EXTERNAL AUDIT SERVICE TOR 55 views

Background

CIFA ONLUS (International Center for Childhood and family) is an international NGO working to contribute to improving the living situation of the rural and urban poor and destitute children and family in Ethiopia. It is an Italian based not for profit organization established in 1980 through a group of families committed to promote and support the principle that every child, wherever coming from, has the right to be grown up surrounded by the love of a family.

It is over 35 years of commitment in protecting the rights of the most vulnerable children and working in Ethiopia for over 10 years. CIFA works in migration and environmental protection sectors, supports the access to primary and secondary education, especially for girls, fights against the worst form of discrimination and supports women’s economic empowerment.

In its 35 years of services, we have accomplished many growth steps towards our mission: by being acknowledged as NGO in 2002, it has become a leader in child’s rights advocacy. Since that date, our mission has changed: it has been working hard not only to support couples throughout their adoption project but also to prevent children from being abandoned and exploited. CIFA has been fighting to ensure children’s access to basic education and improve their living conditions in their countries of origin.

CIFA implemented successfully the projects run in the period from January 01, 2019 to December 31, 2019 with a total annual budget/expenditures level of 4.2M ETB. Funds had been received by different Donors such as AICS (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation), GIZ and EU.

Scope of Audit

The auditor shall determine whether the financial statements of the CIFA (for the year beginning on January 01, 2019 and ending on December 31, 2019 are presented fairly in all material respects in conformity with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAPs) The auditor shall also determine whether the financial statements is presented fairly in all material respects in relation to the CIFA’s finance management policies and its stakeholders (Government of Ethiopia and donors) requirement and consideration are taken as a whole.

Accounting, Financial Reporting and Audit Arrangements

The locations of accounting records to be audited are available at CIFA Ethiopia head office in Addis Ababa.

Preparation and Submission of Proposal

Please provide the following information in your proposal:

• Provide a description of your firm (staff size, number of professionals, industries served, …etc.)
• Describe engagements your firm currently conducts in the not-for-profit sector. Include a list of not- for-profit clients that you believe are comparable to our organization in size, mission focus and complexity.
• Describe the level of experience of the individuals who would be assigned to our account.
• Describe your firm’s basic approach to performing an audit and the resulting advantages that will accrue to our agency. Include description of the activities undertaken by your firm to promote /ensure audit quality.
• The reporting for the audit will be in English.

Selection and Scoring Criteria

CIFA will assess proposals based on the following Technical and Financial criteria:

Overall capabilities of the firm (20%)

• Affiliation with worldwide firm–nature of professional quality assurance and other interactions to ensure that international auditing standards are maintained as they are evolving. (4%)
• Experience in audit of not-for-profit organizations and/or local government entities managing USG-funded projects (4%)
• Number of partners and professional staff; partner-staff ratio, ability to substitute staff at similar levels of qualifications and experience if necessary (4%)
• Types of clients/sectors, number of large clients/clients spread (not overly reliant on few clients) (4%)
• Feedback on performance from other clients (4%)

Professional team assigned (15%)

• Organization of team (lead partner, review partner, number of manager-level staff, auditor-in-charge, and junior staff) (5%)
• The CV of lead partner, review partner, manager(s), auditor in charge – professional and academic qualifications, years of external audit experience, recent professional development activities, experience with audit of not-for-profit entities, experience with auditing against international financial reporting standards, experience with auditing organizations managing similar funds; (5%)
• Number of hours allocated in proposal by partners, managers and auditor in charge (5%)

Proposed methodology (10%)

• Risk assessment methodology (2%)
• Balance between reviews of controls and substantive testing (2%)
• Detailed work schedule and time taken to complete the assignment (2%)
• Approach to reviewing the financial system (2%)
• Proposed interaction with internal audit function (2%)

Price and Cost (55%)

• Proposed fee (35%)
• Relationship to the number of hours (should be neither excessive nor low that the quality of the audit or ability of the firm to deliver within the fee is doubted) (10%)
• Estimated out-of-pocket expenses (10%)

The technical component of the proposal should address the technical criteria above. The financial proposal (for fee and estimated “out of pocket” expenses) must be supported with an appropriate breakdown analysis. Technical and financial components of the proposal must be put and sealed in separate envelops and should be clearly marked as “Financial Proposal” and “Technical Proposal”.

Scheduling and Staffing of Engagement

• Identify the engagement team which would be performing our audit and include a resume of the qualifications and experience for partners, managers and staff.
• Indicate the expected timing and completion of the audit and the expected delivery of the financial statements and management letter.

Other Proposal Instructions

Bidders are expected to examine the specifications and all instructions contained in this ToR. The proposals must be signed and stamped by a duly authorized representative.

Requirements for External Audit

The requirements for the external audit of CIFA will include the following:

• Examination of the financial statements according to the international auditing standards applicable to Ethiopia and issue of an opinion thereon.
•  Examination of the financial statements according to donor requirement
•  Preparation of a memorandum on the review of internal accounting controls and other matters arising from the audit which should be brought to the attention of the CIFA Management.
• Presentation to the CIFA Management of the audit report and findings.
•  Signature of the audit report on the financial statements under the name of the firm.