اعلان صادر عن بلدية بيت لحم: مطلوب شركة تدقيق حسابات خارجية

TERMS OF REFERENCE AND SCOPE OF SERVICES

EXTERNAL AUDITOR FOR THE SECONDE TIME

Tender No. 26 / 2021

Bethlehem Municipality (BM) among other partner has received a Grant from the European Union under the umbrella of ENI CBC MED funding for a 30 months project entitled: U-Solve. Accordingly, BM intends to apply part of this grant for the outsourcing and contracting of a highly qualified External Auditor.

Project Brief:  U-SOLVE shifts the start-up creation process towards an entrepreneurial sustainable development strategy, which bridges active policy for supporting entrepreneurship with the implementation of sustainable development goals at urban level. The most urgent SDGs challenges in Mediterranean urban communities are forced into an open innovation pipeline that allows coalitions of entrepreneurial agents of change to emerge, creating qualified jobs and economic value, while supporting the transition towards a sustainable model.

Total budget to be audited: 138,633 € that covers the following budget lines:

1. Human Resources
2. Travel and Subsistence
3. Subcontracted Services
4. Administrative Costs

Scope of work: All project expenditure shall be examined by the auditor, according to the control systems established at national level and to the requirements as laid down in article 32 of the Reg. (EU) 897/2014.

This examination shall be performed on the basis of an agreed-upon procedure which will be undertaken in accordance with:

(a) the International Standard on Related Services 4400 Engagements to perform Agreed-upon Procedures regarding Financial Information as promulgated by International Federation of Accountants (IFAC);

(b) IFAC Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, developed and issued by IFAC's International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities:

1. The auditor shall verify whether the costs declared by BM and the revenue of the project are real, accurately recorded and eligible in accordance with the project’s contract and EU procedures.  

2. The auditor shall issue the expenditure verification reports, drafted according to the model and instructions provided by the MA. The LB and the beneficiaries will use the template of contract with the auditors provided by the MA.

3. Moreover, a consolidated report, including the results of the verifications carried out by all auditors, shall be drafted by the auditor of the LB. The LB and the partners shall grant the auditors all access rights necessary for the verification under the same conditions than the ones mentioned in Art. 16.4.

4. All expenditures verification reports shall be uploaded to the electronic monitoring system together with each Request for Payment. A copy of the reports shall be submitted to the Control Contact Points, in order to allow them to carry out checks, as the case may be.

5. The auditor shall be available to represent BM team in any financial meetings with LB, other partners and MA whenever requested.

6. The auditor shall work closely with BM’s financial department to ensure all expenditures are declared and recorded in compliance with best practices and EU regulations

Results to be achieved:

1. Follow the expenditure verification procedure set by EU.

2. Report Control check-list template provided by EU.

3. Report individual report template provided by EU.

4. Report consolidated report template provided by EU.

5. Report list of findings template provided by EU.

6. Report suspected fraud template provided by EU.

7. Report of contracts template provided by EU.

8. Report any findings and suggestion needed during the audit work

Required Qualifications:

The auditor shall meet at least one of the following requirements:

(a) be a member of a national accounting or auditing body or institution which in turn is member of IFAC;

(b) be a member of a national accounting or auditing body or institution. Where this organization is not a member of IFAC, the auditor shall commit to undertake the work in accordance with IFAC standards and ethics;

(c) be registered as a statutory auditor in the public register of a public oversight body in a Member State in accordance with the principles of public oversight set out in Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;

(d) be registered as a statutory auditor in the public register of a public oversight body in a CBC partner country, provided this register is subject to principles of public oversight as set out in the legislation of the country concerned; specifically:

- Member of Board of Professional Auditing (BOPA).

- Member of Palestinian Association of Certified Public Accountants (PACPA).

- Holding IFAC license

Other qualifications:

1. Minimum of five years of professional experience in similar assignments including auditing EU projects; experience with ENI CBC MED Projects is a plus.
2. Excellent command of computer skills including financial and auditing programs.
3. Excellent communication skills.
4. Excellent reporting and formal writing skills in both English and Arabic.
5. Excellent command of spoken and written English language.
6. Residence in or near the Bethlehem area is preferred.

Time Frame:  30 months project

Application: Apply by filling annex one “proposal submission form”, you may add any other certificates or documents you may find necessary and related, applicants are required to submit their applications in two closed envelopes to the financial department at BM (One original and One Copy).

The applicant shall seal the original and all copies of the application in envelopes.

The envelopes shall:

(a) be addressed to the (Bethlehem Municipality);

(b) bear the name and address of the applicant; and

(c) provide a warning not to open before the specified time and date defined below in “Application Deadline”.

If the envelope is not sealed and marked as above, the BM will assume no responsibility for the misplacement or premature opening of the application.

Application Deadline: 6/07/2021 at 11:00 am CET

 6/07/2021 at 12:00 pm Local Time

ANNEX ONE:

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION FORM

My financial proposal for the service explained in the Term of Reference is as follows:

ORGANISATION AND METHODOLOGY

To be submitted by the candidates, in compliance with the following instructions:

Rationale

• Any comments on the Terms of Reference of importance for the successful execution of activities, in particular its objectives and expected results, thus demonstrating the degree of understanding of the Contract. Detailed list of inputs, activities and outputs. Any comments contradicting the Terms of Reference or falling outside their scope will not form part of the final Contract.
• An opinion on the key issues related to the achievement of the Contract objectives and expected results.

Strategy

• An outline of the approach proposed for contract implementation.
• A list of the proposed activities considered to be necessary to achieve the contract objectives.
• The related inputs and outputs.

Timetable of activities

• The timing, sequence and duration of the proposed activities taking into account mobilization time.
• The identification and timing of major milestones in execution of the Contract, including an indication of how the achievement of these would be reflected in any reports particularly those stipulated in the Terms of Reference.
• Include a program.

Logical frame

• A Logical frame reflecting the considerations above

Key experts

• The Candidate shall include a detailed description of the role and duties of each of the key experts or other non-key experts, which the Candidate proposes to use for the performance of the services. The key experts are those whose involvement is considered instrumental in the achievement of the Contract objectives. The CV of each key expert shall be included highlighting his/her experience in the specific field of the services and his/her specific experience in the country/region where the services are to be performed. In addition the Candidate shall include information on current participation of key experts in other contracts and or commitments to participate in future contracts, including detailed description of their tasks and period of engagement.