Annual Audit in Armenia

Organisation

Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V.

www.hoffnungszeichen.de, www.sign-of-hope.org

Position

Auditor

Type of Contract

Short-term consultancy

Type of Audit

In depth

Location

Home-based with field mission travel to Tavush and Gegharkunik Marz, Armenia

Languages Required

English, German

Starting Date

01/02/2023

Auditing Period

From 01/01/2022 to 31/12/2022

Project Title

Promotion of employment and entrepreneurship among young adults in the hospitality sector through the introduction of innovative educational approaches and their application.

Total Project Budget

395,013 EURO

Annual Project Budget

100,000 EURO

Background and Organisational Setting

Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. (SoH) is a Christian motivated organisation for Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation. Based in Constance, Germany, Sign of Hope is dedicated to helping those in distress and exploited people worldwide.

An audit is commissioned under the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) funding guidelines for development projects run by private German executing agencies.

SoH will be the private German executing agency and the contracting party, while Development Principles(DP)will be the local implementing agency.

Project details:

The main problem identified was the lack of adequate income opportunities for young adults and especially women in the regions (Tavush and Gegharkunik Marzes). Consequential effects of the main problem are increasing socio-economic frustration, apathy and a loss of self-esteem among young adults, migration from rural areas, poverty and an increase in social problems. Project activities include capacity building to gain employment, achieve self-employment or start-up small businesses and building networks.

Audit Objectives

The purpose of the in-depth audit is to provide SoH with a sound basis for its accountability, transparency and accuracy in the financial disclosure towards the funding agency BMZ.

This in-depth audit will verify the compliance with standards of the funding agency BMZ, SoH, national regulations and the international accounting standards.

The auditor will review the project’s financial documents, receipts lists, records of transactions, all vouchers and receipts disbursed, and relevant project documents in order to come up with a professional, independent opinion on the financial accounting of the project Promotion of employment and entrepreneurship among young adults in the hospitality sector through the introduction of innovative educational approaches and their application for all funds received and expended by DP from 01/01/2022 to 31/12/2022.

Additionally, the audit shall give recommendations on strengths, weaknesses, and required improvement in the project-related financial and human resources management systems of DP.

The audit will support the project quality assurance measures implemented by Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. and contribute to the decision-making process with regard to the project management and monitoring of finances by SoH and DP.

Expected Deliverables

The auditor is expected to produce an audit report, an audit certificate and a management letter), which will comprise the following:

1. Presentation of the scope and mandate of the audit, as well as the list of documents that formed the evidence for the audit,
2. An opinion whether financial statements (statement of accounts) are issued in accordance with the financial reporting framework of the project, BMZ requirements and an internationally recognised accounting standard,
3. A checked, signed and stamped list of all project costs receipts, sorted by BMZ budget lines (list can be provided by the local implementing partner),
4. Recommendations on identified shortcomings, and, if applicable, comments on the follow-up of audit observations and recommendations from previous years.

Audit documents can be issued in English or German.

Scope of the Audit

The audit should focus on the following:

• The correctness and completeness of the accounting records,
• The financial report, showing all project related income and expenditure structured by budget lines,
• Deviations of expenditure by budget lines. The expenditure, which exceeds or falls below the budget appropriations by more than 30 %, shall be explained separately, if the approval of the BMZ has not previously been obtained,
• That receipts and relevant supporting documents are available for all project related income and expenditures,
• The management of the funds made available, which includes the transfer of project funds, all interest earned from the project funds during the reporting period and further income generated by the project,
• Reviewing the appropriate use of funds according to the project objectives,
• Evaluation of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the usage of funds,
• Budget adherence through the comparison between budgeted and actual costs in the currency in which the expenditure was incurred. The audit report will not convert the examined amounts into the Euro amounts,
• Reviewing if personnel costs and social security contributions conform to the regulations in the project country and are locally comparable,
• The economical use of the project equipment and assets,
• The inventory and the use of capital items, their whereabouts and their purposive usage,
• Compliance with the legal framework of the project (project agreements and annexes, contracts, etc.) and the donor requirements,
• Compliance with the policies of the local implementing partner regarding procurement, financial administration, human resources management and travel.

Procedures and Communication

The auditor will be given access to all necessary documents in the project offices through the local implementing partner DP as well as relevant donor documents through SoH.

The auditor will be responsible to set up a schedule in agreement with the local implementing partner DP. Any expenses for field trips, postal and translation services and other expenses shall be included in the auditor’s proposed budget. DP will support the auditor with logistics and arrangements, however, all payments of the contract will be made directly by SoH.

Qualifications and Experience

• Necessary qualification to serve as a recognized independent auditing authority,
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience conducting external independent audits of projects funded by international institutional donors in Armenia.