BACKGROUND

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition, founded in 1947. The LWF Secretariat is located in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.
The LWF is a non-profit association incorporated and registered under Article 60 and following of the Swiss Civil Code.
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) started its Caribbean program in 1983 and has been registered in Haiti since 1995. The current strategy, covering the period 2015 – 2020 is entitled “Building Resilience in Haitian Communities” and focuses on the four strategic areas of intervention: Emergency-preparedness and response, Sustainable livelihoods, Human Rights / Rights-Based Approach and Organizational Effectiveness. The implementation is done with and through local civil society partners, and geographically, the work is concentrated in the Grand’Anse and West departments.
In this context, LWF is looking for an experienced Audit Firm to perform the financial audit of the next 5 years.

OBJECTIVE OF THE AUDIT

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

PREPARATION OF ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The responsibility for the preparation of financial statements including adequate disclosure is that of the Haïti Program. Haïti Program is also responsible for the selection and application of accounting policies. The Haïti Program would prepare the PFSs in accordance with the general accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
The auditor is responsible for forming and expressing opinions on the financial statements. The auditor would carry out the audit of Haïti program in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing (ISA), as promulgated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). As part of the audit process, the auditor may request from the Haïti program written confirmation concerning representations made in connection with the audit.

SCOPE OF THE AUDIT

• As stated above, the audit of the Haïti Program 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.
• 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;
• Designated Accounts (if used) 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;
• National laws and regulations have been complied with, and that the financial and accounting procedures approved for the Haïti Program (e.g. operational manual, financial procedures manual, etc.) were followed and used;
• Financial performance of the project is satisfactory;
• Assets exist and there is verifiable ownership by the implementing agency or beneficiaries in line with the financing agreement.
• The audit will be performing according to this schedule:
o 20th February 2016 – Final draft from the auditors including their draft audit opinion – for final review and clearance for signing by Geneva
o 3th March 2016 – Finalized signed copy received in Geneva (scanned copy ok)
o 21th April 2016 – Management letters received in Geneva
• In complying with International Standards on Auditing, the auditor is expected to pay particular attention to the following matters:
o 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;
o 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;
o 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.
o Confidentiality: The Firms, their partners and personnel shall maintain an appropriate standard of confidentiality and shall not disclose any proprietary or confidential information relating to the audit of the LWF
o 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.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (PFSs)

The auditor should verify that Haïti Program Financial Statements (PFSs) have been prepared in accordance with the agreed accounting standards (see paragraph 3 above) and give a true and fair view of the financial position of the Haïti Program at the relevant date and of resources and expenditures for the financial year ended on that date.

AUDIT REPORT

The auditor will issue an opinion on the financial statements (PFSs). The annual audit report of the accounts should include a separate paragraph highlighting key internal control weaknesses and non-compliance with the financing agreement terms.

REPORTING
The reporting package and the guide line are provided by LWF.

MANAGEMENT LETTER

In addition to the audit report, the auditor will prepare a management letter, in which the auditor will:
• Give comments and observations on the accounting records, systems and controls that were examined during the course of the audit;
• Identify specific deficiencies or areas of weakness in systems and controls, and make recommendations for their improvement;
• 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;
• Communicate matters that have come to his/her attention during the audit which might have a significant impact on the implementation of the project;
• Give comments on the extent to which outstanding issues/qualifications issues have been addressed;
• Give comments on previous audits’ recommendations that have not been satisfactorily implemented; and
• Bring to the recipient’s attention any other matters that the auditor considers pertinent, including ineligible expenditures.
• Ideally, the management letter should also include responses from the implementing agency to the issues highlighted by the auditor.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

The auditor should have access to all legal documents, correspondences, and any other information associated with the project and deemed necessary by the auditor. The auditor will also obtain confirmation of amounts disbursed and outstanding at the Bank. Available information should include copies of the relevant: project appraisal document; financing agreement; financial management assessment reports; supervision mission reports and implementation status reports.

QUALIFICATION OF THE AUDIT FIRM

The External Auditor should meet at least the following criteria:
• Be independent from the LWF activities,
• Be internationally recognized,
• Members of the audit team should have professional experience
• External Auditor’s experience in the audit of INGO,
• Qualifications and professional experience of the audit team,
• Experience of the audit projects,


PROPOSAL

The proposal kit should contain:

• Technical offer
• Financial offer
• Full address
• License number and the licensing authority
• Trade cooperation (both national and International)
• Number of full time employees
• Nature of Business
• Business language
• Annual income for the last three years
• Experience with INGOs
• Payment terms.

hro.hti@lwfdws.org

How to apply?
Offers should be sending by July 17th for the latest to this email address: hro.hti@lwfdws.org