RFP - Auditor for a Project in Sundarbans Islands, India

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About the Organization

Sign of Hope is a faith-based Christian human rights and aid organisation. The focus is on worldwide assistance for people in need and distress - for our vision: a future in which the place of birth no longer determines a life in dignity. Learn more about our motivation, work and principles.

About the Proposal

SoH is a Christian motivated organisation for Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance and Development Cooperation. Based in Constance, Germany, SoH is dedicated to helping those in distress and exploited people worldwide.

An audit is commissioned under the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) funding guidelines for development projects run by private German executing agencies.

SoH will be the private German executing agency and the contracting party, with Development Research Communication and Service Centre (DRCSC) being the local implementing agency.

The project goal is to secure the livelihood of the target group and to create resilience regarding the effects of climate change. The reduced pressure on the ecosystem paired with afforestation shall increase the total forest area and the biodiversity.

Audit Objectives

The purpose of the in-depth audit is to provide SoH with a sound basis for its accountability, transparency and accuracy in the financial disclosure towards the funding agency BMZ. The tasks of this recruitment relate to:

• An annual audit, with a detailed examination of all the supporting documents for 01.01.2024 – 31.12.2024;
• A conclusive examination of the complete project duration (1st June 2021 – 31st December 2024). Thereby, the auditor can refer to the last annual audit reports to be available at that time.
• This in-depth audit will verify the compliance with standards of the funding agency BMZ, SoH, national regulations and the international accounting standards (ISA).
• The auditor will review the project’s financial documents, receipts lists, records of transactions, all vouchers and receipts disbursed, and relevant project documents in order to come up with a professional, independent opinion on the financial accounting of the project “Adaptation to climate change and resilience building on the Sundarban Islands through afforestation and promotion of sustainable livelihoods” for all funds received and expended by DRCSC from 1st June 2021 to 31st December 2024.
• Additionally, the audit shall give recommendations on strengths, weaknesses, and required improvement in the project-related financial and human resources management systems of DRCSC.
• The audit will support the project quality assurance measures implemented by SoH and contribute to the decision-making process with regard to the project management and monitoring of finances by SoH and DRCSC.

Deliverables

The auditor is expected to produce an audit report, an audit certificate and a management letter, which will comprise the following:

• Presentation of the scope and mandate of the audit, as well as the list of documents that formed the evidence for the audit,
• An opinion whether financial statements (statement of accounts for the year being audited and the complete project duration) are issued in accordance with the financial reporting framework of the project, BMZ requirements and an internationally recognized accounting standard,
• A checked, signed and stamped list of all project costs receipts, sorted by BMZ budget lines (list is provided by the local implementing partner).
• Recommendations on identified shortcomings, and, if applicable, comments on the follow-up of audit observations and recommendations from previous years.
• Audit documents can be issued in English or German.

Scope of the Audit

The audit should focus on the following:

• The correctness and completeness of the accounting records,
• The financial report, showing all project related income and expenditure structured by budget lines,
• Deviations of expenditure by budget lines. The expenditure, which exceeds or falls below the budget appropriations by more than 30 %, shall be explained separately, if the approval of the BMZ has not previously been obtained,
• That receipts and relevant supporting documents are available for all project related income and expenditures,
• The management of the funds made available, which includes the transfer of project funds, all interest earned from the project funds during the reporting period and further income generated by the project,
• Reviewing the appropriate use of funds according to the project objectives,
• Evaluation of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the usage of funds,
• Budget adherence through the comparison between budgeted and actual costs in the currency in which the expenditure was incurred. The audit report will not convert the examined amounts into the Euro amounts,
• Reviewing if personnel costs and social security contributions conform to the regulations in the project country and are locally comparable,
• The economical use of the project equipment and assets,
• The inventory and the use of capital items, their whereabouts and their purposive usage,
• Compliance with the legal framework of the project (project agreements and annexes, contracts, etc.) and the donor requirements,
• Compliance with the policies of the local implementing partner regarding procurement, financial administration, human resources management and travel.

Procedures and Communication

The auditor will be given access to all necessary documents in the project offices through the local implementing partner DRCSC as well as relevant donor documents through SoH.

The auditor will be responsible to set up a schedule in agreement with the local implementing partner DRCSC. Any expenses for field trips, postal and translation services and other expenses shall be included in the auditor’s proposed budget. DRCSC will support the auditor with logistics and arrangements, however, all payments of the contract will be made directly by SoH.

Eligibility

• Necessary qualification to serve as a recognized independent auditing authority,
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience conducting external independent audits of projects funded by international institutional donors in India,
• Experience in conducting audits for BMZ-funded projects is beneficial.

How to Apply

Please submit the following documents as PDF files with the subject line “Audit in Sundarban Islands, India” to procurement@sign-of-hope.org no later than 28th November 2024, 23:59 CET:

• Technical Proposal (as per Terms of Reference above) of no more than 2 pages, including approach and methodology to be used,
• A financial proposal (EUR),
• A qualification certificate of a recognized independent auditing authority as confirmed by a relevant institution in the project country (for example, a chamber of commerce, national association of auditors or another relevant organisation),
• A reference list of three previous customers.

Companies as well as independent auditors are invited for this tender. Female and differently abled candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Please note that due to a large number of applications we may limit establishing contact to shortlisted applicants.

Bids received after deadline will not be considered. If offers are incomplete, bidders may be able to hand in missing documents within a deadline upon request by SoH.

The selection of the auditor will be conducted jointly by DRCSC and SoH. Interviews with shortlisted candidates will be held online.

The audit agreement will be set up by SoH and DRCSC. Audit agreements set up by auditors won’t be accepted.

Criteria and weighting for the evaluation of the submitted proposals:

• Essential and desirable competencies, proposed methodology: 40 %
• Financial proposal (fee): 30 %
• Performance during interview: 20 %
• Minimum amount of years of relevant experience: 5 %
• Language skills: 5 %

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