the net financial impact in the audit opinion and clearly identify the reasons for qualification (if any).

5. Line of Communication

The eligible audit firm will primarily communicate with the Health Manager who will be charged with the responsibility to ensure that implementing partners provide work space in their respective offices to enhance the work of the audit firm. The eligible auditor will also interface with the Finance Managers of the Lead Partner and other Partners.

6. Period of the Assignment

Duration of the audit shall be 14 working days ( start and end time July – Aug 2019)

including document review and discussion with Cordaid management and partners and report writing

7. Auditors Experience and Qualifications

1.The composition of the audit team shall be such that the Auditor is able to comply with the International Standards on Auditing. A mixture of audit team members with different categories of Auditors and variable seniority is required for this assignment. This should include a highly qualified team leader(s), expert(s), and assistant(s). The number of members will vary according to the audit subject, volume and size of the Programme(s) being audited.

2.  The principal Auditor should have at least 10 years of post-qualification audit experience. The team will be led by a duly certified professional auditor, such as a Chartered Accountant (CA), Chartered Certified Accountant (CCA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or Certified Auditor (CA). The team should also be experienced in applying the International Standards on Auditing. The Auditor must employ an adequate number of staff with appropriate professional qualifications and suitable experience with ISA, including experience in auditing of entities comparable in size and complexity to the entity being audited.

3.  By agreeing to these ToR, the Auditor confirms that he/she meets at least one of the following terms :

1. The Auditor is a professional accountant (or a firm of professional accountants) that is a member of a national accounting or auditing body or institution, which in turn is a member or associate of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)

2. The Auditor is a member of a national accounting or auditing body or institution that is a recognized regulatory body of professional accountants and Auditors. The Auditor commits him/herself to undertake this engagement in accordance with the IFAC Handbook on International Standards on Auditing and Quality Control, including the Code of Ethics therein.

8. Information to be included in the Proposal

• CVs of the person/s who will carry out the assignment accompanied by written confirmation that this person will complete all tasks outlined above

• Evidence of experience for similar work – if confidentiality is an issue please forward an extract of a report you have written

• Details of a minimum of three reference clients and valid contact details (e-mail address and phone number)

• Detailed financial proposal in Leones currency separately showing the gross (including cost of taxes you are liable for) and net amount.

9. Proposal Submission

Interested firms are required to submit hard copy proposals clearly marked at the top right hand corner “CTTP Project Audit” enclosing all necessary supporting documents including business registration certificates for consulting firms.

All Proposals must be submitted on or before the 20th September, 2021 at the CORDAID office situated at 51 Byrne lane, off Collegiate Drive,  Wilkinson Road.  Soft copy must also be sent via email address:

procurementsl@cordaid.org