External Audit

The Asia Foundation is seeking the services of a qualified firm to provide their services to audit the Foundation’s Financial Report for Impact Evaluation of Bolsa da Mãe–Jerasaun Foun (BdM-JF) under the “Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)” for the project year from June 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. The successful firm will enter into a contract with the Foundation.

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives and expanding opportunities across Asia and the Pacific. Informed by 70 years of experience and deep local knowledge, our work is focused on governance, climate action, gender equality, education and leadership, inclusive growth, and international cooperation.

PROJECT DETAILS

The Asia Foundation Timor-Leste, in collaboration with researchers from the Melbourne Institute for Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne (MIAESR), conducting an impact evaluation (IE) Baseline Survey for Bolsa da Mãe-Jerasaun Foun (BdM-JF).

The project implementation is for 13 months, and the total budget is approximately AUD 1,200,000.00 (USD 795,972.00). The grant agreement between DFAT and The Asia Foundation was signed on June 1, 2023, and the grant period is June 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.

An audit is required for the full grant period (June 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024) and should be submitted to DFAT as soon as possible after the project's completion.

The external audit aims to demonstrate whether the Foundation:

• maintained a sound administrative and financial management system capable of verifying all financial statements;
• kept proper and detailed records of receipts and payments, including all supporting documents, bank records, and asset registers, along with adequate BdM-JF management records providing clear audit trails in relation to the Grant Agreement.

SCOPE OF THE BdM-JF PROJECT AUDIT

The scope of work to be carried out as defined in the following terms of reference:

1. The audit is to be carried out in accordance with internationally accepted accounting, financial reporting and auditing standards;
2. The period for the audit will be, June 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024);
3. The proposed start date of the audit is the Last week of June 2024, with completion and issuance of the final audit report in English Language, expressing an audit opinion on the “Financial Report” by the end of June 2024.
4. The project expenditures for the period under audit would be approximately USD 795,972 against the work plan budget.
5. The following financial statements are to be audited:

a) Financial reports - receipts vs outgoings; budget vs actual.

b) Capital acquisitions; International Overheads; and Consultancies.

c)  Year-end cash positions and uncommitted grant fund balance.

1. The auditor is required to express opinions on whether:
2. the integrity, accuracy, and fairness of the above-mentioned finance reports are free from any material misstatement; before and during the audit period and have been prepared and presented in compliance with consistently applied the Foundation cost accounting and allocation principles.
3. the specified “Financial Report” fairly presents the cash receipts and disbursements for the program and whether the Foundation utilized the funds for the purposes defined by the funding agreement(s).
4. management has complied with laws, regulations and provisions of contracts and grant agreements and maintained an effective internal control framework over the program.
5. all payments are within the budgets.
6. any interest gained/lost over the life of the grant has been properly accounted for.
7. program transactions can be verified, to the extent entered by the Foundation.
8. The audit will include a sufficient sample of transactions to determine whether funds disbursed were utilized for the purposes defined by the funding agreement.

MANAGEMENT LETTER

In addition to the auditor’s report, the auditor will prepare a “management letter,” in which the auditor will:

EXIT CONFERENCE

Upon completion of the fieldwork, the auditor should hold an exit conference with senior officials of the Foundation. The auditor should document the exit conference for inclusion in the audit work papers.

APPLICATIONS

we would like to invite you to submit a proposal, including a vendor profile and quotation, by 5 PM on June 3, 2024. These documents must be submitted in English and sent to [email protected], or in a hardcopy to our office in a sealed envelope. Late proposal(s) submission(s) will not be considered.