External Audit: 2017 Financial Statements of Action for the City

TERMS OF REFERENCE

External Audit: 2017 Financial Statements of Action for the City

1. INTRODUCTION

Action for the City is a Vietnamese NGO established on December 26, 2006 to promote sustainable urban community development. Our legal name is "Trung tam Hanh dong vi Su phat trien Do thi" or Action Center for City Development.The organization is legally registered with the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), one of the largest government umbrellas for local NGOs.

Action for the City works in Hanoi and Hoi An. We also implement projects in partnership with local organizations in Hue, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh city.

Our mission is to improve quality of life for all residents in small and medium sized cities.

Our program areas include (i) protecting public space, (ii) promoting organic agriculture and (iii) building local capacity.

2. AUDIT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audit of the financial statements of ACCD will be conducted in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing. In general, the audit would include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:

  • Audit all sources of income including income from donor funded projects.
    The audit is to ensure that all income were recognized and recorded in accordance with the adopted accounting policies.
  • Verifying if:
    • Expenditure is substantiated by appropriate documents and correctly entered in the accounts.
    • Expenditure has been incurred and disbursed within the periods covered by the audit.
    • Expenditure charged to donor funded project has been eligible
    • The auditor will check that the expenditure has not been affected for private purposes.

    Special attention should be paid by the auditor as to whether:

    • All the funding have been used in accordance with the conditions of funding agreements, with due attention to efficiency and economy, and only for the purposes for which funding was provided.
    • Goods and services have been procured in accordance with the relevant procedures
    • All necessary supporting documents, records and accounts have been kept in respect of each project

  • Audit the Balance Sheet to give opinion on the true and fair view of the balances of cash, assets, liabilities (if any) and reserves as at the end of the period.

3. REVIEW THE INTERNAL CONTROL PROCEDURES

Trace to documents to ensure to compliance with the internal control procedures. Testing includes and not limits to the following activities:
Review the compliance with authorization procedures;

  • Verify whether the accounting documents are prepared and approved as stipulated in the policies;
  • Verify whether the expenditures are proper and in compliance with the cost norms;
  • Verify the completeness and the properness of the classification of approved budget;
  • Test the internal control procedures and statements preparation;
  • Others as required

4. SCOPE OF WORKS

4.1. Financial Statements to be audited

The content of the financial statements are expected to include, as minimum:

  • A summary of all sources of funds as well as expenditures
  • A balance sheet;
  • The Financial Policies adopted and Explanatory notes.

Action for the City will also provide to the external auditor the last external audit which was completed for the financial year ended on 31st December 2016

The auditor should be given access to all legal documents, correspondence, and any other information relevant for the purposes of conducting the audit and deemed necessary by the auditor.

Please see below the brief information of the income and expenditure in 2017:

 

Amount

(USD)

TOTAL INCOME

200,870

TOTAL EXPENDITURE

194,650


4.2. Phasing of the audit

The Auditor will execute the financial audits of Action for the City for the period from 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2017.

5. REQUIREMENT TO AUDITING FIRMS:

  • Auditors involved in this assignment shall have at least bachelor's degree in auditing or accounting and CPA certificate,
  • Auditors involved shall have at least five years of professional experience,
  • Indication of in-house auditors and other available auditors (roster).

6. REPORTS

6.1 Audit Reports

The audit report would include at least the followings:

  • the purpose of the report and its intended use,
  • which/whose generally accepted accounting standards have been applied and indicate the effect of any deviations from those standards,
  • the audit was conducted in accordance with International & Vietnamese Standards on Audit
  • the audit opinion will cover the current period,
  • Information on whether or not the financial statements presents fairly in accordance with the adopted accounting policies for the organization.

6.2 The Management Letter

In addition to the audit report and opinion, the auditor will be required to prepare a management letter, which will:

  • Give comments and observations on the accounting records, systems, and controls that were examined during the audit;
  • Identify specific deficiencies or areas of weakness in systems and controls, and make recommendations for improvement;
  • The management letter must include a review of the issues raised in the previous year’s management letter and a status report on progress/follow up covering:
  • Recommendations from previous years not implemented;
  • Recommendations from previous years implemented;
  • Recommendations from current year – including note when there are no issues highlighted during the year.

7. AUDIT TIME FRAME AND REPORTING:

The audit will be carried out in Action Center for City Development office in Hoi An. The auditing process should officially begin in the second week of September 2018, draft report to be submitted to the Action for the City before 24 September 2018 for finalization by 30 September 2018 at the latest.

8. PROPOSAL

The proposal must incorporate the following information:

i) Understanding of the TOR and the activities that are implemented by Action for the City
ii) Audit approach
iii) Audit team
iv) Firm experience
v) Audit plan
vi) Financial proposal (Fee should be quoted in VND & in package including out of pocket expenses).

The proposal for this engagement should be submitted to Action for the City by English as soon as possible but not later than 30 August 2018

All proposals should be sent in hard copies, sealed and signed to:

Ms. DANG HUONG GIANG
Director
Action for the City
57 Tran Phu – Hoi An – Quang Nam (2nd floor)
Email: [email protected]

Job Details
Organisation Name: 
ACCD
Application Deadline: 
Thu, 2018-08-30