Background and short information about the Project

The Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul" in partnership with the US-based Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) is implementing the project "Increasing Integrity in Public Procurement". The goal of the project is to support public procurement reforms in Moldova, which will increase the transparency and fairness of public procurement by empowering citizens to hold relevant institutions accountable. The project includes a grant program aimed at monitoring public procurement at all levels, identifying red flags and formulating recommendations for public authorities and policymakers. Ultimately, the aim is to foster integrity of public procurement and efficiency in the use of public money.

The selection process for award of sub grants was organized in an open and transparent manner considering:

 - the score obtained (based on the evaluation criteria used by the evaluation committee formed by IDIS and PTF) and

- the available amount of USD 185697,2 based on which 8 civil society and media organizations were awarded Grants.

The projects have the following geographical distribution and implementation period:

*all contracts have been signed - middle of April 2022

TERMS OF REFERENCE:

The object of the audit:

The objective of the audit is to obtain a professional auditor opinion on the financial reports of 8 Grants offered within the aforementioned project.

Scope

The audit will be conducted in accordance with national and international auditing standards. Those standards require that the auditor plans and performs the audit to obtain reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements pertaining to each of the different Grants are free of material misstatements. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements pertaining to the different Grants. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statement pertaining to the Grants.

According to the National and International Standards on Auditing, the auditor is expected to carry out tests to confirm that:

1. All Grant funds have been used in accordance with the conditions of the relevant Grant Agreement.
2. Goods, works, and services financed out of the Grant have been procured in accordance with national legislation; the auditor should perform any necessary physical inspections based on risk considerations.
3. All necessary supporting documents, records, and accounts have been maintained in respect of all Grant activities and expenditures.

The internal control evaluation should include testing the effectiveness of control in the procurement process under the Grant and payment for goods, works, and services for the period reviewed, based on a representative sample for purposes of reducing audit risks. 

Period of activity performance

 

Each audit report, electronic version (in pdf and word format) will be presented within maximum 2 months after the end of each project.

The audit reports (the auditor’s opinion) must comply with the provisions of national and international standards.

Technical tasks:

The audit opinion must be in accordance with International Standard on Related Services (ISRS) 4400. The audit report must contain the financial statements, including the notes (audit opinion) by Grant and the letter to management when one was issued.

The audit report, verified, dated, and signed by the responsible auditor (the name, surname, and position of the qualified and licensed auditor, not only the name of the company) must be submitted to IDIS and PTF according to this RFP.

The audit report will be presented in two copies in English, as well as their electronic version (in pdf and word format).

The auditor will have access to all project documents and accounting documents regarding the procedure for allocating, managing and reporting the Organization’s Grant, in compliance with the principles of confidentiality. If will be necessary, IDIS can provide the necessary support and space for the auditor to facilitate the audit process.

In addition to the audit opinion, the auditor will prepare a Management Letter in which the auditor will:

1. provide comments and observations on the accounting records, systems, and controls that were examined during the course of the audit;
2. record lack of supporting documents quantified in exact numbers, if any;
3. identify specific deficiencies and areas of weakness in systems and controls and make recommendations for their improvement;
4. report on instances of noncompliance with the terms of the corresponding Grant Agreement;
5. quantify and report expenditures that are considered to be ineligible and/or paid out of the designated account or claimed;
6. communicate matters that have come to light during the audit that might have a significant impact;
7. bring attention to any other matters that the auditor considers pertinent.
8. bring auditor’s recommendations to address identified deficiencies (recommendations will be presented in order of priority);

If none of the above applies, and a management letter is therefore not prepared, the auditor will issue a letter stating that during the audit nothing has come to their attention that the auditor considers pertinent to be brought to the attention of IDIS and PTF.

The audit report or extracts from it may be made public by IDIS and PTF without any limitation, provided that the meaning of the findings is not distorted.

General

The auditor is entitled to unlimited access to all project information and explanations considered necessary to facilitate the audit, including legal documents, project preparation and supervision reports, reports of reviews and investigations, correspondence, and credit account information. The auditor may also seek written confirmation of amounts disbursed and outstanding in the Grants records.

The auditor is encouraged to meet and discuss audit-related matters with IDIS, PTF and Grant’s team in every CSO.

CONTENT OF THE OFFER:

Offers to be made by firms participating in this tender will cover all 8 audits for all 8 Grants. Only 1 audit services contract for all 8 Grants will be awarded to one participating firm.

Only complete files will be accepted for participation in the tender.

The selection of the company will be made based on the fulfillment of all the obligatory requirements and the lowest price.

The offer must include the following documents (obligatory requirements):

1. Audit license (scanned copy);
2. Company profile, including information about the audit company, management, contact details.
3. Experience in the field – interested audit companies must have experience in auditing non-profit organizations in the Republic of Moldova (minim 3 years);
4. Qualification of the team that will perform the audit (minimum 3 years of experience for the audit manager and minimum 2 years for the other team members);
5. CV of the persons / auditors who will be directly involved in the audit;
6. Recommendation letter (at least 1)
7. The financial offer, indicating the price of audit services in USD (please indicate per 1 unit and also for 8 units, i.e., all Grants). 

Submission deadline

The deadline for submitting the file is November 23, 2022, at 18.00 Moldova time. Please indicate in the title of the email the following: "Submission application_select audit firm". The file will be sent to the following addresses mihai.turcanu@viitorul.org and ungureanu.carolina@gmail.com or at the Iacob Hincu 10/1 street, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.

Questions

Participants should send clarification questions to the email address mihai.turcanu@viitorul.org before November 18, 2022.

Evaluation process

Administrative verification

The following aspects will be examined in the administrative verification process:

- if the deadline for submitting the file has been met;

- if the file includes all the required documents and the application is complete;

If any of the requested information is missing or incorrect, the file may be rejected. Files that pass the administrative verification will be accepted for the next stage of evaluation.

The examination of tenders will be carried out by the Evaluation Committee on the basis of the criteria listed above.

Communication of results

The selected company will be published on the IDIS website www.viitorul.org by end of November or at beginning of December 2022. 

This announcement is launched by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) Viitorul and the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) under the project "Increasing Integrity in Public Procurement".