Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning

Sudan Family Support Project

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES)

Recruitment of an audit firm for auditing the financial statements of the Sudan Family Support Project at MoFEP of the Sudan Government

Country: Republic of Sudan

Name of the Project: Sudan Family Support Project (SFSP)

Grant No.:  IDA-D7350

Project ID No. : P173521

Implementing Agency: Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning 

REOI No. SD-MOFEP-308051-CS-LCS

1. Introduction :

The Government of Sudan is working to put Sudan on a path to sustainable, equitable, and broad-based peace and prosperity. The government is focused on economic reform, including fossil fuel subsidies that are a primary cause of inflation and exchange rate depreciation. Any such reforms will impact household budgets. The Government wishes to mitigate the impact of these reforms by introducing the Sudan Family Support Program (SFSP).

2. Objectives of the assignment:

• The objective of the audit of the Project Financial Statements (PFSs) is to enable the auditor to express a professional opinion(s) on the financial position of the project accounting period covering eighteen months that started January 1, 2021to June 30, 2022, and on funds received and expenditures incurred for the relevant accounting period. The project books of account provide the basis for the preparation of the PFSs by the Project Implementing Unit (PIU)) and are established to reflect the financial transactions in respect of the project.
• The responsibility for the preparation of financial statements including adequate disclosure is that of the MoF-based PIU, which also holds the overall fiduciary responsibility for the implementation of the projects. The PIU would prepare the PFSs in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) (Cash Basis).
• The auditor is responsible for forming and expressing an opinion on the financial statements of the activities included in the Project Annual Work Plans and Budget. The auditor would carry out the audit of the project in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing (ISA), as promulgated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

3. Scope of Work:         

 As stated above, the audit of the project 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. Special attention should be paid by the auditor as to whether the:

1. World Bank financing has been used in accordance with the conditions of the SFSP grant agreement, and all other external financings and government counterpart funds have also been used in accordance with the relevant legal agreements, with due attention to economy and efficiency, and only for the purposes for which the financing was provided.
2. There was satisfactory evidence supporting the cash transfers to the intended beneficiaries by the project partners and contracted service providers in line with the respective Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and contracts. The audit will include visits to the implementing states and localities to confirm the activities of the implementing partners and contracted service providers and obtain reasonable assurance that project funds have been used efficiently and economically towards the achievement of the development objective.
3. There is evidence of independent verification of project outputs and deliverables by contracted technical assistance firms to confirm that project resources were used for purposes intended with due regard to efficiency and economy.
4. Where applicable, goods, works, and services financed have been procured in accordance with the relevant legal agreements. In addition, the auditor will confirm whether the procurement of the Implementing Partners (IPs) and other service providers was done in accordance with the grant agreement, relevant procurement regulations, and applicable national laws.
5. All necessary supporting documents, records, and accounts have been maintained in respect of all project activities, including expenditures reported by Statements of Expenditure (SOE) or Interim Unaudited Financial Reports (IFRs) 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.
6. Designated Accounts denominated in Euros and US Dollars (USD), as well as the local account denominated in Sudanese Pounds (SDG), have been maintained in accordance with the provisions of the grant agreement, and funds disbursed out of the Accounts were used only for the purposes intended in the grant agreement.
7. National laws and regulations have been complied with, and that the financial and accounting procedures approved for the project (e.g., operational manual) were followed and used.
8. Financial performance of the project is satisfactory.
1. Assets procured from project funds exist and there is verifiable ownership by the implementing agency or beneficiaries in line with the grant agreement.
10. Ineligible expenditures included in withdrawal applications are identified and reimbursed to the World Bank. These should be separately noted in the audit report, clearly indicating the reasons for ineligibility.

4. .In complying with International Standards on Auditing, the auditor is expected to pay particular attention to the following matters:

1. 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.
2. 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;
3. 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; and
4. 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.

5. The Selection Criteria:

The audit firm should satisfy the following minimum requirements:

• A legal entity with a business license granted by an appropriate authority, locally/regional /internationally.
• The audit firm should be a member of a professional body affiliated with the International Federation of Accountants or the International organization of Supreme Audit Institutions.
• Experience in auditing not-for-profit organizations, and international organizations. Experience in auditing the World Bank-financed project will be preferred.
• Able to provide audit staff with adequate relevant professional qualifications, experience, and competence.
• Technically competent and able to conduct the audit in line with the International Auditing Standards.

6. The Sudan Family Support Project (SFSP) now invites eligible audit firms, to indicate their interest in providing the above-mentioned services.  Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the Services and furnish their profiles.
7. The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers: ‘Procurement in Investment Project Financing, Goods, Works, Non-Consulting, and Consulting Services, dated November 2020, ‘Guidelines on Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption in Projects Financed by IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants’, revised as of July 1, 2016;), setting forth the World Bank’s Policy on conflict of interest.
8. Consultants may associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub-consultancy to enhance their qualifications.
9. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Least Cost Selection method (LCS) procedures set out in the World Bank’s Guidelines.
10.   Interested Consultants may obtain further information &Terms of Reference (TOR) which includes details of this REOI at the address given below from 9:00 to 16:00 Hrs on the working days (Sunday  through Thursday.)
11.  Expression of interest (EOI) must be delivered to the address below by August, 28^th, 2022.

Client’s Address:

Sudan Family Support project (SFSP)

The Building of the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development,

7th Floor, Intersection of Osaman Digna St. With Albaladia St., Khartoum, Sudan

 Email: recruitment@sfsp.gov.sd