BACKGROUND

The National Democratic Institute (NDI or the Institute) has actively supported Ukrainian efforts to strengthen democratic institutions and advance democratic reforms through supporting good governance and citizen engagement, political party strengthening and civil society development, election monitoring and strengthening the political participation of women. NDI is currently implementing “Ukraine: Promoting Inclusion and Combating Discrimination”, a multi-year project funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). As part of the project, NDI requires external audits of program partners in Ukraine. 

SUMMARY

NDI is procuring external auditing services for a three-year Sida-funded project in Ukraine. Prospective vendors will be expected to provide annual financial audits for NDI’s in-country cooperating partners (subgrant and small grant recipients) who receive at least $22,000 from the Institute. The first audit period will cover August 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 for two subgrantees. In subsequent years, audits will include up to seven partners. 

SCOPE OF WORK

NDI intends to procure the services of a qualified vendor to audit NDI’s cooperating partners in Ukraine. The audit shall be carried out in accordance with international audit standards issued by IAASB1. The audit shall be carried out by an external, independent, and qualified auditor (an approved Public Accountant/Authorized Public Accountant or equivalent in Ukraine). The audit shall include visits to each subgrantee’s office.

The objective is to audit the financial report of each subgrantee for the period specified in Annex A as submitted to NDI and to express an audit opinion according to ISA  800/805 on whether the financial report of each subgrantee is in accordance with the subgrantee’s accounting records and agreement terms as stipulated in the agreement between subgrantees and NDI.

Reporting

The reporting from the auditor shall include an independent auditor’s report in accordance with the format in standard ISA 800/805 and the auditor’s opinion shall be clearly stated. The scope of the audit shall be stated in the reports, and the methodology used shall be presented. The financial report that has been the subject of the audit shall be attached to the audit report.

The reporting shall also include a Management letter that discloses all audit findings, as well as weaknesses identified during the audit process. The auditor shall make recommendations to address the identified findings and weaknesses. The recommendations shall be presented in priority order and with a risk classification.

If the auditor assesses that no findings or weaknesses have been identified during the audit that would result in a Management Letter, an explanation of this assessment must be disclosed in the audit reporting.

The reporting shall be signed by the responsible auditor.

TIMELINE 

Submissions are due by January 31, 2022. Early submissions are encouraged. 

The initial contract period is expected to start in February 2022 through April 30, 2022.  

• The site visits will be coordinated between March 14, 2022 and April 1, 2022.

• The draft results of the audits and management letters should be shared with NDI no later than April 8, 2022

• Signed reports are due to NDI by April 22, 2022.

NDI reserves the right to use other vendors in subsequent years if performance standards are not met during the initial contract, or if costs are not reasonable for future services.

NDI reserves the right to contact bidders to seek additional information and clarifications based on the submission of proposals following the submission deadline. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Potential vendors should submit a written proposal to NDI by the aforementioned deadline for full consideration. Proposals should indicate the bidder’s qualifications to provide the services outlined in their proposal.

At a minimum, the proposal should include:

• Letter of interest with the name of the company, address, contact details and point-of-contact for the submission. The letter should be signed and stamped.

• A proposal describing your firm’s qualifications and how your firm will approach the requested services, including audit planning, audit methodology and confirmation that you can meet the timing for the draft and final deliverables as specified below. The proposal should also include:

  • CVs of proposed audit team members

  • Confirmation of your firm’s independence with respect to NDI in accordance with International Auditing Standards. The selected vendor will be required to provide a similar certification for the subgrantees under audit during the procurement process.

  • Companies are encouraged, but not required, to submit any documents that demonstrate their commitment to promoting inclusivity, diversity and sustainability through internal policies and practices. 

• A list of previous projects with a similar scope, highlighting any past experience auditing Sida-funded projects;

• Contact information for at least 3 references of not-for-profit clients that can attest to past performance on projects of similar scope. The references must include email addresses and phone numbers;

• Name of contract signatory, registration and tax documentation, including certification documents for company’s ability to audit non-governmental organizations and qualifications for auditors;

• Detailed financial proposal for all costs associated with the services for this initial audit period. The cost presentation must be in USD, inclusive of hours and rates by level of staff. See Annex A for more details on the estimated amount under audit for the subgrantees.

  • Please include proposed payment terms and conditions as part of the submission.

  • Please include all costs for conducting the site visits.

NDI will evaluate bids based on the vendor’s experience meeting the description of services required, cost and value-for-money, and reputation. 

If the execution of work to be performed by the bidder requires the hiring of subcontractors, this must be clearly stated in the proposal. NDI will not refuse a proposal based upon the use of subcontractors; however, NDI retains the right to refuse the subcontractors selected by a vendor. Please note that selected vendor(s) would be expected to use NDI’s standard contract template, a copy of which is available upon request.

The bid should be valid for 60 days from the due date of this RFP.

SUBMISSION PROCESS AND DISCLOSURES

Please submit proposals in English via email to [email protected] by the deadline listed in the Timeline Section.

NDI reserves the right to reject any and all bids. NDI reserves the right to consider bids for modification at any time before a contract is awarded. NDI should not be liable for any costs associated with the preparation, transmittal, or presentation materials submitted in response to the RFP. NDI makes no certification as to the accuracy of any item and is not responsible or liable for any reliance on or use of the information or for any claims asserted therefrom. Bids are expected to be valid for up to six months from the publication date of the RFP.

Bidders must provide disclosure of any known past, present or future relationships with any parties associated with NDI. For example, bidders should disclose if a member of their Board is also a member of NDI’s Board currently or in the past, or if they are affiliated (such as a board member, current/past employee or family member, volunteer, etc.) with a civil society organization that is a current, past or planned recipient of NDI funding. The bidder also certifies that the prices offered were arrived at independently and without the purpose of restricting competition with other offerers, including but not limited to subsidiaries and that prices have not been and will not be knowingly disclosed to any other offerer unless required by law. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in NDI having to re-evaluate the selection of a potential bid.

INFORMATION ABOUT NDI

The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. NDI has been supporting local democratization efforts in Ukraine since 1992. 

For more information about NDI, please visit: https://www.ndi.org/.