Consultant - AUN Auditor at Creative Associates International

Posted by Kordinichi on Mon 26th Aug, 2024 - nigeriantenders.com

Creative Associates International is recruiting to fill the position of: Consultant - AUN Auditor. Interested candidates should possess relevant qualifications and work experience.

Creative Associates International provides outstanding, on-the-ground development services and forges partnerships to deliver sustainable solutions to global challenges. Its experts focus on building inclusive educational systems, transitioning communities from conflict to peace, developing sustainable economic growth, engaging youth, promoting transparent elections and more. Creative is recognized for its ability to quickly adapt and excel in conflict and post-conflict environments.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant - AUN Auditor

Location: Nigeria

Scope of Work

The objective of the audit of the Financial Statements is to enable the auditors to express a professional opinion on the financial position of AUN from its inception in February 2022 to July 31st, 2024, and on funds received and expenditures incurred for the relevant accounting periods.
The audit will follow the applicable accounting standards, Creative Associates International financial reporting guidelines, and the requirements of the Government of Nigeria.
This will also cover USAID/LEARN-AUN audit regulations, including any tests and controls the auditor may consider necessary.

In conducting the audit, special attention should be paid to the following:

All funds have been utilized in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement with USAID/LEARN-AUN and only for the purposes for which the funds were provided.
Appropriate supporting documents, records, and books of accounts relating to all project activities have been kept.
Annual financial statements agree with the books of accounts maintained as per the agreed accounting procedures and are in accordance with the applicable accounting standards.
AUN complies with all the requirements of the Government of Nigeria.

Audit Deliverables
Audit Report:
The audit report shall include the following:

Expression of an opinion on whether the financial statements present fairly the expenses incurred by AUN for the program from inception to July 31st, 2024, in accordance with the accounting policies and procedures and that the expenses incurred were:
- In conformity with the approved project budgets.
- For the approved purposes of the projects.
- In compliance with the relevant regulations and rules of Nigerian company law, policies and procedures of the Organization, and USAID/LEARN-AUN.
- Supported by properly approved vouchers and other supporting documents.
The audit standards that were applied (International Accounting Standards, IFRS, or other national standards that comply with the accounting policies of Creative Associates International and AUN).
The period covered by the audit opinion.
The amount of expenses audited.
The amount of funds received audited.

The Management Letter:
In addition to the audit report, the auditor will also be required to provide a management letter summarizing the observations on the accountability and internal control system. This will include, but not be limited to:

Comments and observations on the accounting records, systems, and controls that were examined during the audit.
Specific deficiencies and areas of weakness in systems and controls and recommendations for improvement.
Matters that have come to attention during the audit which might have a significant impact on the implementation of the project.
Any other matter that the auditor considers significant to report to management.

The observations in the management letter must be accompanied by the implications, suggested recommendations from the auditors, and the management comments on the observations/recommendations.

Deliverable No.	Deliverable Description and Required Documentation	Payment Amount	Completion Dates
Deliverable 1:	A kickoff meeting held with Creative to discuss major milestones and progress expectations (notes of the meeting to be signed by both parties). The meeting can be virtual or in-person.	0%	Within two days after the contract is awarded
Deliverable 2:	Submission of audit plan and assessment plan approved by Creative. Project staff mobilized and commencement of financial audit.	0%	Within 3 days after Deliverable 1
Deliverable 3:	Submission of a draft audit report containing information requested in the Scope of Work for review by Creative Associates.	30%	18 days from contract award
Deliverable 4:	Submission of a final audit report with any final additions. Submission of a Management Letter, including, but not limited to, all points of information requested in the Scope of Work.	70%	21 days from contract award

Period of Performance:

The effective date for this Scope of Work is September 16 - October 15, 2024.

Evaluation Criteria

Basis of Award: The award will be made to the offeror whose offer presents the Best Value: the optimal combination of technical merits and reasonable cost. Proposals will be scored on technical factors first.
Only the Cost/Business proposals of those offers that surpass the minimum qualifying score of 70 points in the technical evaluation will have their Cost/Business Proposal reviewed. Those that do not reach this qualifying score in the Technical Evaluation will be considered non-competitive, and their Cost/Business proposals will not be considered.

Technical Competence - presented in the Technical Proposal: 100 points:
Provide a clear, specific, and succinct technical proposal that covers both the conceptual and practical approaches of how to achieve the objectives of this project. Specifically, please address the following, in the order specified below:

Item	Requirement	Points Available
Capacity to Perform	Considering the Statement of Work in Attachment I, please provide at least 2 pieces of evidence for the quality of your firm’s work and the quality and thoroughness of audit reports. Provide evidence of your ability to complete all auditing work in and submit complete reports in the time allotted. Firms that provide more thorough evidence of quality or work and demonstrated ability to complete timely reports will be scored more favorably than those that do not provide this evidence.	35 points
Past Experience	Through a short narrative, demonstrate your firm’s experience with auditing donor-funded projects with similar scope as the USAID/LEARN-AUN program. Demonstrate your firm’s understanding of relevant USAID accounting and financial management regulations and requirements, such as cost principles and mandatory standard provisions. Demonstrate your firm’s organizational ability to plan, implement, and support donor-funded audit programs. Firms that are able to provide a demonstrated understanding of past experience with donor-funded programming, particularly with USAID programming, will be evaluated more favorably than proposals that do not take these factors into consideration.	25 points
Audit Team Proposed	Provide a staffing list with an appropriate mix, including the level of involvement each has in conducting the engagement (partner, team leader, manager, audit senior, audit juniors, or special expertise, etc). Provide audit and accounting qualifications and level of experience of the proposed personnel. Provide demonstrated experience in internal control and financial systems evaluation as well as institutional and organizational development assessment. Ensure that all team members have an up-to-date CV included in the proposal that will outline experience and credentials. Proposed teams should have an adequate number of staff on the team to complete work in a timely fashion. Firms that propose staff with appropriate experience in auditing donorand USAID-funded projects will be evaluated more favorably than staffing plans that do not take these factors into consideration.	20 points
Scheduling Plan	Given the tight timeline to implement all work, what steps will you take to ensure that all work adheres to deadlines as stated? Scheduling plans that are more realistic, and that propose realistic timelines and mitigation plans will be evaluated more favorably than those plans that do not take these factors into consideration.	10 points
Past Performance	Document and summarize your proven track record of successfully implementing similar activities to include a description of similar services provided in the past and any lessons learned that will be incorporated into the activity described in this RFP.	10 points
Total		100 points

If an Offeror submits a proposal that fails to respond to most of the information requested in this RFP, as outlined specifically in the statement of work and the evaluation criteria, the Offeror’s proposal will be automatically disqualified.

References:
Using the exact table format provided below, please list only the projects you have implemented within the past 3 years, a brief description of how each is relevant to this RFP, and the contact details for each previous client or donor. You may also include recommendation/appreciation letters and certificates as attachments.

#	(a) Activity Title	(b) Location(s) of Activity	(c) Synopsis of the Activity and its Relevance to this RFP	(d) Performance Period (date, duration, and if completed on schedule)	(e) Prime or Subcontractor?	(f) Amount for the Activity	(g) Name & Contact Info (E-mail and phone) of client
1
2
3

Attachments - Not Scored:

You may include recommendation/appreciation letters and certificates as attachments or any other documentation you wish to further support your proposal, separately from the rest of the technical proposal.
Content presented here will not be scored.

Cost Reasonableness & Financial Capability - presented in Cost/Business Proposal. Not Scored:

Submit a detailed budget to carry out this work. Creative’s review of the Cost Proposal shall
determine if the overall costs proposed are realistic for the work to be performed, reflect a correct understanding of the project requirements, and are consistent with the Offeror’s Technical Proposal. Creative will also review individual line items and determine if they are allowable, allocable, and reasonable.
The following is a format for the detailed budget. The Offeror may list any reasonable, allowable, and allocable cost line items, but must follow the major categories listed below, breaking down all “lump sum” items as much as reasonably possible. Any indirect/overhead costs should be listed as a separate line item in the budget and should not be built into the direct costs.

Description	Unit (day/month)	Quantity	Unit Cost	Total Price
Project Staffing
Material and Equipment
Administration and Services



Total

Cost proposals providing more direct funding towards programming outputs and local labor, instead of staff salaries and administrative or overhead costs, will be reviewed more favorably.
Submit a reasonably comprehensive budget narrative/budget notes that provide information on each of the line items in the budget and explain why these items are needed for the implementation of the activity.
If indirect rates are charged, Offerors must provide supporting computations for the allocation for indirect/overhead costs, a copy of an audit report, and balance sheet, and a profit and loss (P&L)/income & expenditure/revenue & expenditure statement.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Application packages to: consultant@crea-learn.com using the Title as the subject of the mail.