RFQ FY22 – 115 RFQ FY22 115 Financial Audit of the Youth Partnership with CHOICE

1. Background Information on Plan International

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And its girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years, and are now active in more than 75 countries.

Read more about Plan International’s Global Strategy: 100 Million Reasons at https://plan-international.org/strategy

About the commissioning office

Plan International Global Hub (GH) is a service delivery office that aims to support the operation of the whole organisation, the Building Better Partnerships, lays out the principles and steps for our work in partnership across the development–humanitarian spectrum and across all levels – local, national, regional, and global – in whatever country and for whatever purpose.

This includes formal and informal civil society at national and local levels, including youth groups networks and associations, local and national private sector actors, and local government authorities. Plan is increasingly focused on ensuring we have high accountability in our partnership work, improving quality standards, and being responsive to emerging partnership trends and needs, including we have greater flexibility when partnering with child and youth-led organisations and groups. More information on Plan’s approach to partnership can be found here.

2. Background/Context

Plan International GH wishes to engage the services of an audit firm for the purpose of auditing the project called “Youth Audit” that is being implemented in partnerships with CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality as stipulated in the agreement between Plan International GH and Plan International Sweden. Plan International GH has for the audit period obtained a grant of SEK 492,068 from Plan International Sweden. The audit shall be carried out in accordance with the international audit standards (ISA) issued by IAASB[1]. In addition to the audit of the financial statements, the assignment also includes an engagement to perform agreed-upon procedures regarding financial information in accordance with International Standards on Related Services (ISRS) 4400 as well as in accordance with the terms and review areas listed in section II.

The audit and the additional engagement shall be carried out by an external, independent, and qualified auditor. The auditor shall be registered and have a license with the IFAC [The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)] or be a member of the representation body in their country. Plan International Sweden shall approve the selection of auditors before the audit begins and a copy of the license shall be shared with Plan International Sweden. When contracting an audit firm Plan International GH shall fill in a template that shall be shared with SNO, see Appendix 1 to this document. The audit shall be reported in accordance with the templates provided in Appendix 2 and 3 or 4 and 5 on this document.

If unavailable, Appendices 1 to 7 can be requested to [email protected]. Please include the RFQ reference “***RFQ FY22 115 Financial Audit of the Youth Partnership with CHOICE***” in all correspondence

3. Description & Objectives

Purpose

The objective is to audit the financial report for the period March 17th, 2022 to June 30th, 2022 as submitted to Plan International Sweden and to express an audit opinion according to ISA, applying ISA 800/805, on whether the financial report of the Youth Audit is in accordance with the Plan International GH accounting records and Plan International Sweden’s and Sida’s requirements for financial reporting as stipulated in the agreement including annexes, between Plan International Sweden and Plan International GH and its subsequent partner organisation CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality.

Plan International Sweden wants to emphasise the importance of the Auditor, as a part of the assignment, reviewing whether the subsequent partner organisations follow the requirements from Sida, see Appendix 6 “Plan International Sweden’s Audit instructions for Sida funded projects”.

Methodology

Agree upon procedures ISRS 4400, review the following areas:

1) Observe whether the financial report is structured in a way that allows for direct comparison with the latest approved budget.

2) Observe and inspect whether the financial report provides information regarding:

• Financial outcome per budget line (both incomes and costs) for the reporting period and columns for cumulative information regarding earlier periods under current agreement.

• When applicable, compare if the opening fund balance for the reporting period matches with what was stated as closing fund balance in the previous reporting period.

• A disclosure of exchange gains/losses. Inquire and confirm whether the disclosure includes the entire chain of currency exchange from Plan International Sweden’s disbursement to the handling of the project/programme within the organisation in local currency, if applicable.

• Explanatory notes (such as, for instance, accounting principles applied for the financial report).

• Amount of funds that has been forwarded to implementing partners, when applicable.

3) Inquire and inspect with what frequency salary costs during the reporting period are debited to the project/programme. Choose a sample of three individuals for three different months and:

• Inquire and inspect whether there are supporting documentation for debited salary costs.

• Inquire and inspect whether actual time worked is documented and verified by a manager. Inquire and inspect within which frequency reconciliations between debited time and actual worked time is performed.

• Inspect whether Plan International GH and its subsequent partner organisation [name of the subsequent partner organisation, CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality if comply with applicable tax legislation with regard to personal income taxes (PAYE) and social security fees.

4) Inspect and confirm that the unspent fund balance (according to the financial report) at the end of the financial year is in line with information provided in the accounting system and/or bank account.

• Inspect and confirm the unspent fund balance (including exchange gains) in the financial report and confirm the amount that shall be repaid to Plan International Sweden

Follow up of funds that are channelled to implementing partners:

Mandatory assignments that must be included if Plan International GH forward funds to implementing partners (IP’s):

1. Choose a sample of a minimum of 10 % of the total of disbursed funds as well as 10 % of the number of IP’s or a maximum of 10 IP’s

   1. Inspect and confirm whether Plan International GH has signed agreements with the selected IP’s.

2. Inspect and confirm whether Plan International GH, in all agreements entered with IP’s, included the requirement to carry out annual audits. The requirement shall specify that these audits shall be carried out with the application of ISA (reporting according to ISA 800/805), and a separate assignment according to ISRS 4400 should be included for project/programme support. If agreements regarding core support are entered into with IP’s, the audit shall be conducted in accordance with ISA 700 or National standards on auditing.

3. Inquire and inspect whether Plan International GH has received financial reports and reporting from auditors from all IP’s included in the selected sample:

4.2 Inquire and inspect whether Plan International GH has verified if reports from IP’s are in line with the requirements in the Agreement.

4.3 Inquire and inspect whether Plan International GH has documented its assessment of the submitted financial reports and reporting from auditors including management responses and action plans from selected IP’s.

4.4 Inquire and inspect whether Plan International GH has documented its follow-up actions based on the information provided in the financial reports and the reporting from the auditor of the selected IP’s.

4.5 Inquire and inspect whether Plan International GH has reported substantial observation from selected IP’s audit reports in its communication with Plan International Sweden. List observations from IP’s audit reports which have been part of this sample.

The Reporting

The reporting shall be signed by the responsible auditor (not just the audit firm) and shall include the title of the responsible auditor.

Reporting from the ISA assignment:

The reporting from the auditor shall include an Independent Auditor’s Report in accordance with the format in standard ISA 800/805 and the auditor’s opinion shall be clearly stated. The financial report that has been the subject of the audit shall be attached to the Independent Auditor’s Report.

The reporting from the auditor shall also include a Management letter that discloses all audit findings, as well as weaknesses identified during the audit process. The auditor shall regardless of materiality, quantify the amount for costs lacking sufficient supporting documentation. The auditor shall make recommendations to address the identified findings and weaknesses. The recommendations shall be presented in priority order and with a risk classification.

Measures taken by Plan International GH and its subsequent partner CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality to address weaknesses identified in previous audits shall also be presented in the Management Letter. If the previous audit did not have any findings or weaknesses to be followed up on, a clarification of this must be disclosed in the audit reporting.

If the auditor assesses that no findings or weaknesses have been identified during the audit that would result in a Management letter, an explanation of this assessment must be disclosed in the audit reporting.

Reporting from the ISRS 4400 assignment

The additional assignment according to agreed-upon procedures ISRS 4400 under paragraph II, shall be reported separately in an “Agreed-upon procedures report”. Performed procedures should be described and the findings should be reported in accordance with the requirements in the International Standard on Related Services 4400.

When applicable, the sample size shall be stated in the report.

Plan International GH and its subsequent partner organisation CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality is responsible for providing a Management Response for all audits, even if there are no findings during audit. The management response shall respond to all auditors’ recommendations which shall include a time-bound action plan and the responsible person within the organisation. The Management Response can be included directly in the audit report or follow as an annex and shall be signed by management.

There are different levels of audit requirements at the subsequent partner organisation, if any, depending on the value of the partnership agreement. Please see Appendix 6 “Plan International Sweden’s Audit instructions for Sida funded projects”, for specified instructions.

The audits at Plan International Country/Regional office and subsequent partner organisation may be conducted by separate auditors or by the same auditor. The reporting when using the same auditor can either be presented in separate audit reports (please see Appendix 4 and 5) or a consolidated audit report (please see Appendix 2 and 3). The following conditions needs to be respected if the consolidated version is used:

1 – The audit report shall state which subsequent partner organisations are included in the report and what activities they are responsible for.

2 – It must be clear that a full audit, ISAs and ISRS 4400, have been carried out in full for all organisations and that the reports correspond with the main agreement between Plan and Sida.

3 – The report needs to contain signed financial reporting for all organisations.

4 – The report only contains few notes and does not reduce the overview.

5 – The Audit opinion needs to have an unqualified opinion for all organisations.

The reports are to be written in English in one copy and submitted digitally to Plan International Sweden.

Users

The users of the results of this audit are Plan International GH, Plan International Sweden and CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality.

Participant selection

1. Name: Plan International GH

Role: Coordination of the audit

Interaction with audit firm: Facilitate the information

2. Name: Plan International Sweden

Role: Oversee of the audit

Interaction with audit firm: Approve the reports

3. Name: CHOICE for Youth ad Sexuality

Role: Subject of the audit

Interaction with audit firm: Deliver the information through Plan

4. Deliverables and Timeline

Key Deliverables

Key deliverables expected from the audit:

• An inception Report including:

• an updated timeline;

• detailed methodology,

• data sample to be use;

• ethical considerations;

• Draft Audit Report

• Final Audit Report

Timeline

This information could be adjusted depending on the development of the audit:

Activity: RFQ Launch

Deadline: 21^st April 2022

Activity: Deadline for submission of Proposals

Deadline: 6^th May

Activity: Evaluation of Quotes

Deadline: 9^th – 13^th May

Activity: Interviews with shortlisted bidders

Deadline: w/c 16^th May

Activity: Contracting

Deadline: w/c 23^rd May

Activity: Submission of Inception Report

Deadline: TBC

Activity: Submission of draft Report

Deadline: TBC

Activity: Submission of Final Report

Deadline: TBC

5. Budget

Plan International follows a fair Procurement process and does not divulge our budgets. Value for money is very important to Plan International, as every additional £ saved is money that we can use on our humanitarian and development work throughout the world.

Table of Payment Schedule:

Milestone: Inception report approved

Detail: 10-page report (max) that includes:

• Proposed timeline
• detailed methodology,
• data sample to be use;
• ethical considerations;

Amount to be paid (%): 20%

Expected Timeframe: TBC

Milestone: Final audit report approved

Detail: A report containing all the audit requirements, and formats addressed in this document

Amount to be paid: 80%

Expected Timeframe TBC

6. Audit firm requirements

The auditing company should have:

• Extensive hands-on experience working with international organisations in financial auditing

• Significant experience of donor contract and financial requirements

• Understanding civil society strengthening approaches

• Understanding of gender responsive and transformative approaches

• Flexible work attitude, with the ability to follow direction and work independently across a virtual work environment

• Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to independently track and follow-up on various tasks

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English

• Computer skills, including MS Office, Excel, PowerPoint

• Registration in the relevant IFAC representation body in their country

7. Contact

If you have any queries in relation to your submission, or to any requirements of this RFQ, please email: [email protected]

8. List of documents to be submitted with the RFQ response

The proposal should contain:

• Completed Appendix 1

• Detailed response to the RFQ

• Proposed timelines

• Company profile/CVs

• Example of previous work

• Two client references

• Detailed budget including daily fees as applicable and any additional costs. Budget should be in EURO. If based outside EEA please submit your budget both in Euro and your invoicing currency.

• Ethics and child safeguarding approaches, including any identified risks and associated mitigation strategies

• Submission of offers

Please send the above and a cover letter clearly stating your interest in the project quoting, relevant work experience, and fees to [email protected].

Shortlisted suppliers will be invited to discuss their proposals in more detail. A service contract will be signed between the supplier and Plan Limited.

10. Evaluation of offers

Shortlisted suppliers may be invited to discuss their proposals in more detail at Plan’s discretion.

Plan International, at its sole discretion, will select the successful RFQ.

Plan international shall be free to:

· Accept the whole, or part only, of any submission

· Accept none of the proposals

· Republish this Request for Quotations

Plan International reserves the right to keep confidential the circumstances that have been considered for the selection of the offers.

Part of the evaluation process may include a presentation from the supplier.

Women-owned businesses and companies actively engaged or advancing gender equality and women empowerment in the workplace are especially encouraged to apply

Value for money is very important to Plan International, as every additional £ saved is money that we can use on our humanitarian and development work throughout the world.

Plan International may award multiple contracts and all contracts will be non-exclusive.

11. Contract & Payment terms

Please note that, if successful, Plan International’s standard terms of payment are 30 days after the end of the month of receipt of invoice, or after acceptance of the Goods/Services/Works, if later.

12. IR35 Requirements – Only applicable for UK based or connections to the UK Consultants

As of April 2021, all Global Hub UK-based contractors (Consultant/personal service company/agency/intermediary) employing “people” in their chain to deliver serves to Plan International must follow a strict process of IR35 determination.

Plan Limited will conduct a CES tool on all relevant shortlisted proposers as outlined above to determine whether they fall inside or outside IR35.

13. Plan International’s Ethical & Environmental Statement

The supplier should establish environmental standards and good practices that follow the principles of ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems, and in particular to ensure compliance with environmental legislation (as applicable)

14. Clarifications

The onus is on the invited individuals/companies to ensure that their offer is complete and meets Plan International’s requirements. Failure to comply may lead to the offer being rejected. Please, therefore, ensure that you read this document carefully and answer fully all questions asked.

If you have any queries in relation to your submission, or to any requirements of this RFQ, please email: [email protected]

Thank you for your proposal