External Audit Services — Gambia Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health Results Project

The Gambia Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health Results Project

Request for Expressions of Interest

Country: The Republic of The Gambia

Project Title: The Gambia Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health Results Project

Grant Number: TF014776

Project ID NO: P143650

Consultancy Title: External Auditor

Procurement Method: Selection based on Consultant Qualification (CQS)

Number of Firm: 1 (One)

Deadline: 1600hrs (local Time) August 15th, 2018

• BACKGROUND

The Government of The Gambia has received IDA funding to implement a Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health Results Project using Results Based Financing (RBF) for Health. The National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the implementing Agencies of this project, intends to apply part of the proceeds of this grant to hire the services of an eligible auditing firm to conduct Financial Audits on the Project for the years 2018 to 2021. Each audit of the Financial Statements shall cover the period of one fiscal year of the Recipient (as at 31st December), commencing with the fiscal year 2018. The audited Financial Statements for each such period shall be furnished to the World Bank not later than six months after the end of such period (30th June).

The Project Development Objectives

The Project Development Objective is to increase the utilization of community nutrition and primary maternal and child health services in selected regions of The Gambia using a combination of supply and demand sides of the RBF approach.

Duration of Engagement

The audit engagement will be for a period of three and half years to review the accounts for accounting periods ending on December 31, 2018 to July 2021. The annual audit should be planned so as to ensure the receipt by NaNA of the audit reports before May 31st of each year.

• OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT AUDIT

The objective of the audit of the Project Financial Statements (PFSs) is to enable the auditor to express a professional opinion(s) on the financial position of the project at the end of each fiscal year, and on funds received and expenditures incurred for the relevant accounting period.

The project books of accounts provide the basis for preparation of the PFSs by the project implementing agency and are established to reflect the financial transactions in respect of the project. The implementing agency maintains adequate internal controls and supporting documentation for transactions..

• SCOPE OF THE AUDIT

As stated above, the audit of the project will be carried out in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISA) promulgated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), and will include such tests and auditing procedures as the auditor will consider necessary under the circumstances. Special attention should be paid by the auditor as to whether the:

(a) World Bank financing (and all external financing where the World Bank is not the only financier) has been used in accordance with the conditions of the relevant financing agreement, with due attention to economy and efficiency, and only for the purposes for which the financing was provided Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health Results Project (MCNHRP).

(b) Goods, works and services financed have been procured in accordance with the relevant financing agreements including specific provisions of the World Bank Procurement Policies and Procedures[1];

(c) All necessary supporting documents, records, and accounts have been maintained in respect of all project activities, including expenditures reported using Statements of Expenditure (SOE) or Interim Unaudited Financial Statements (IFS) methods of reporting. The auditor is expected to verify that respective reports issued during the period were in agreement with the underlying books of account;

(d) Designated Accounts have been maintained in accordance with the provisions of the relevant financing agreements and funds disbursed out of the Accounts were used only for the purpose intended in the financing agreement;

(e) National laws and regulations have been complied with, and that the financial and accounting procedures approved for the project (e.g. operational manual, financial procedures manual, etc.) were followed and used;

(f) Financial performance of the project is satisfactory.

(g) Assets procured from project funds exist and there is verifiable ownership by the implementing agency or beneficiaries in line with the financing agreement.

(h) Ineligible expenditures included in withdrawal applications are identified and reimbursed to the Designated Accounts. These should be separately noted in the audit report.

In complying with International Standards on Auditing, the auditor is expected to pay particular attention to the following matters:

a) Fraud and Corruption: Consider the risks of material misstatements in the financial statements due to fraud as required by ISA 240: The Auditor’s Responsibility to Consider Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements. The auditor is required to identify and assess these risks (of material misstatement of the financial statements) due to fraud, obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence about the assessed risks; and respond appropriately to identified or suspected fraud;

b) Laws and Regulations: In designing and performing audit procedures, evaluating and reporting the results, consider that noncompliance by the implementing agency with laws and regulations may materially affect the financial statements as required by ISA 250: Consideration of Laws and Regulations in an Audit of Financial Statements;

c) Governance: Communicate audit matters of governance interest arising from the audit of financial statements with those charged with governance of an entity as required by International Standards on Auditing 260: Communication of Audit Matters with those Charged with Governance.

d) Risks: In order to reduce audit risk to an acceptable low level, determine the overall responses to assessed risks at the financial statement level, and design and perform further audit procedures to respond to assessed risks at the assertion level as required by Internal Standard on Auditing 330: the Auditor’s Procedures in Response to Assessed Risks.

• AUDIT OPINION

Besides the primary audit opinion on the Annual Financial Statements, the audit report should include a separate paragraph commenting on the accuracy and propriety of expenditures withdrawn under SOE procedures and the extent to which the Bank can rely on SOEs as a basis for grant disbursement and procurement guidelines and the control environment in which the project is being managed.

The annual financial statements, including the audit report, should be received by the Bank no later than six months after the end of the financial year of the project. The auditor should submit the report to the borrower's designated agent, who should then promptly forward two copies of the audited accounts and report to the World Bank.

• MANAGEMENT LETTER

In addition to the audit report, the auditor will prepare a management letter, in which the auditor will:

(a) Give comments and observations on the accounting records, systems and controls that were examined during the course of the audit;

(b) Identify specific deficiencies or areas of weakness in systems and controls, and make recommendations for their improvement;

(c) Report on the degree of compliance of each of the financial covenants in the financing agreement and give comments, if any, on internal and external matters affecting such compliance;

Ideally, the management letter should also include responses from the implementing agency to the issues highlighted by the auditor.

• KEY PERSONNEL:

The key personnel in the audit team and their minimum qualifications are indicated below:

a) The audit team should be led by an Audit Partner with a minimum of 10 years of post-qualification experience as a practicing Chartered Accountant.

b) Day-to-day management of the audit should be the responsibility of an Audit Manager/Partner with at least 5 years of post-qualification experience as a practicing Chartered Accountant.

In addition, the audit team should include sufficient number of appropriate staff commensurate with the size and scope of the assignment:

· Audit Seniors with at least 2 years of post-qualification experience as a practicing auditor,

· Junior Staff

Eligible firms are invited to indicate their interest in providing the required services. Interested Firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (application letter, CVs including description of similar assignments, relevant experiences, etc).

Expression of Interest shall be submitted to the undersigned on or before 16.00GMT 15th August, 2018, clearly marked “Expressions of Interest for the Services of an External Auditor)”.

The Auditor General

National Audit Office

Independence Drive

Banjul

The Gambia

Interested firms may obtain further information and the full Terms of Reference (TOR) at the address below during this period from 0800 to 1600 GMT Mondays to Thursdays and from 0800 to 1230 GMT on Fridays.

The Project Coordinator

Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health Results Project

Bertil Harding Highway

Mile 7, Bakau

email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]