Auditor- ER-SSD23.02 At Sign of Hope

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 Rumbek, South Sudan

Languages Required English

Application Deadline 27th November 2023

Starting Date 15th January 2024

Auditing Period From 1st December 2022 to 31st December 2023

Project Title Education for Poverty Reduction: Capacity Development and Vocational Training towards Sustainable Employment in Lakes State, South Sudan

Total Project Budget Euro 1,489,868.89

Annual Project Budget Euro 967,920

Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. (SoH) is announcing an open tender procedure for external independent financial audit services in South Sudan.

Background and Organizational Setting

SoH is a Christian motivated organization for Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance and Development Cooperation. Based in Constance, Germany, SoH 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, with Catholic order Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM), known in South Sudan as the Loreto Sisters being the local implementing agency.

IBVM works to secure the freedom and dignity of people, active cooperation and partnership on an equal footing, recognizing the participation of women and reforming the church. IBVM’s long-term goal is to establish a basic standard of education. IBVM’s main focus is in Lakes State, with a focus on Rumbek Centre. IBVM has a strong presence in Rumbek and is a member of the Diocese of Rumbek (DoR) and the Religious Fraternity. The organization is implementing the project, “Education for Poverty Reduction: Capacity Development and Vocational Training towards Sustainable Employment in Lakes State, South Sudan” whose overall objective is improving the educational level and employability of young adults, especially women and girls, in Lakes State, South Sudan and contributes to long-term socio-economic development (SDGs 4, 8, 10)”. The project will specifically ensure that 400 teachers and 430 young adults have increased capacities in the fields (English, pedagogy, IT, vocational preparation and community development), apply them effectively in their fields of employment (teaching, community development, individual professional development) and their social environment (women’s engagement, peacebuilding, etc.) and thus contribute to the socio-economic development of the region. Some of the core activities involved in the project include construction and commissioning of a regional education centre (REC), training of teachers and young adults and strengthening capacities of relevant development actors

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. The tasks of this recruitment relate to:

• An annual audit, with a detailed examination of all the supporting documents for 01/12/2022 to 31/12/2022 and 01/01/2023 to 31/12/2023

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

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; Education for Poverty Reduction: Capacity Development and Vocational Training towards Sustainable Employment in Lakes State, South Sudan, for all funds received and expended by Loreto Rumbek from 1st December 2022 to 31st December 2023.

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

The audit will support the project quality assurance measures implemented by SoH and contribute to the decision-making process with regard to the project management and monitoring of finances by SoH and Loreto Rumbek.

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 recognized accounting standard,
3. Recommendations on identified shortcomings, and, if applicable, comments on the follow-up of audit observations and recommendations from previous years.
4. 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).

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 Loreto Rumbek 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 Loreto Rumbek. Any expenses for field trips, postal and translation services and other expenses shall be included in the auditor’s proposed budget. Loreto Rumbek 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 South Sudan,
• Experience in conducting audits for BMZ-funded projects is beneficial.