Requires a Cover Letter?: 
no
Application Submissions Guideline: 

This invitation to tender is intended to identify a consultant (s) for the technical and financial audit of the project “Support and reinforcement of the capacities of the associations established by the Syrian communities in Lebanon with activities related to childhood and adolescence “ implemented by Asmae in partnership with Jafra and B&Z. If you wish to express your interest, please send your offer by e-mail no later than 7 october 2019  to the simultaneous attention of: and [email protected] , [email protected]

NB: The audit firms wishing to apply should request the full ToR to Asmae prior to submitting their offer.

The offers must include:

-    A note showing the entire understanding of the terms of reference of this audit;

-    A description of the methodology that will be used;

-    References and experiences of the auditors;

-    The composition of the team, the distribution of responsibilities between its members and the CVs of the persons proposed to carry out the audit;

-    The provisional timetable for intervention and an estimate in terms of men / days;

-    A detailed financial proposition.

Contact Person Name: 
Maha Ibrahim /Malak Shmaissani
Contact Person Position: 
Administrative and Financial Officer
Contact Person Email: 
Description: 

1- Description of the action to be audited

1.1 Background

Asmae-Association Sœur Emmanuelle (Asmae) is a French international solidarity NGO specialized in child development. Independent, secular and apolitical, it is open to all. Created in 1980 by Sister Emmanuelle on the basis of her experience with rag-pickers in the slums of Cairo, Asmae continues its action in accordance with the values and methods inherited from its founder: listening and proximity, pragmatism, taking into account differences, professionalism and reciprocity. Asmae's action aims to support vulnerable children and their families through tailor-made and long-term support for local actors working in the fields of education and child protection.

Asmae has been working in the Lebanon since 1986 and is currently supporting programmes on Prevention and Care of Children at Risk and Adolescence Support, in addition to other cross cutting issues such as access to quality education, inclusion of children with disabilities and gender mainstreaming. Asmae is currently working in partnership with several local NGOs and is part of different networks (such as the National Child Protection Working Group and the Lebanese Humanitarian INGO Forum).

Within the framework of this project, Asmae and 2 Lebanese associations: Jafra and Basmeh & Zeitooneh (B&Z) are collaborating in a process of co-construction, co-porting and co-leading the project.

This external audit, commissioned by Asmae, relating to the AFD grant contract CLB 1086 01 L "Support and reinforcement of the capacities of the associations established by the Syrian communities in Lebanon with activities related to childhood and adolescence", will be carried out in two steps: a mid-term financial audit for the period from the 1st of September 2018 to the 31st of December 2019, and a final financial audit for the period from 1st of January 2020 to 31st of August 2021.

1.2 Presentation of the project

The French Development Agency (AFD) supports Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) within the framework of the support scheme for CSO Initiatives (I-ONG), the main objective of which is to co-finance projects or field programmes carried out by French CSOs to support the structuring and capacity building of civil society organisations in the South. It is within this framework that Asmae launched the project “Support and reinforcement of the capacities of the associations established by the Syrian communities in Lebanon with activities related to childhood and adolescence”.

The project, co-financed by AFD, is being carried out in Lebanon, in Beirut and two Palestinian camps in southern suburbs. The overall objective of the action is to improve access and provision of educational and protection services to vulnerable Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese children and adolescents in Shatila and Burj el-Barajneh refugee camps while maximising the impact of implementation operations by two partner associations through the strengthening of their operational, organisational and institutional capabilities.

The project, which has a total duration of three years and a total budget of € 832 812 (including 50% financed by AFD), will end on 31 August 2021.

1.3 Asmae financial system

he financial system of Asmae is built upon the software Sage and Saga (French software).

  • Country offices use Saga, what is an accountancy software based on treasury. Entries are made on daily basis and send to Asmae Head Office on monthly basis, along with a scanned copy of the vouchers;
  • Partners’ expenditures are reported in a separate budget follow-up, and registered within SAGA in an extra-accounting journal;
  • Asmae Head office import Saga entries in the HO Saga, that contains consolidated and verified data for all country offices and the head office. Each month, data are imported in Sage accounting software, what follows accrued basis accountancy principle. Relevant changes are then made to check entries and make sure they respect accrued based accountancy principles. It incorporates needed changes as well as HO costs into Saga.
  • Financial reports are prepared for donors based on an extraction from Saga. Auditors will have access to Saga exportation for the needs of their audit.

This system allows meeting, at every time, the expectation ensuring an easy follow-up of the projects, the edition of the main documents giving regular information for the NGO’s management and/or for reporting to donors and partners. It allows capturing vouchers in their global, accountant and analytic dimensions, in a single operation.

It includes:

  • One general accountancy module, adapted to the accountancy of the whole projects and compliant with international norms. The chart of accounts is adaptable according to the needs.
  • One flexible analytic module ensuring the follow-up of operation by donor and budget line.

1.4 Justification of the audit

This global audit in 2 phases (mid-term audit and final audit) aims to control the use of funds allocated to the project in compliance with the rules of the financing agreement signed between Asmae and the French Development Agency for the implementation of this project. The audit covers the execution of the procedures agreed in the grant contract and the accuracy of the financial reports sent by Asmae to AFD in relation to the reality of project execution. Thus, the auditor is required to prepare a factual observation report (or audit report) after examining the information contained in the beneficiary's financial report, the supporting documents relating to the project and the terms and conditions of the grant contract.

The audit missions will be held in Beirut (Lebanon), in the offices of Asmae.

The audit will cover the parts of the partners (Jafra and B&Z) and Asmae (Lebanon and headquarters). Asmae headquarters invoices will be provided in scanned copies.

2- Description of the audit work

2.1 Expectations and Objectives

Asmae wishes to place this audit in a process of control and reinforcement of the teams’ skills. The scope of the mid-term and final audits covers all expenditure incurred from the 1st of September 2018 till the 31st of December 2019 for the first stage of the mid-term audit and from the 1st of January 2020 to the 31st of August 2021 for the final audit under the project “Support and reinforcement of the capacities of the associations established by the Syrian communities in Lebanon with activities related to childhood and adolescence”.

This technical and financial audit will therefore aim to:

  • Verify that the files are all complete (financial tables, supporting documents, ...);
  • Ensure the legal and administrative compliance of expenditure with the national and community rules applicable, taking into account the non-objection letter(s) provided by the AFD;
  • Verify that the provisions included in the grant agreement with the AFD are respected;
  • Verify that the provisions included in the Procedural Guide / DPO of French Development Agency are met;
  • Verify the correspondence of the accounting records with the supporting documents held by the beneficiary and the partners conducting the operations as well as if the supporting documents are all completed;
  • Verify the conformity of the nature of the expenses of the project and their date of implementation with the grant agreement (eligibility of declared expenditure);
  • Verify the consistency between the use or the objective of use of the funding and the use described in the grant application;
  • Verify compliance with applicable procurement and tendering procedures (either Asmae’s or the AFD’s procedures);
  • Verify the absence of duplication of funding.

2.2 Procedures and methodology

The twostages of the audit will be conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISA).

In order to meet these different objectives, the auditor acquires a sufficient knowledge of the terms and conditions of the grant contract by carefully examining the grant contract and its appendices and other relevant information by asking the beneficiary. The auditor shall ensure that a copy of the original signed grant agreement and any appendices, together with any amendment requests and signed amendments, are obtained. The auditor shall submit and review the mid-term report and the final report or being prepared by the beneficiary. The auditor will complete the checklist for conducting financial audits established by the French Development Agency to ensure that the audit covers all the provisions of the agreement. The auditor verifies that the financial report fulfils the following conditions:

  • The financial report complies with the model imposed by FDA;
  • The financial report covers the entire action independently of the financing share of FDA.

The auditor verifies that Asmae has complied with the following accounting rules:

  • The accounts kept by the beneficiary for the implementation of the action are accurate and up-to-date;
  • The beneficiary has a double-entry accounting system;
  • The accounts and expenditure relating to the action are readily identifiable and verifiable;
  • The accounts shall indicate, where applicable, the interest received on the funds paid.

The auditor compares the information contained in the financial report with the beneficiary's system and accounting records (eg. general balance of accounts, general ledger accounts, auxiliary logs, payroll, etc.).

The auditor performs an analytical check of the expenditure items of the financial report.

It verifies that the budget mentioned in the financial report corresponds to that of the grant contract (authenticity and authorization of the initial budget) and that the expenses incurred are included in the budget of the grant contract.

The auditor checks if changes have been made to the budget of the grant contract. If this is the case, the auditor checks that the beneficiary has requested a modification of the budget and obtained an amendment to the grant contract.

The auditor checks the eligibility criteria set out below for each selected expenditure item:

(1) Costs actually incurred

The auditor verifies that the expenditure relating to a selected position has actually been incurred by the beneficiary and is related to the specific expense. To this end, the auditor reviews vouchers (eg invoices, contracts) and proof of payment. The auditor also reviews evidence of work performed, goods received or services provided and verifies the existence of assets, if any.

(2) Cut-off - Implementation period

As part of the mid-term audit, the auditor verifies that the expenditure relating to a selected item has been incurred during the implementation period of the action: September 1st, 2018 to December 31st, 2019.

As part of the final financial audit, the auditor verifies that the expenditure relating to a selected item has been incurred during the implementation period of the action: January 1st, 2020 to August 31st, 2021.

(3) Budget

The auditor verifies that the expenditure for a selected position has been indicated in the budget of the action.

(4) Necessary expenses

The auditor checks whether, in all likelihood, expenditure relating to a selected position was necessary for the implementation of the action and whether it should be incurred for the sub-contracted activities of the action, by examining the nature of the expenditures using vouchers.

(5) Account Statements

The auditor verifies that the expenditure for a selected item is recorded in the beneficiary's accounting system in accordance with the accounting standards applicable in the country of establishment of the beneficiary and its usual accounting practices.

(6) Justified expenses

The auditor verifies that the expenditure for a selected item is supported by evidence, supporting documents and accounts and / or bank accounts and any other document relating to the financing of the project.

(7) Determination of value

The auditor checks that the monetary value of a selected expense item complies with the receipts (eg. invoices, salary slips) and that the correct exchange rates are used, if applicable.

(8) Classification

The auditor reviews the nature of expenditures for a selected position and verifies that the item of expenditure has been classified in the appropriate sub-section of the financial report.

(9) Compliance with Asmae and the AFD’s procurement rules

The auditor examines the procurement, nationality and origin rules that apply to a sub-heading, a category of items or a specific item of expenditure. The auditor verifies that expenditures have been incurred in accordance with these rules by reviewing the supporting documentation for the procurement process and procedure. When the auditor identifies points of non-compliance with procurement rules, the auditor shall notify Asmae of the nature and their financial impact in terms of non-eligible expenditure.

The auditor shall verify that indirect costs representing general administrative costs do not exceed 10% of the total direct eligible costs of the action.

2.3 Expenditure Audit Coverage

The expenditure declared by the beneficiary in the financial report is divided into the following items:

  1. Local operating costs
  2. Human Resources
  3. Support, monitoring and control
  4. Real estate, technical, and furniture investments
  5. Supplies and consumables
  6. Funds, endowments
  7. Studies and intellectual services
  8. Activities
  9. Capitalization, evaluation,  audit
  • Administrative costs

Expenditure items can be broken down into sub-headings.

Moreover, each partner receives, from Asmae, a portion of the project budget:

  • Jafra’s budget amounts to 284 395 euros;
  • B&Z’ budget amounts to 135,515 euros.

A partnership agreement precises the conditions of the partnership.

The auditor's mission and the coverage of expenditure verification do not necessarily imply full and complete control of all expenditure under a specific heading or subheading. Depending on certain conditions (see below), it can obtain satisfactory results for an expenditure heading or subheading by examining a limited number of selected positions.

The auditor may apply statistical sampling techniques to monitor one or more financial statement headings or sub-headings. The auditor should explain in the report any factual findings for which headings or subheadings of the financial report the sampling was applied, the method used, the results obtained and whether the sample is representative.

The auditor ensures that the minimum sample of expenditures verified, and hence the expenditure coverage ratio, is equal to at least 50% of the expenditures incurred by the beneficiary.

 2.4 Recommendations:

The auditors will be asked to make realistic recommendations based on the results of the expenditure verification and the analysis of the procedures implemented under the project “Support and reinforcement of the capacities of the associations established by the Syrian communities in Lebanon with activities related to childhood and adolescence”

The recommendations should contribute to improving the quality of the administrative and financial procedures of the action. These recommendations should take into account the following questions:

  • Which conclusion(s) induce which recommendation (s)?
  • How can the assets (or strengths) of the administrative and financial management of the project be consolidated?
  • To what extent could the difficulties (or weaknesses) in the administrative and financial management of the project be resolved?
  • What is the hierarchy of the recommendations, according to the level of risk?
  • What is the hierarchy of the recommendations according to a preliminary schedule?
  • What are the strategic and operational recommendations?
  • What are the more general lessons that can be learned?

As far as possible, the evaluators will assign each recommendation to the various stakeholders by providing a timetable (short-term, medium-term, long-term) and indicators for monitoring these recommendations.

2.5 Means

The total budget of the project over 3 years is 832 812 euros. The first 16-month period amount is 394 429 euros, including 358 572 euros in direct costs (offline Miscellaneous and unforeseen, not used to date). The second 20-month period amounts is 438 383 euros, including 398 530 euros in direct costs (offline Miscellaneous and unforeseen, not used to date). The budget for the audit mission (intermediate and final phase) amounts to a maximum of €16 500, or 18,460 USD including VAT. The relevance and quality of the financial offers will be taken into account to finalize the selection process.

3- Service to be provided

3.1 Competencies required to conduct the audit

The competencies required to carry out this audit cover the following areas:

  • Knowledge and professional experience in auditing and consulting
  • Knowledge of specific lessor rules of French Development Agency
  • Language skills : English : read, written and spoken

3.2 Duration and timetable of the audit

These services will be held in Beirut in the offices of the Asmae association. The mid-term audit will begin in February 2020 and the final audit will begin in October 2021.

3.3 Audit steering arrangements

The audit work will be monitored by an ad hoc steering committee composed of:

  • Country Representative-Asmae Lebanon
  • Project Officer-Asmae Lebanon
  • Administrative and Finance Officer-Asmae Lebanon
  • Grant Manager-Asmae headquarters
  • Middle-East Area Manager-Asmae headquarters
  • Administration and financial manager-Asmae headquarters

The members of this committee will be available to discuss with the auditors as needed and make available to the auditors the various documents necessary to carry out the assignment. The committee will meet as needed throughout the event.

3.4 Documents to be submitted by the consultant(s)

 technical offer including:

  • A note of understanding of the terms of reference and presentation of the methodology used;
  • The references and experiences of the auditor;
  • The composition of the team, the distribution of responsibilities between its members and the CVs of the persons proposed to carry out the audit;
  • The provisional timetable for intervention and an estimate in terms of men / days.

A financial offer including the overall budget in euros with the exchange rate used, excluding tax and all taxes included, as well as detailed prices (fees, daily allowances, transport costs, etc.).

It is requested to detail in the financial offer all the costs necessary to carry out these audits. It is also requested to specify the distribution of working days between the different phases (in relation to their proposed methodology).

3.5 Consultant Selection Process

Technical proposals will be evaluated on the basis of their compliance with the terms of reference, using the following evaluation criteria:

  • Consultant References
  • Understanding TORs and Proposed Methodology
  • Qualification, experience and coherence of the proposed team
  • Financial proposal

4- Deliverables

4.1 Expenditure Audit Report

It is a factual report that will present the entire work carried out under the terms of reference. The expenditure verification report shall describe the purpose, agreed procedures and factual findings of the mandate in sufficient detail to enable to Asmae to understand the nature and scope of the procedures performed by the auditor and the information provided by the auditor. The auditor will attach to it the completed grid of verification for carrying out financial audits established by French Development Agency.

A first version of this report should be provided by the auditor to Asmae on March 2020 for the mid-term audit and on November 2021 for the final audit. The final version of the report, incorporating the potential amendments formulated by Asmae, is due on March 19th 2020 (for the mid-term audit) and on November 18th 2021 (for the final audit). And the audit will be presented by the firm during a steering committee held with partners in Asmae's premises on March 20th 2020 (for the mid-term audit) and November 19th 2021 (for the final audit).

This report should be written in English. Asmae will be responsible for the translation in French – language of the contract and used for financial reporting.

4.2 Management letter

Asmae also wishes to place this audit in two phases in a process of strengthening the teams’ skills. As a result of the observations made during the expenditure verification mission, a report presenting lessons learned and recommendations in terms of administrative and financial steering will be provided to Asmae.

This report should be written in English.

4.3 Summary of final reports

The auditors will be asked to prepare a synthesis, as well as a presentation in PowerPoint format including the following elements:

  • Reminder of audit objectives
  • Presentation of audit findings
  • Presentation of recommendations
  • Presentation of lessons learned

A first version of this summary should be provided by the auditor to Asmae on March 2020 (for the mid-term audit) and November 2021 (for the final audit). The final version, incorporating the potential amendments formulated by Asmae, must be submitted on March 19th 2020 (for the mid-term audit) and on November 18th 2021 (for the final audit).

4.4 Methods of transmitting deliverables

Deliverables must be sent to Asmae in paper format, in 3 copies, and electronically.

4.5 Report ownership and confidentiality

The external audit report is the property of the Asmae.

All the information on financial, logistics or HR issues provided by Asmae for the needs of the audit and all matters connected with and relating to the project are confidential.

The auditor undertakes to:

  • Not communicate, disclose or make available all or any part of the confidential information to any third party;
  • Not directly or indirectly use, or permit others to use, the confidential information other than for the purpose of the audit;
  • Not make any announcement or disclosure in connection with the confidential information or the project without the prior written consent of the other party;

except the AFD, unless the prior written consent or waiver of Asmae is obtained beforehand.

 

Expired

NOTE:

Daleel Madani, the civil society network, serves as a platform for organisations to post their professional opportunities, but is not involved in the recruitment process. The hiring organisation is solely responsible for the job and candidate selection.

Last modified: 
24 Sep, 2019
Intervention Sector(s):
Children & Youth, Education
Application Deadline:
Monday, 7 October 2019
Contract Type:
Consultancy
Period of Employment:
N/A
Salary
N/A
Salary Range:
> 3000 (USD)
Education Degree:
Masters Degree
Education Degree Details:
CPA
Experience Requirements:
More than 10 years
Arabic Language:
Excellent
English Language:
Excellent
French Language:
Good
Country/City: 
  • Lebanon
  • Beirut
  • Beirut
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