A.O. Speranță și Sănătate (NGO Hope and Health) announces a competition to select an Audit Company, in order to carry out the project financial audit for 2020-2022.

The selected company will provide the requested services according to the Terms of Reference described in this announcement and based on the service contract for the requested period.

The offer is to be dated and signed by the bidder and sent by e-mail, to the addresses: office@hopeandhealth.md, with the mention Audit Services Offer until December 16, 2020.

For any questions, you can contact Roșcovan Tatiana to +37368338338.

Tenders which do not comply with the conditions of the terms of reference will not be considered.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. INTRODUCTION

Diakonie ACT Austria gem. GmbH and Hope and Health have signed a cooperation agreement for implementing the project “ABILITAREA - Equal rights and self-determination of People with Intellectual Disabilities”.

The project is carried out in Moldova by Hope and Health and will be implemented from 01.01.2020 to 31.12.2022.

The project is funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and Brot für die Welt (BfdW) Deutschland.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

The project aims to achieve the following objective and results:

Objective:

People with intellectual disabilities (PWIDs) and their families have achieved greater empowerment, self-determination and inclusion within their local community.

Result 1 - Services for PWIDs: PWIDs, their parents and guardians and elder people in Buiucani community have benefitted from Hope and Health's day care centre and outreach services

Result 2 - Organisational capacity and sustainability: Hope and Health has institutionalised its operations as a day care centre for PWIDs

Result 3 - Enabling environment: Hope and Health is influencing government and other NGOs to improve the availability and quality of services for PWIDs

3. GENERAL INFORMATION AND REQUIRED EXPERTISE

An annual expenditure verification should be conducted for each year of project implementation (2020, 2021 and 2022). The total project sum to be audited (over three years) amounts to EUR 412.500 (costs for auditing not included). Each audited report has to show the total annual project costs.

Audit standards: The Auditor shall undertake this Engagement in accordance with:

- the International Standard on Related Services (‘ISRS’) 4400 Engagements to perform Agreed-upon Procedures regarding Financial Information as promulgated by the IFAC;

- the IFAC Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (developed and issued by IFAC's International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), which establishes fundamental ethical principles for Auditors regarding integrity, objectivity, independence, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, professional behaviour and technical standards. Although ISRS 4400 provides that independence is not a requirement for Agreed-upon procedures engagements, the Contracting Authority requires that the Auditor is independent from the Beneficiary and complies with the independence requirements of the IFAC Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.

Required expertise: The Auditor is required to be a member of a national accounting or auditing body or institution which in turn is member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) or member of a national accounting or auditing body or institution. Although this organisation is not member of the IFAC, the Auditor commits himself/herself to undertake this Engagement in accordance with the IFAC standards and ethics.

The Auditor will employ staff with appropriate professional qualifications and suitable experience with IFAC standards and with experience in verifying financial information of entities comparable in size and complexity to the Grant Recipient.

The Auditor has sufficient knowledge of relevant laws, regulations and rules in the country concerned. This includes but is not limited to taxation, social security and labour regulations, accounting and reporting.

The Auditor will provide the Contracting Authority with CVs of the staff/experts involved in the expenditure verification. The CVs will include appropriate details for the purpose of the evaluation of the offer on the relevant specific experience for this expenditure verification and the qualifying work carried out in the past.

The auditor must not have been involved in the operation’s accounting and must not be personally connected in any way with the organisation being audited.

The expert auditor company must be legally registered in Moldova.

4. OBJECTIVES OF THE AUDIT

Auditor verifies on the basis of original documents, if

-              costs declared in the Financial Statement are justified by the relevant supporting documents

-              costs meet eligibility criteria stipulated in the Grant Agreement and its annexes

-              original vouchers are clearly associated with the project and the projects time frame

-              all invoices have been settled and paid for

-              financial resources have been used efficiently, cost effectively and solely for the purpose for which they were provided

-              Generally Accepted Accounting Standards are met

-              conversion of Currency has been calculated correctly

-              accrued interest has been declared

-              expenses have been correctly assigned to budget items

-              over expenditure, if any, lies within the thresholds stipulated in the Grant Agreement

-              usage of budget funds under “unforeseen” or “contingency reserve” has been approved by ADA

-              indirect costs, if foreseen in the budget, have been calculated properly

-              procurement regulations have been met

-              other revenues originally not foreseen in the financial plan were registered or

-              revenues foreseen in the financial plan were not realized

-              the contract, terms and conditions have been complied with

-              applicable tax laws and regulations have been complied with

-              applicable Social and Labour Laws have been complied with

-              an adequate, effective Internal Control System exists

-              all assets and equipment have been incorporated in the asset list

-              assets and equipment have been used for the project purposes

-              project vehicles, if any, have been used according to the standards set out in the General Terms and Conditions of the Grant Agreement

-              regulations on travel expenses have been followed

-              sub-grants foreseen in the project document have been provided to third parties and have been properly accounted for on the basis of actual costs

-              applicable visibility regulations have been adhered to

-              recommendations from previous periods have been implemented.

5. WORK PLAN

The procedures regarding the audit reports are conducted on the premises of Hope and Health and include the examination of all the original documents/vouchers. Hope and Health is obliged to provide the auditor with all information and all documents necessary to conduct the audit.

Each annual audit must be carried out between 01.01.2021 and 16.03.2021, 01.01.2022 and 16.03.2022 and 01.01.2023 and 16.03.2023 respectively. A draft of the audited report should be delivered to Diakonie ACT Austria and Hope and Health electronically per e-mail by the 16 March of the respective year at the latest.

Any open questions can be addressed to the auditor within 7 calendar days after sending the draft of the final report. After a period of clarification of 7 days a final version of the audited report has to be completed and forwarded to Hope and Health and Diakonie ACT Austria electronically as well as in hard copy (4 hard copies).

The audited report shall be submitted in English.

6. STRUCTURE OF THE AUDITED REPORT

The Auditor shall produce an Expenditure Verification Report which contains at least:

-              Title

-              Addressee

-              Brief description of the project and partner(s)

-              Period covered by the report

-              Total amount of budgeted and actual incomes

-              Complete list of project funds transferred, including donors’ names, dates and exchange Rates

-              Total amount of actual expenditures verified

-              Expenditure Coverage Ratio

-              Description of the procedures performed

-              Factual findings

-              Recommendations, if applicable

-              Follow up of previous recommendations, if applicable

-              Other relevant matters

-              Date of the report

-              Auditor’s address and signature

The Report shall also comprise the following annexes:

-              Financial Statement

-              Bank account statements

-              List of payable invoices, if any

-              In case ineligible costs are detected, a list of respective vouchers

-              Asset list

-              If expenses contain Value Added Tax (VAT), the Auditor shall certify that Grant Recipient is not exempt from VAT and cannot reclaim it either