DEADLINE: 10TH MAY, 2024
NATIONAL AIDS/STIS CONTROL PROGRAMME (NASCP)
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR ENGAGEMENT OF AUDIT CONSULTANT
BACKGROUND:
The Government of Nigeria through the NATIONAL AIDS/STIS CONTROL PROGRAMME (NASCP) is responsible for the health sector response to HIV control in Nigeria, under the Federal Ministry of Health. As part of our vision to ensure sustained epidemic control in-country, NASCP is implementing a 5-year Government-to-Government grant funded by the United States Centre for Disease Control (US-US-CDC) and it is called the Nigeria Sustainability & HIV Impact Project (NSHIP). Thus, here is a formal request for a project audit from the period of September 2022 to September 2023. NASCP intends to engage an independent and external auditor for the purpose of auditing the project in accordance with our agreement with US-US-CDC. Context: The external audit shall be carried out in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and International Standards on Related Services (ISRS) issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). The Auditor shall perform the audit according to “US-CDC Audit Instructions”.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Objective of the external project audit:
- The objective of the external audit is to express a professional audit opinion in accordance with ISA 800 and/or ISA 805 on whether the financial statements of the project in all material respects, are in conformity with the applicable Financial Rules and Regulations of US-CDC/NASCP and Terms and Conditions of the financing agreement.
- NASCP/NSHIP books of accounts provide the basis for the preparation of those financial statements and are established to reflect the financial transactions in respect of the NASCP/NSHIP and that it maintains adequate internal controls and supporting documentation for transactions.
- The objective of this audit is also for the Auditor to verify that the expenditures claimed by NASCP/NSHIP in the financial statements for the project covered by the Agreement have occurred (‘reality’), are accurate (‘exact’) and eligible and to submit a Report of Factual Findings with regard to the agreed-upon procedures performed according to ISRS 400 and CDD Audit Instructions in Annex 2 of this ToR. Eligibility means that expenditures have been incurred in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Agreement. However, neither physical verification of the project nor the auditor’s opinion of the results and effects of the project is included in the project financial audit.
- Responsibility for the preparation of financial statements
- The responsibility for the preparation of Financial Statements lies with the NASCP/NSHIP and is also responsible for:
- The selection and application of accounting policies. NASCP/NSHIP will prepare the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable accounting standards that comply with appropriate international standards in all material respects; and
- Implementing accounting, administrative and financial procedures documented in manuals.
- The auditors are responsible for the formulation of an opinion on the Financial Statements based on their audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (International Standards on Auditing) issued by the IFAC (International Federation of Accountants). In accordance with these standards, the auditors will request NASCP/NSHIP for an Engagement/Confirmation Letter committing NASCP/NSHIP to the preparation of the Financial Statements and maintenance of proper internal control systems as well as acceptable documentation for all financial transactions.
- A formal letter of engagement specifying the scope of audit shall be prepared and signed between NASCP/NSHIP and the auditor prior to the beginning of the assignment. The letter of engagement shall also clearly spell out the responsibilities of the two parties.
The financial records maintained for projects are usually the following:
- Financial ledgers;
- Bank Reconciliation Statements;
Financial reports
The Financial project reports include:
- Annual and cumulative statements of sources and application of funds, which should disclose separately US-CDC funds, other donors funds and beneficiaries funds.
- Annual and cumulative project expenditure compared to budget per category
- Reconciliations from financial ledgers
- Full disclosure of cash balances. Only actual expenditure is eligible and any advances that have not been liquidated are not the be included in the expenditure.
- The auditors shall be given access to all legal documents, correspondence and any other information associated with the Financial Statements to be audited and deemed necessary by them. Confirmation of amounts disbursed and outstanding can be obtained by income records in Quickbook. These records are reported and checked by US-CDC and are considered correct.
QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS:
Auditor’s qualification and experience
- The audit shall be carried out by an external, independent and qualified auditor (Certified Public Accountant/Authorized Public Accountant)
- The auditor must be completely impartial and independent from all aspects of management or financial interests of the organization. The auditor shall not, during the period covered by the audit nor during the undertaking of the audit, be employed by, serve as advisers or mentors for, or have any financial or business relationships with the organization. The Auditors should disclose any relationship that might possibly compromise their independence.
- The auditor shall be registered and have a license with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) or Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) [1] and must demonstrate that s/he employs adequate staff with appropriate professional qualifications with international standards, in particular International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and with suitable experience in accounting and auditing the accounts of entities comparable in size and complexity to the entity being audited.
In addition, the audit team as a whole will have:
- Appropriate experience with audits of development projects financed by the donors. At least one senior member of the team either a manager/supervisor should have such experience; and
- Demonstrate 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;
- Fluency in English
The key audit team will comprise, at least:
- An audit manager with at least 10 years’ experience in auditing and with a sound knowledge of donor-financed projects. In addition, s/he should be a member of a recognized accountancy professional body;
- A team leader with at least a Masters degree in auditing/accounting or
- equivalent with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in auditing; and
- An assistant auditor with adequate experience and professional qualifications.
DELIVERABLES:
Scope of the audit
The audit will be carried out in accordance with the standards specified in 3.2 above and will include such tests and verification procedures as the auditors consider necessary under the circumstances. In conducting the audit, special attention should be paid to the following.
- Carry out tests of transactions as are necessary, in order to obtain an understanding of the accounting system, to assess its adequacy as a basis for the preparation of the financial statements and to establish whether adequate records have been maintained as required by NASCP/NSHIP Financial Rules and Regulations; Financial Manual and applicable rules of the donors;
- Conduct an in-depth and exhaustive review of the internal control systems to have sufficient knowledge of the procedures underpinning the systems, as contained in NASCP/NSHIP Financial Rules and Regulations; Financial Manual and the applicable rules of the concerned donors;
- Confirm that although responsibility for preventing irregularity and fraud remains with NASCP/NSHIP, the audit has been planned so as to have a reasonable expectation of detecting material misstatements in the financial statements;
- Confirm that funds have been used in accordance with the Agreement, with due attention to economy and efficiency, and that they have only been used for the purposes for which they were intended for and in accordance with the conditions under which the funding was provided. The External Auditors have therefore obtained an understanding of the terms and conditions governing the grant agreement, as well as all annexes as listed in the award document.
- Confirm that Goods and services financed have been procured in accordance with sound procurement procedures spelled out in the NASCP/NSHIP Procurement policy;
- Confirm that all necessary supporting documents, records and accounts have been kept in respect of all activities. Clear linkages should exist between the books of accounts and the financial statements presented;
- Confirm that the Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with acceptable accounting practice and give a true and fair view of the financial position of the project for the reporting period
In accordance with International Standards on Auditing, the auditors shall pay attention to the following:
- Fraud and Corruption: In accordance with ISA 240 (The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements) the auditors shall identify and evaluate risks related to fraud, obtain or provide sufficient evidence of analysis of these risks and assess properly the risks identified or suspected;
- Laws and Regulations: In preparing the audit approach and in executing the audit procedures, the auditors shall evaluate NASCP/NSHIP’s compliance with the provisions of laws and regulations that might impact significantly the financial statements as required by ISA 250 (Considerations of Laws and Regulations in an Audit of Financial Statements);
- Governance: Communicate with NASCP/NSHIP’s Management responsible for Governance regarding significant audit issues related to governance in accordance with ISA 260: (Communication with those charged with Governance); and
- Risks: With a view to reducing audit risks to a relatively low level, the auditors will apply appropriate audit procedures and handle anomalies/risks identified during their evaluation. This is in accordance with ISA 330 (The Auditor’s Responses to Assessed Risks).
CONTRACTING & ACCOUNTABILITY:
The firm will report to the National Coordinator
RENUMERATION:
The firm will be paid according to the agreed rate.
DEADLINE:
Deadline for submission of application for this position is Fri May 10 2024 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time). Any application sent in after the set deadline will be disqualified.
