BACKGROUND

The Southern African Social Protection Experts Network (SASPEN) is a not-for-profit loose alliance of stakeholders, scholars and consultants who engage with social protection in the SADC region. With the support of the Open Societies in Southern Africa (OSISA), SASPEN has been undertaking a research on Social Protection Reforms in the Wake of COVID-19: An Analysis of Non-Contributory and Contributory Provisions in Southern Africa.

SASPEN is requesting proposals from suitably qualified and experienced firms for provision of external audit services for the financial year ending 30th November 2023. The objective of the external audit is to express a professional opinion on the Financial Statements of the OSISA Grant amounting to a total of U$ 130 000. These Financial Statements, among others, consist of the income and expenditure account, statement of financial position, statement of cash flows, and statement of changes in funds. The external audit should be carried out in accordance with International Standards of Auditing (ISAs) which are issued by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and includes such tests and auditing procedures as the auditor considers necessary for the assignment.

SCOPE OF WORK

The auditor shall be required to:

a.  Carry out tests of transactions as are necessary, to obtain an understanding of the accounting system, to assess its adequacy as a basis for the preparation of the Financial Statements and to establish whether adequate records have been maintained as required by the Donor’s policies and procedures, other governing statues in Zambia and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs);

b.  Conduct an in-depth and exhaustive review of the internal control systems to have sufficient knowledge of the procedures underpinning the systems;

c.   Confirm that although the responsibility of irregularity and fraud remains with the SASPEN management, the audit has been planned to have a reasonable expectation of detecting material misstatements in the financial statements whether arising from fraud or error;

d.  Confirm that goods and services financed have been procured in accordance with sound procurement procedures;

e.   Confirm that all necessary supporting documents, records and accounts have been kept in respect of all activities;

f.    Confirm that the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and give an accurate and fair view of the financial position as at the end of the financial year;

DELIVERABLES

1.    An opinion on the Financial statements

2.    A Management Letter

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

I.    The audit firm should have a valid license from the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants and valid practicing certificates for the partners.

II.   The key audit team will comprise, at least:

a)  A partner with at least 10 years of experience auditing similar organisations as SASPEN. In addition, he/she should be a member of the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants;

b)  A manager with at least ACCA, ZICA andor a degree in accounting with a minimum of 7 years’ experience in auditing; and

c)   A senior officer with at least a minimum of 3 years’ professional experience in auditing.

III. The key audit team:

a)  Shall be completely impartial and independent from all aspects of management or financial interests of the organization; and

b)  Shall not, during the period covered by the audit nor during the undertaking of the audit, be employed by, serve as advisers or mentors for, or have any financial or business relationships with SASPEN.

BASIS OF AWARD

A formal contract of engagement specifying the scope of audit shall be prepared and signed between SASPEN and the Audit firm prior to the beginning of the assignment. The contract of engagement shall also clearly spell out the responsibilities of the two Parties.

PRICING

I.    All prices MUST be indicated either in Zambian Kwacha or US Dollar equivalent;

II.   There will be a no price variation contract after signing of contract;

III. Prices must be inclusive of all taxes within Zambia.

The Bidder shall submit softcopy proposals (no more than ten pages) by the closing date set forth below to the following email address:

recruitment@saspen.org

The email subject should clearly state “EXTERNAL AUDIT SERVICES”

The email must contain both the technical proposal and financial proposal.

The deadline for the submission of proposals is 22nd December 2023 at 16.30 Hours Lusaka time (GMT +2)

For submissions, technical queries related to specifications of work or TORs, kindly call +260 977 301984  or email: recruitment@saspen.org