Request for Proposal – Annual statutory audit of Ipas Pakistan for the period July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024

Request for Proposal

Ipas Country Office Address Office Hall C, first Floor, 55-B, ISE Tower, Jinnah Avenue Islamabad

Emails: [email protected]

Phone: +051-2894198

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)	PK-RQ-0599 FY24
SERVICES REQUIRED	Annual statutory audit of Ipas Pakistan for the period July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024
DATE OF ISSUANCE	May 20, 2024
OFFERS CLOSING DATE	June 5, 2024
CLOSING DATE FOR QUESTIONS	June 10, 2024
OFFERS BASIS	Most competitive Technical and Cost proposals

Ipas Pakistan is soliciting proposals for awarding a fixed price contract to conduct the annual audit of Ipas Pakistan as described in the attached Scope of Work.

Please submit your most competitive proposal for the services described in the RFP in accordance with the following:

PART A: Instructions to Applicants

PART B: Terms and Conditions

PART C: Scope of Work

PART A: INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS

1-   PROPOSAL DEADLINE

Proposals must be received no later than 4.00pm (June 05, 2024) on the closing date and at the address designated above.  Late submissions will not be considered.

2-   REPLY TO

Your offer must be submitted at the address designated above.  Envelopes must be marked with the RFP number and Attention to: HR advisor, Ipas Pakistan along with the hard copy proposals, the electronic proposals (technical and budget) must be submitted on Ipas procurement portal.

3-   FORM OF OFFER

The proposals shall be submitted in a sealed envelope at the attention of Ipas Country Director, Pakistan.

4-   PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

The response to this RFP should include:

a) An introduction to the firm/team of consultants; including its client base and previous experience in the field of the requested proposal (special focus on statutory audit of international non-governmental organizations); availability and time for senior audit staff should be detailed.

b) Analysis of Scope of Work (SOW) detailing understanding of the required tasks and proposed methodology. A proposed schedule with audit starting on July 25, 2024, and completed no later than August 31, 2024, must also be included.

c) List of References and contact information

d) Detailed budget with breakdown including item descriptions, units (e.g. man-day) and unit costs.

5-   OFFERS’ VALIDITY

Your proposal must remain valid for a minimum of 90 days. Offers must be signed by an official authorized to bind the applicant to its provisions.

6-   QUESTIONS OF CLARIFICATION

Interested companies should also direct any questions about the RFP in writing to the Finance Manager at the following email address [email protected] questions should be received in writing no later than 12.00 noon June 10, 2024, Time (5.00 pm on June 10, 2024, Written responses will be provided accordingly. Questions and responses will be delivered by e-mail.

7-   CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

All proposals submitted in response to the RFP will be reviewed on the technical basis of the selection criteria detailed below (except cost).  If required, scores will be revised based on answers received to questions during the final review process.  Cost proposals will be reviewed after the technical review and then scoring adjusted based on cost.

The proposals shall be evaluated according to the following criteria and weighting:

Mandatory Requirements:

	Mandatory Eligibility Criteria Checklist	Yes/No
1	An approved audit firm of either Category (A) or Category (B) mentioned in the latest available list on the official website of the State Bank of Pakistan.
2	Proof of Satisfactory QCR (Quality Control Review) rating issued by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan.
3	Proof of firm registration with Audit Oversight Board.
4	Proof of Certificate of Incorporation or Registration or equivalent.
5	Proof of NTN Certificate.
6	Original affidavit (not older than one month) on Stamp Paper(s) of worth Rs.100 or more that the applicant is not insolvent, bankrupt and is not blacklisted or debarred by PPRA, Government, Semi-Government, Private, Autonomous body or any other international organization.
7	Original affidavit (not older than one month) on Stamp Paper(s) of worth Rs.100 or more that the applicant is an active taxpayer and has submitted its tax return for the preceding fiscal year. Taxpayer list serial number (downloadable from FBR’s website) is also to be mentioned.

Overall evaluation shall be carried out based on weighted average methodology wherein technical evaluation will carry 70% and financial evaluation will carry 30% weightage.

Technical Proposal Evaluation:

 

	Technical Evaluation Criteria	Points
1.	Firm Profile and Institutional Capacity –       Registered age, location(s) and number of employees –       Client List –       International affiliation or networking status of firm (Proof of current status of international networking/association (current letter from international office)) –       Number of partners in firm –       Number of Chartered Accountants (other than partners) in firm (provide details of Chartered Accountants employed by the firm and number of years’ experience with the firm)	30
2.	Proposed Methodology and Timeline –       Audit methodology, audit plan, Mechanism, and staff. –       Delivery time in weeks	30
3	Previous work of a similar nature/list of clients –       Total number of not-for-profit organizations audit clients. –       Number of INGO audit clients	10

 

Financial Proposal Evaluation:

	Financial Evaluation Criteria	Points
1.	Cost	30

Total: 100 points

 

PART B: TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1-   NEGOTIATIONS

The applicant’s most competitive proposal is requested.  It is anticipated that contracts will be awarded solely based on these proposals.  However, Ipas reserves the right to conduct negotiations prior to awarding a contract.

2-   REJECTION OF OFFERS  

Ipas reserves the right to reject any or all offers received and/or to cancel any or all the deliverables requested in this RFP.

3-   INCURRING COSTS

Ipas is not liable for any cost incurred by applicants in connection with the preparation, submission, and delivery of offers in response to this RFP.

4-   ACCEPTANCE OF CONDITIONS

Ipas reserves the right to request additional information from applicants either in writing or verbally. Ipas may cancel this RFP without any cost or obligation at any time until certification of a contract.   In the event agreement cannot be reached with the awardee, Ipas reserves the right to award an alternate applicant.

5-   CONTRACT AWARD

Ipas will award the contract to the responsible and responsive applicant whose offer is determined to be the most advantageous based on technical responsiveness and cost.

Ipas intends to award a fixed price contract for this activity.

6-   CONFIDENTIALITY/OWNERSHIP.

The Contractor (s) and his/her employees will not at any time, either during the term of the Contract or thereafter divulge, furnish, or make available, either directly or indirectly, to any person, firm, corporation or other entity, any proprietary information used by Ipas.  The Contractor agrees that all such matters and information shall be kept confidential. The Contractor, upon cessation of the Contract, irrespective of the time, manner, or reason of terminations, will immediately surrender and deliver to Ipas all material and data of every kind belonging to Ipas. All manuals or other products because of this activity shall remain under the ownership of Ipas.

PART C: SCOPE OF WORK

This Scope of Work is intended to define the background, audit scope, objectives, accounting standards, methodology of external audit, along with reporting requirements.

Background

Ipas is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) which works to assist the Government of Pakistan in achieving the country’s commitment towards the Sustainable Development Goal 3 (good health and wellbeing). It seeks to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity associated with complications due to unsafe practices. Improving reproductive healthcare is vital to preserve women’s reproductive capacity (fertility). We collaborate with provincial governments (in Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and the ICT region to provide technical assistance and support for strengthening the public and private healthcare system. We improve the provision of maternal healthcare services based on nationally approved guidelines and recommended technologies such as uterine evacuation and healthy spacing methods. We help to upgrade government-run hospitals and medical facilities by providing need-based equipment, supplies, and training to health care practitioners.

For the fiscal year report 2024, Ipas Pakistan needs to conduct an audit for its financial report.

Scope and objective of the Audit

The Contractor shall carry out the audit in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards on Auditing and the GAAPs regulations.

Accordingly, we request that the audit engagement be planned and performed so that the following information is made available to Ipas USA external auditors:

1. A complete set of financial statements. The financial statements should be presented in

English: however, the figures may be presented in local currency. The complete set of financial statements must include the following at a minimum:

• Opinion on the basic financial statements taken as a whole.
• Statement of financial position (balance sheet) as of June 30, 2024 (please provide a breakdown of all types of accrued employee benefits).
• Statement of activities and change in net assets (statement of revenue and expenses and changes in fund balances) for the year ended June 30, 2024.
• Statement of cash flows for the year ended June 30, 2024.
• All appropriate notes to the financial statements (include in the respective footnotes a reconciliation of any amounts due from (to) Ipas.
• Based upon Ipas’s total expenditures and the expenditures you will be opining on at the country office level, please use $5,000 as your materiality (however, should your internal policies require that you use a lower materiality figure, please use the lower amount, and communicate that figure).

2. A management letter that discusses any deficiencies in the internal control structure which you may have observed during your audit test work. In addition, please also include in the management letter the prior year’s comments and the current year’s status of each comment.

Please also note that the comments, if any, should be categorized by whether they are material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, or other areas of concern (the categorization is left to your professional judgment).

3. Based on the knowledge obtained during the performance or your work, please advise us of any related parties as they become known to you and of transactions with related parties.

The primary audit objectives with respect to related party transactions are to:

• Determine the existence of related-party relationships and identify transactions with related parties during the period and balances at the end of the period.
• Obtain an understanding of related party relationships and transactions sufficient to identify and assess the risk of material misstatement with respect to the field office’s financial statements.
• Examine and identify the total amount of related party transactions; and
• Determine the adequacy of disclosure.

4. Please notify us of any significant risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, due to fraud or error, identified during your fieldwork and your responses to such risks, if any as soon as you identify them.

 

5. At the conclusion of your work, please provide us with your audit report and any other reports issued and inform us about whether you have complied with our requirements. In addition, please provide us with the following information:

• Information on instances of noncompliance with laws or regulations at the Ipas office that could give rise to a material misstatement of Ipas Pakistan financial statements.
• A list of the corrected and uncorrected misstatements with respect to the financial statements on which you are opining.
• Indicators of possible management bias regarding accounting estimates and the application of accounting principles.
• Description of any identified material weaknesses and significant deficiencies in internal control at respective Ipas Pakistan.
• Other significant findings and issues that you communicated or expect to communicate to those charged with governance of respective Ipas Pakistan, including fraud or suspected fraud involving (i) component management, (ii) employees who have significant roles in internal control at respective Ipas Pakistan or (iii) others that resulted in a material misstatement of the financial information of Ipas Pakistan.
• Any other matters that may be relevant to the group audit or that you wish to draw to our attention, including exceptions noted in the written representations that you requested from the management of Ipas Pakistan.

8. Please perform subsequent events procedures from July 1, 2024, to the date upon which your report is approved to be issued as final (Ipas USA external auditors will provide such approval after the draft report has been reconciled with the USA financial information) and advise us of any subsequent events that may require adjustment to, or disclosure in, the field office’s financial statements.

 

9. While we understand that your audit will be performed in accordance with International Standards on Auditing and or Ipas Pakistan standards; based upon the assessment of the significant risks that may cause material misstatement at the consolidated financial statement level, Ipas USA external auditors have identified the following areas (outlined in blue below) in which we would like you to perform additional procedures over.

• Please review in detail all the internal control policies and procedures with respect to the procurement process at Ipas. Select a good number of procurement transactions and perform a compliance test for each selected sample.
• Where applicable, please review in detail (select a sample) all significant contract and sub-contract expenses (for $5,000 USD/its equivalent in local currency or more). Your review should include examining original contracts, the procurement process and Ipas’s oversight/monitoring of contractors/consultants.
• Please review, in detail, significant travel expenses. In addition, all travel should document the purpose of the travel and include all original receipts (for air travel supported by electronic tickets, please ensure a copy of the original itinerary is available for inspection).
• Please disclose all lawsuits against Ipas, regardless of materiality. Please also disclose the status of such lawsuits, if any.
• Should any fraudulent activity be discovered or become known during the audit process, please inform us as soon as possible regardless of the amount.
• Where applicable, please disclose any changes in financial reporting due either because of regulatory requirements or business/reporting practices.
• Please review the country office compliance with the local labor law in terms of tax obligation (payroll tax, VAT, and any other applicable tax in the country office), ensure all taxes and other dues to the local government are consistently paid on time.
• Review all employees’ benefits (leave, severance, and other applicable benefits) and ensure calculation is done correctly and provision for these obligations are properly recorded in Ipas books.
• Review all balance sheet reconciliations and ensure each account is fully reconciled with a supporting schedule as of June 30, 2024.
• Review and confirm all wire transfers received by the country office from the NC office for the period of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024
• Review employees’ individual files and ensure each employee has a valid employment contract with Ipas in compliance with the country local labor law.
• Randomly select sample expenditure and review the supporting documents for the selected sample to ensure compliance.
• Review the list of Ipas consultants for the country office and determine if Ipas follows the country office law in term of consultant, ensuring Ipas follows the maximum length of years they can keep someone as a consultant before ending their contract or hiring them as staff.
• Review with the banks at the country office level to get an independent confirmation of each bank balance as of June 30, 2024, along with a complete list of all Ipas bank accounts and full names of bank signatories for each bank account.

Deliverables

• Engagement Letter for External annual consolidated Audit (FY24) by June 30, 2024.
• A letter of independence to the Ipas Global Auditor and disclosure of materiality threshold to the Ipas Global Auditor by July 01, 2024.
• Draft audit reports and management letter (complete package) by August 25, 2024.
• Upon approval by the management of the Ipas USA office, the Global auditor, and the management of Ipas Pakistan, final reports should be issued by August 31, 2024.