REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR INDEPENDENT AUDITING SERVICES 

The American Friends Service Committee (www.afsc.org) (AFSC) invites qualified independent auditors (Auditor) having significant and appropriate accounting and auditing experience in performing audits in accordance with the specifications outlined in this Request for Proposal (RFP) to submit a proposal.

 There is no express or implied obligation to reimburse the Auditor for any expenses incurred in preparing proposals in response to this RFP.

 The details shown herein shall be considered minimum unless otherwise shown. The specifications, terms, and conditions included with this RFP shall govern any resulting contract(s) unless otherwise approved in writing. 

INTRODUCTION

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace, and humanitarian service. AFSC promotes nonviolent approaches to conflict resolution. As such, we seek to promote the transformation of cultural and societal norms, values, and behaviors to reject violence, with Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship as our values. AFSC is primarily funded by charitable contributions, grants, and bequests from individuals, corporations, and foundations.

 American Friends Service Committee is an international NGO registered with Authority for Charities and Societies Organizations in Ethiopia with certificate Registry number 6166 on Dated April 5, 2022.

 We are currently implementing projects in the Horn of Africa. AFSC maintains an office in Addis Ababa, Bisrate Gebrel. This audit falls in the AFSC statutory audits recommended by the government of Ethiopia. We would like to engage and retain a reputable audit firm to carry out the statutory audit of the AFSC Horn of Africa office, Ethiopia.

 Audit Objective

 The objective of the AFSC HUB office audit is to obtain reasonable assurance on the truth and fairness of the financial statements and notes to the accounts. The audit will be performed in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (“IPSAS”) and International Standards of Auditing (“ISA”).

The audit report will include an Independent Auditors Report (Opinion) on the financial statements. The auditors should assess the organization’s compliance with the provisions of the CSA proclamations and the Income tax proclamations and the directives of the relevant government regulatory authorities.

 Scope of work

This is not an agency wide audit.

 The audit (Audit) will encompass a financial and compliance examination of the AFSC Ethiopia office, in accordance with the laws and/or regulations applicable, which include requirements for the minimum scope of the Audit in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (“IPSAS”) and International Standards of Auditing (“ISA”). and all other applicable laws and regulations. We expect the auditor to test among others the existence and effectiveness of internal controls. The findings and recommendations shall include strengths and weaknesses of the internal controls and recommendations of the areas for AFSC Horn of Africa Office in Ethiopia. and the recommendations shall contain accounting improvements, and their implications accommodate management comments as well.

 Deliverables

 The key deliverables will be:

1. Audited Financial Statements indicating if accounting standards have been applied and whether they reflect a true and fair view of the financial position of the AFSC horn of Africa Office.
2. Management Letter where matters that are not material to the financial statements, but which the auditors wish to communicate to AFSC horn of Africa Office may be reflected for management actions.

First Section

The first section should address the requested information below. The corresponding responses should begin with the number below for the requested information.

1. Indicate the number of people (by level) located within the Regional and local office that will handle the audit.
2. Indicate the number of people (by Level) identified in (1) above who will be available to answer any questions throughout the year, apart from the time the actual audit takes place.
3. Provide a list of the Regional and/or local office’s current and prior non-profit international audit clients, indicating the type(s) of services performed and the number of years served for each. Responsive firms should include any relevant information regarding audits performed on grants issued by international funding agencies.
4. Describe your audit organization’s participation in quality control programs (peer review). Provide a copy of the firm’s current peer review or independent assessment report.
5. Describe the professional experience in non-profit and grant audits of each senior and higher-level person assigned to the audit, the years on each job, and his/her position while on each audit. Indicate the percentages of time each senior and higher-level personnel will be on site. Again, relevant experience with the new reporting model should be clearly communicated.
6. Describe the professional experience of assigned individuals in auditing relevant non-profit organizations, programs, activities, or functions (e.g., utilities, solid waste, transit, airports, or health authorities and school systems).
7. Provide the auditing firms with annual employee turnover.
8. Provide names, addresses, and telephone numbers of current and prior audit clients who may be contacted for reference. Minimum of three (3), maximum of four (4) references. Ideally, these references would be like AFSC in size and scope.
9. Is the firm adequately guaranteed to cover claims? Describe liability insurance coverage arrangements.
10. Describe any regulatory action taken by any oversight body against the proposing audit organization or local office.

Second Section

Proposals should include completed cost estimate sheets (Cost Estimate) and any other necessary cost information. AFSC plans to evaluate the qualifications of all firms by submitting proposals before considering the Cost Estimate.

This second section should consist of an all-inclusive cost estimate, which will include the following information:

1. Organization of the audit team and the approximate percentage of time spent on the audit by each member.
2. Availability of members of the audit team to address questions throughout the year.
3. Information that will be contained in the management letter.
4. Tentative schedule for completing a semi-annual grant audit.
5. Cost Estimates must indicate the basis for the charges and whether the amount is a “not-to-exceed” amount.
6. Personnel costs – Itemize the following for each category of personnel (partner, manager, senior, staff accountants, clerical, etc.) with the different rates per hour.
7. Other costs – completely identify and itemize.
8. Please list any other information the firm may wish to provide.

Any questions should be directed via email to MChasieh@afsc.org and FMugo@afsc.org copy to: BKassa@afsc.org. Appointments with AFSC Regional Staff may be scheduled to discuss further any specific matters necessary in preparing your proposal.

Description of the AFSC and Its Accounting System

Entity

American Friends Service Committee is an international NGO registered with Authority for Charities and Societies Organizations in Ethiopia with certificate Registry number 6166 on Dated April 5, 2022.

Accounting Records

The AFSC maintains all its accounting records at the finance office located at Addis Ababa, Bisrate Gebrel and in its regional office in Nairobi. Certain physical source documents relating to accounts payable, payroll for local staff and selecting general ledger transactional source documents are maintained at local offices within each international region. AFSC uses Microsoft Business Central 365 for its finance and accounting database