Request for Proposal for External Audit Services for Science for Africa Foundation (SFA)

1.0 Background
PwC Kenya has a long-established practice serving government, donor and other international financing communities, as well as the private sector through its offices in Nairobi. Our blend of local and international expertise is fundamental to the high quality of advice and assistance that we offer. As elsewhere in the world, PwC in Kenya uses the benefit of its hands-on experience to provide a strong level of local understanding and support, in accordance with the international professional standards and best practice. PwC is the interim fund manager to a new independent entity called Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation).

2.0 Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation)
SFA Foundation (https://scienceforafrica.foundation/) is a pan-African organization hosted in Nairobi Kenya but registered in the State of Delaware, United States. It was created to support, strengthen and promote science and innovation in Africa for the benefit of all Africans. SFA Foundation is committed to supporting African scientists in addressing the continent’s most pressing developmental needs by generating knowledge that solves problems and informs decision-making. SFA Foundation serves the African research ecosystem by funding excellent research and innovation ideas; enabling interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers and, building and reinforcing environments that are conducive for scientists to thrive and produce quality research that generates new, locally relevant knowledge. SFA Foundation is governed by a multi-specialized Board of Directors and managed by professionals drawn from across and outside Africa.

3.0 The Consultancy overview
SFA Foundation is seeking an External Audit firm to conduct an audit of SFA Foundation’s financial statements according to the engagement terms of reference, obtain an understanding of internal controls and perform tests of internal controls, produce complete and accurate financial statements, and provide an audit opinion as to whether the SFA Foundation financial statements give a true and fair view of the organization’s financial position and economic activities for the relevant period.

4.0 Objectives of the Engagement
The objectives of the assignments will be:
a. To determine whether, in the auditor’s opinion, the SFA Foundation Financial statements present fairly in all material respects.
b. To establish whether the financial statements and reports have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards.

5.0 Scope of Work
The Auditor shall carry out a financial audit and express an opinion on whether the financial statements of the SFA Foundation give a true and fair view of the state of affairs as at 31st December 2022 and are free from material misstatements
In arriving at that opinion, the auditor shall:
i. Carry out the audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing.
ii. Address specific requirements issued by the board through the Finance Risk Audit (FRA) committee.
iii. Obtain sufficient and appropriate evidence to enable an understanding of the accounting and internal controls systems and assess their adequacy as a basis for preparing the financial statements.
iv. Ascertain that multi donor funds received by the organization have been applied for the intended purpose and have been accounted for in accordance with funding agreements.
v. Obtain sufficient audit evidence and give opinion as to the accuracy of the information contained in the financial statements
vi. Obtain evidence and give opinion on compliance of legal and regulatory requirements to various statutory bodies in Kenya and Delaware, United States.
vii. Give opinion whether proper books of accounts have been kept by the SFA Foundation and whether the financial statements agree with the books of accounts.
viii. Presentation of the audit opinion and the Management Letter to the SFA Foundation Board and Management.

6.0 Deliverables
• Audit opinion of the Financial Statements
• Management letter
• SFA Audited Financial statements in accordance with the IFRS expressed in KES and USD

7.0 Proposal Development Guidelines
Proposals from bidders should include a technical proposal (of not more than 5 pages) and financial proposal (not more than 3 pages) and must include the following:

Technical Proposal
a) An overview of your approach and methodology to the assurance engagement.
b) An audit plan that demonstrates a clear understanding of the engagement
c) References of similar clients i.e. (submit at least three (3) reference letters or recommendations from similar clients).
d) Proposed audit team – This shall include a detailed description of the role of team members, competencies, qualifications, relevant skill sets and experience.
e) Firms are encouraged to include any additional information they believe demonstrates added value within the scope of this engagement.

Financial Proposal
a) The financial proposal shall clearly indicate the total fees disaggregated to enable scaling of services.
b) The rates quoted should be inclusive of all taxes and delivery costs, must be in US Dollars ($) and shall remain valid for (90) days.

8.0 Evaluation of Proposals and Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation of the proposals shall involve Technical and Financial analysis. The bidders scoring 80% on technical scores shall proceed to the financial evaluation stage. The successful bidder will be arrived at based on a combined Technical and Financial scores. The bidder will then be invited for negotiations and award.

Responses will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Technical Score (Weight 70%)

Financial Scores (Weight 30%)

9.0 Terms and Conditions
This document contains proprietary and confidential information. Recipients may use or reproduce the information detailed within this document and any other supporting information only to provide a response to this RFP. No commitment will be made to any firm/consultant unless a contract has been awarded and signed by both parties.

We reserve the right to cease this exercise at any time. During the period of this activity, no contact should occur between any members of the supplier’s staff and organizational staff in relation to this exercise other than through the designated contact points as detailed within this RFP. It is however recognized that pre-existing relationships if any, shall be respected.

10.0 Ethics
Applicants are required to observe our procurement ethical code of conduct which includes but is not limited to observing the highest standard of ethics regarding corruption, collusion, conflict of interest and fraud. If the agency does not observe confidentiality or ethical practices, they shall be disqualified from any future work.

11.0Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality
The information contained within this document or subsequently made available to the consultant is deemed confidential and must not be disclosed without the prior written consent unless required by law.

12.0Novation
PwC may novate the agreement proceeding from this procurement to a transferee. The novation will take effect on written notice from PwC so that (i) the transferee will be substituted for PwC with effect from the date specified in the notice and (ii) PwC will no longer have any rights and obligations under the agreement.

13.0 Third Party Code of Conduct
You agree to comply with PwC’s Third-Party Code of Conduct, which forms an integral part of the any proceeding Contract. The Code can be accessed at https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/about/ethicsbusiness-conduct/global-third-party-code-ofconduct.html

14.0 Independent Proposal
By submitting a proposal, the consultant warrants that the prices in the proposal have been arrived at independently, without consultation, communication, agreement or understanding for the purpose of restricting competition, as to any matter relating to such prices, with any other potential consultant or with any competitor.

15.0 Proposal Submission Process
It should be noted that this document relates to a Request for Proposal (RFP) only and not a firm commitment to enter into a contractual agreement. In addition, we will not be held responsible for any costs associated with the production of a response to this Request for Proposal.

16.0 Timelines
The engagement is expected to be ongoing engagement starting from the date of the contract subject to adjustments as required and mutually agreed upon.

17.0 Instructions on the Proposal Submission Process
i. The Deadline for submission of Clarification questions is 13 May 2022 (East African Time)
ii. The deadline for submission of proposals is 23 May 2022 (East African Time).
iii. Responses to this RFP including request for clarification should be strictly sent by email to:
procurement@scienceforafrica.foundation and marked as follows on the subject line:
• SFA/RFP/008/21 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR PROVISION OF EXTERNAL AUDIT
SERVICES

All details on: https://scienceforafrica.foundation/tenders.html