Final Audit for a Project in Armenia

Organisation

Hoffnungszeichen jobsnear.org Sign of Hope e.V.

www.hoffnungszeichen.de, www.sign-of-hope.org

Position

Auditor

Type of Contract

Short-term consultancy

Type of Audit

In depth

Location

Home-based with field mission travel to Tavush Marz and Gegharkunik Marz, Armenia

Languages Required

English, Armenian

Application Deadline

12th December 2024

Starting Date

10th March 2025

Auditing Period

From 1st December 2021 to 28th February 2025

Project Title

Promotion of employment and entrepreneurship among young adults in the hospitality sector through the introduction of innovative educational approaches and their application.

Total Project Budget

403,607 EURO

Annual Project Budget

103,607 EURO

Hoffnungszeichen jobsnear.org Sign of Hope e.V. (SoH) is announcing an open tender procedure for external independent financial audit services in Armenia.

Background and Organisational Setting

SoH is a Christian motivated organisation for Human Rights, Humanitarian Assistance and Development Cooperation. Based in Constance, Germany, SoH is dedicated to helping those in distress and exploited people worldwide.

An audit is commissioned under the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) funding guidelines for development projects run by private German executing agencies.

SoH will be the private German executing agency and the contracting party, with Development Principles (DP)being the local implementing agency.

The project aims to create more job opportunities for young people. The main problem identified was the lack of adequate income opportunities for young adults and especially women in the project region (Tavush and Gegharkunik Marz). Consequential effects of the main problem are increasing frustration, apathy and a loss of self-esteem among young adults, rural exodus and migration, poverty and an increase in social problems. Goal is to create needs-based education and training opportunities for young adults, to give them accurate information about existing income opportunities and market trends, to help them with start-up opportunities, and social norms, behaviors and views – especially in the area of gender equity. The direct target group consists of 200 young adults aged 16-35 from Tavush and Gegharkunik Marz. There is a particular focus on empowering women, who will be represented by at least 60 %.

Audit Objectives

The purpose of the in-depth audit is to provide SoH with a sound basis for its accountability, transparency and accuracy in the financial disclosure towards the funding agency BMZ. The tasks of this recruitment relate to:

• An annual audit, with a detailed examination of all the supporting documents for 01.01.2024 – 31.12.2024;
• A conclusive examination of the complete project duration (1st December 2021 – 28th February 2025). Thereby, the auditor can refer to the last annual audit reports to be available at that time.

This in-depth audit will verify the compliance with standards of the funding agency BMZ, SoH, national regulations and the international accounting standards (ISA).

The auditor will review the project’s financial documents, receipts lists, records of transactions, all vouchers and receipts disbursed, and relevant project documents in order to come up with a professional, independent opinion on the financial accounting of the project “Promotion of employment and entrepreneurship among young adults in the hospitality sector through the introduction of innovative educational approaches and their application” for all funds received and expended by DP from 1st December 2021 to 28th February 2025.

Additionally, the audit shall give recommendations on strengths, weaknesses, and required improvement in the project-related financial and human resources management systems of DP.

The audit will support the project quality assurance measures implemented by SoH and contribute to the decision-making process with regard to the project management and monitoring of finances by SoH and DP.

Expected Deliverables

The auditor is expected to produce an audit report, an audit certificate and a management letter, which will comprise the following:

1. Presentation of the scope and mandate of the audit, as well as the list of documents that formed the evidence for the audit,
2. An opinion whether financial statements (statement of accounts for the year being audited and the complete project duration) are issued in accordance with the financial reporting framework of the project, BMZ requirements and an internationally recognized accounting standard,
3. A checked, signed and stamped list of all project costs receipts, sorted by BMZ budget lines (list is provided by the local implementing partner).
4. Recommendations on identified shortcomings, and, if applicable, comments on the follow-up of audit observations and recommendations from previous years.

Audit documents can be issued in English or German.

Scope of the Audit

The audit should focus on the following:

• The correctness and completeness of the accounting records,
• The financial report, showing all project related income and expenditure structured by budget lines,
• Deviations of expenditure by budget lines. The expenditure, which exceeds or falls below the budget appropriations by more than 30 %, shall be explained separately, if the approval of the BMZ has not previously been obtained,
• That receipts and relevant supporting documents are available for all project related income and expenditures,
• The management of the funds made available, which includes the transfer of project funds, all interest earned from the project funds during the reporting period and further income generated by the project,
• Reviewing the appropriate use of funds according to the project objectives,
• Evaluation of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the usage of funds,
• Budget adherence through the comparison between budgeted and actual costs in the currency in which the expenditure was incurred. The audit report will not convert the examined amounts into the Euro amounts,
• Reviewing if personnel costs and social security contributions conform to the regulations in the project country and are locally comparable,
• The economical use of the project equipment and assets,
• The inventory and the use of capital items, their whereabouts and their purposive usage,
• Compliance with the legal framework of the project (project agreements and annexes, contracts, etc.) and the donor requirements,
• Compliance with the policies of the local implementing partner regarding procurement, financial administration, human resources management and travel.

Procedures and Communication

The auditor will be given access to all necessary documents in the project offices through the local implementing partner DP as well as relevant donor documents through SoH.

The auditor will be responsible to set up a schedule in agreement with the local implementing partner DP. Any expenses for field trips, postal and translation services and other expenses shall be included in the auditor’s proposed budget. DP will support the auditor with logistics and arrangements, however, all payments of the contract will be made directly by SoH.

Qualifications and Experience

• Necessary qualification to serve as a recognized independent auditing authority,
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience conducting external independent audits of projects funded by international institutional donors in Armenia,
• Experience in conducting audits for BMZ-funded projects is beneficial.