Penny Appeal

Terms of Reference for Projects Audit

Background

Penny Appeal (the ‘Donor’) was set up in 2009 to provide poverty relief across Asia, the Middle East and Africa by offering water solutions, organising mass feedings, supporting orphan care and providing emergency food and medical aid. Since then Penny Appeal, alongside our partners, have transformed lives and empowered communities around the world, helping to break the poverty cycle and build brighter futures. The organisations work and teams have grown considerably in the past few years, allowing Penny Appeal to launch new campaigns and work in even more crisis-hit countries.

Zamzam (the ‘Partner’ and implementing agency) is a UK registered charitable trust, formed in April 2003 by a group of volunteers with one common aim: to help improve the lives of the less fortunate. The main objective of Zamzam is to promote awareness, raise funds and mobilise efforts to meet the essential needs of some of the world’s poorest people. It currently operates primarily in Bangladesh through its sister organization Zamzam Bangladesh, a non-political organization, registered as a Non-Governmental Organization under the NGO Affairs Bureau of Bangladesh.

Zamzam Bangladesh is currently implementing the following projects:
a) Basic Literacy project for vulnerable slum children
b) Support for needy students project
c) Supporting orphans nurturing project in Sylhet through funding assistance of Penny Appeal

Please see below for summaries of Zamzam Bangladesh’s projects:

Projects Summaries

Project title: Basic Literacy Project for vulnerable slum children
Project Duration:  1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019
Project location: Sylhet
Project Budget:  Year 2018:141,846.84 GBP / Year 2019: 156,747.93 GBP

Project title: Support for Needy Students (SNS)
Project Duration:  1 October 2017 to 30 November 2020
Project location: Sylhet
Project Budget:  GBP 18,750

Project title: Supporting Orphans Nurturing (SON)
Project Duration:  2 years (1st August 2017 to 31 July 2018),
                                         (1st August 2018 to 31 July 2019)
Project location: Sylhet
Project Budget:  GBP 20,920 (Year 2017-2018) 50 children
                          GBP 40,761.46 (Year 2018-2019) 100 children

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the project audits are:

• To review the account books, records of transactions and project documents, and give a professional opinion of the funds received and expenditures for the project periods. The project accounts (account books) provide the basis for the preparation of each project’s financial statement and are established to reflect the financial transactions in respect of the projects, as maintained by the Zamzam project teams.

• To provide recommendation on strengths, weaknesses and improvements required in Zamzam's financial system. 

SCOPE OF THE AUDIT

The scope of audit services shall cover the overall management of the project’s implementation.  The audit work should include the review of work plans, progress reports, project budgets, project expenditure, project delivery, recruitment, and the operational and financial closing of projects.

To this effect, the scope of the audit shall cover the following areas:

Finance

The audit work shall cover the adequacy of the accounting and financial operations, and reporting of the project.  These include budget control, approving authority, bank transactions, receipt and disbursement of funds, recording of all financial transactions in expenditure reports, and records maintenance and control.

Procurement

The audit work shall cover the competitiveness, transparency and effectiveness of the procurement activities of the project in order to ensure that the project input purchased meets the standards and includes the following:

• Procurement thresholds, procurement process and approval/signature of purchase orders
• Receiving and inspection procedures to determine the conformity of the items supplied with the agreed specifications and, when applicable, the use of independent experts to inspect the delivery of the quality
• Management and control over the variation orders

Human resources

The audit work shall cover the competitiveness, transparency and effectiveness of the recruitment and hiring of personnel and include performance appraisal, attendance control, calculation of salaries and entitlements, payroll preparation and payment, and management of personnel records. 

General Administration

The audit work shall cover travel activities, vehicle hire management, office premises and lease management, office communications, and records maintenance.

Expected Outcome/Report

The audit will be carried out in accordance with the International Standards of Auditing. In conducting the audit, special attention should be paid to the following:

• All the project funds have been used in accordance with the standards, with due attention to economy and efficiency, and only for the purposes for which the financing was provided
• Goods and services financed have been procured in accordance with the procurement standards
• All necessary supporting documents, records and accounts have been kept in respect of all project ventures including expenditures reported
• The projects accounts have been prepared in accordance with consistently applied International Accounting Standards and give a true and fair view of the financial situation of the project

 The auditor is expected to produce:

 Audit Opinion/Report

Separate Management letter

The audit report, which will comprise the auditors’ opinion on the project’s financial statements, fund accountability, and findings and recommendations.

Duration of the audit (10 days) start and end time 1st July 2019 to 15th  of July 2019

5 day’s document review and discussion with the Zamzam Bangladesh management and project staff and 10 days report writing.

Exit Meeting.
The auditor should arrange an exit meeting with the management of Zamzam Bangladesh in order to reduce points of discussion in draft audit report.

Location of Service
The required service of external audit will be rendered at Zamzam Bangladesh office situated at 23 Mousumi, Mira Bazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh.

AUDIT FEES
The audit fees will be the fixed amount of 450,000 BDT(4327 GBP).

AUDITORS EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

The audit firms based in Bangladesh that have affiliation/membership with an internationally reputed Chartered Accountancy firms and enlisted with NGO Affairs Bureau, Government of Bangladesh, will be eligible to apply. Besides this, the firm should have relevant experience in accounting and auditing in development projects, especially donor-funded operations.

Interested audit firms are requested to send their proposal along with a cover letter to Abdullah.alhasan@pennyappeal.org  and cc Bahauddin.Sharif@united-purpose.org  on or before 30 June 2019.