Terms of Reference for Provision of External Audit Services for German Sparkassenstiftung Eastern Africa (DSIK)

REFERENCE NUMBER: DSIK-KE/FIN/001/2022
DESCRIPTION: Terms of Reference for Institutional External Auditor 2021
DEADLINE DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF EOI: 21st January 2022

1.1. Background Information
German Sparkassenstiftung Eastern Africa (DSIK) is a registered International Non Governmental Organization under certificate of registration No OP.218/051/20- 125/11862 dated 31st May 2021. DSIK is an affiliate of German Sparkassen Finance Group – a group of hundreds of retail banks, associations, and specialized financial institutions.

The organization is the German market leader in its target segments and has successfully been in operation in Germany for more than 200 years.

Since inception, DSIK has implemented development projects in more than 90 countries, among them are five East African countries namely Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. DSIK is committed to promoting sustainable access to financial services particularly to underserved populations and to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises  (MSMEs) in its project countries. It combines its high degree of professionalism with a
strong social mandate to serve communities with a focus on promoting Financial Literary, Capacity Development for financial institutions, MSME Finance, Rural Development and Green Finance.

In Kenya, DSIK is partnering with the African Confederation of Cooperative Savings and Credit Associations (ACCOSCA) and the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Kenya (AMFI), all based in Nairobi. The vision of DSIK is to improve livelihoods by sustainably promoting financial inclusion. In our Mission we state that we are experienced consultants and partners for the financial retail service sector.

Currently, DSIK is supporting promotion of sustainable financial inclusion in Kenya through a combination of projects including but not limited to capacity building for microfinance institutions and SACCOs, promotion of Financial Literacy among women, youth in and out of school and rural dwellers and capacity building programs for MSMEs.

1.2. Objectives of the Audit
The following results must be provided by the auditor up to March 31st , 2022:
• Preparing DSIK-Kenya´s Financial Statements in line with the harmonized reporting formats required for Annual returns (AR) by the NGO’s Co-ordination Board as per section 24 of the NGO’s Regulation 1992.
• Expressing an opinion on whether the Financial Statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable frameworks, whether the organization has maintained proper books of accounts, and whether the
accompanying financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of the organization.
• Assist with filing financial statements with the NGO’s Co-ordination Board.

1.3. Requirements for the External Audit Services
i. The firm should be approved by ICPAK.
ii. The firm must have at least two partners.
iii. The partners should be in good standing with ICPAK.
iv. The firm should have been in practice for a period of not less than 5 years.
v. The partners must be full time practitioners.
vi. The firm must have a physical address and valid practicing licenses.
vii. The firm must have five years’ experience in audit of NGO’s/Not-for-Profit organizations (local and international).
viii. The firm must demonstrate sufficient quality control measures.
ix. The firm must present at least three certificates of completion from clients. The three references must be max. 3 years old (not before 2019).
x. The firm must present a detailed company profile showing the list of clients.
xi. The firm must present CVs from partners and key staff members.

1.4. Mandatory Proposal Requirements
i. The technical proposal should indicate the methodology and workplan for the assignment, including CVs of all staff members who will be assigned
ii. The financial proposal should have as separate items the audit fees, taxes and other estimated charges to be incurred

1.5. Expected deliverables for the audit
i. Financial Statements
The auditor will prepare DSIK-KE´s Financial Statements in line with the harmonized reporting formats required for Annual returns (AR) by the NGO’s Co-ordination Board as per section 24 of the NGO’s Regulation 1992.

ii. Audit Report
The auditor will issue an independent auditor’s report for the organization´s financial statements for the year 2021 which shall capture the audit opinion as to whether there is fair presentation of the financial statements in all material aspects.

iii. Management letter
The management letter indicating observations made from the audit engagement and recommendations as a result of the observations.

iv. Filing of documents with the NGO’s Co-ordination Board.

SUBMISSION OF BIDS
Interested audit firms that meet the above requirements under 1.3 should send both Financial and Technical Proposals including full company profile (ICPAK registration, practicing license, partner information and CVs, list of clients, etc.) and approach to deliver the assignment as 2 PDF attachments (one for Technical and one for Financial Proposal) to office.eastafrica@sparkassenstiftung.de on or before 21st January 2021. Please indicate
“DSIK-KE/FIN/001/2022-External Auditor” in the subject line of your email application.

Please note that only applications via e-mail will be accepted. Hard copy documents will not be accepted for the procurement process.

COMPLAINTS PROCESS

This call for bids does not constitute a solicitation and DSIK reserves the right to change or cancel the requirement at any time during the tender process. DSIK also reserves the right to require compliance with additional conditions as and when taking procurement decisions.

Procurement and contracting will be done in accordance with DSIK rules and procedures. Any grievances and/ or complaints arising from the evaluation process and final tender award can be addressed, in writing, to the Regional Office and the DSIK Procurement Committee.

German Sparkassenstiftung Eastern Africa (DSIK)
Email: office.eastafrica@sparkassenstiftung.de

Tender official site: https://sparkassenstiftung-easternafrica.org/join-us/tenders