External Auditor at Plan International

Plan International - Founded in 1937, Plan International is a development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International Nigeria is part of the global federation of Plan International registered in Nigeria in 2014. Plan International works in 70 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Plan International’s Global Strategic Goal is to strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. In the next five years, Plan International is committed to ensuring 100 million girls around the world learn, lead, decide and thrive.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: External Auditor

Location: Abuja

Job Description

• Plan International Nigeria obtained a grant of 3,271,028 SEK from Plan International Sweden/Sida to fund a project called”providing life-saving emergency relief and psychosocial and support services to populations made vulnerable by Boko Haram violence in northeast Nigeria.” The project implementation period was: from 28/09/2016 to 30/04/2017.
• The Organisation intends to engage an independent and external Auditor for the purpose of auditing the project in accordance with our agreement with Plan International Sweden/Sida.
• Projects shorter than 12 months are audited once at the time of final report. Longer projects are audited annually.
• Local implementing partners receiving project funding through the Agreement is also subject to audit according to the same instructions and separate Engagement Letters and reports are to be signed for each partner. The partner financial reports are consolidated into a project financial report to Plan International Sweden.
• The auditor only expresses an opinion on the organisation s/he audits and not on organisations in subsequent links in the chain. The auditor only expresses an opinion on the audited organisation’s control of the audit of organisations subsequently in receipt of the grant, not on the audit(s) of the organisation(s) as such.
• The external audit shall be carried out in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and International Standards on Related Services (ISRS) issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB).
• The Auditor shall perform the audit according to “Plan Sweden’s Audit Instructions”.

Objectives
Objective of the external project audit:

• The objective of the external audit is to express a professional audit opinion in accordance with ISA 800 and/or ISA 805 on whether the financial statements of the project in all material respects, are in conformity with the applicable Financial Rules and Regulations of Plan International and Terms and Conditions of the financing agreement.
• Plan International Nigeria books of accounts provide the basis for preparation of those financials statements and are established to reflect the financial transactions in respect of the Plan International Nigeria and that it maintains adequate internal controls and supporting documentation for transactions.
• The objective of this audit is also for the Auditor to verify that the expenditures claimed by Plan International Nigeria in the financial statements for the project covered by the Agreement have occurred (‘reality’), are accurate (‘exact’) and eligible and to submit a Report of Factual Findings with regard to the agreed-upon procedures performed according to ISRS 400 and Plan Sweden's Audit Instructions in Annex 2 of this ToR. Eligibility means that expenditure have been incurred in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Agreement.
• However neither physical verification of the project nor the auditor's opinion of the results and effects of the project is included in the project financial audit.

Scope of the Audit
The audit will be carried out to include such tests and verification procedures as the auditors consider necessary under the circumstances. In conducting the audit, special attention should be paid to the following:

• Carry out tests of transactions as are necessary, in order to obtain an understanding of the accounting system, to assess its adequacy as a basis for the preparation of the financial statements and to establish whether adequate records have been maintained as required by Plan International Nigeria Financial Rules and Regulations; Financial Manual and applicable rules of the donors;
• Conduct an in-depth and exhaustive review of the internal control systems to have sufficient knowledge of the procedures underpinning the systems, as contained in Plan International Nigeria Financial Rules and Regulations; Financial Manual and the applicable rules of the concerned donors;
• Confirm that although responsibility for preventing irregularity and fraud remains with Plan International Nigeria, the audit has been planned so as to have a reasonable expectation of detecting material misstatements in the financial statements;
• Confirm that funds have been used in accordance with the Agreement, with due attention to economy and efficiency, and that they have only been used for the purposes for which they were intended for and in accordance with the conditions under which the funding was provided.
• The External Auditors have therefore obtained an understanding of the terms and conditions governing the grant agreement.; Signed Funding Agreement Document (FAD) as well as all annexes as listed in the FAD;
• Confirm that Goods and services financed have been procured in accordance with sound procurement procedures spelled out in the Plan International Procurement policy;
• Confirm that all necessary supporting documents, records and accounts have been kept in respect of all activities. Clear linkages should exist between the books of accounts and the financial statements presented;
• Confirm that the Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with acceptable accounting practice and give a true and fair view of the financial position of the project for the reporting period
• That the Plan global monthly exchange rates have been applied converting the expenditure from local currency to grant currency in the financial report;
• The above-defined scope does not in any way restrict the audit procedures or the techniques that the auditor may wish to use in forming an opinion on the Financial Statements being audited.

In accordance with International Standards on Auditing, the auditors shall pay attention to the following:

• Fraud and Corruption: In accordance with ISA 240 (The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements) the auditors shall identify and evaluate risks related to fraud, obtain or provide sufficient evidence of analysis of these risks and assess properly the risks identified or suspected;
• Laws and Regulations: In preparing the audit approach and in executing the audit procedures, the auditors shall evaluate Plan International Nigeria’s compliance with the provisions of laws and regulations that might impact significantly the financial statements as required by ISA 250 (Considerations of Laws and Regulations in an Audit of Financial Statements);
• Governance: Communicate with Plan International Nigeria’s Management responsible for Governance regarding significant audit issues related to governance in accordance with ISA 260: (Communication with those charged with Governance); and
• Risks: With a view to reducing audit risks to a relatively low level, the auditors will apply appropriate audit procedures and handle anomalies/risks identified during their evaluation. This is in accordance with ISA 330 (The Auditor’s Responses to Assessed Risks).

Responsibility for Preparation of Financial Statements
The responsibility for the preparation of Financial Statements lies with the Plan International Nigeria and is also responsible for:

• The selection and application of accounting policies. Plan International Nigeria will prepare the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable accounting standards that comply with appropriate international standards in all material respects; and
• Implementing accounting, administrative and financial procedures documented in manuals.
• The auditors are responsible for the formulation of an opinion on the Financial Statements based on their audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (International Standards on Auditing) issued by the IFAC (International Federation of Accountants).
• In accordance with these standards, the auditors will request Plan International Nigeria for an Engagement/Confirmation Letter committing Plan International Nigeria to the preparation of the Financial Statements and maintenance of proper internal control systems as well as acceptable documentation for all financial transactions.
• A formal letter of engagement specifying the scope of audit shall be prepared and signed between Plan International Nigeria and the auditor prior to the beginning of the assignment. The letter of engagement shall also clearly spell out the responsibilities of the two parties.

Financial Records
The financial records maintained for projects are usually the following:

• Financial ledgers;
• Bank Reconciliation Statements;

Financial Reports
The Financial project reports include:

• Annual and cumulative statements of sources and application of funds, which should disclose separately Plan International Sweden funds, other donors funds and beneficiaries funds.
• Annual and cumulative project expenditure compared to budget per category
• Reconciliations from financial ledgers
• Full disclosure of cash balances. Only actual expenditure is eligible and any advances that have not been liquidated are not the be included in the expenditure.
• The auditors shall be given access to all legal documents, correspondence and any other information associated with the Financial Statements to be audited and deemed necessary by them. Confirmation of amounts disbursed and outstanding can be obtained by income records in SAP. These records are reported and checked by Plan International Sweden and are considered correct.

Contents of Reporting

• The auditor is expected to present two types of reports: An opinion on the Financial Statements prepared by Plan International Nigeria and a Report of Factual Findings.
• Submission of draft reports to Plan International Nigeria for review is due by 23/06/2017.
• The reports are to written in English, in two copies and digitally, to Plan International Nigeria no later than 26/06/2017.
• The responsible auditor’s signature and title are required on both reports.

The opinion on the Financial Statements shall contain:

• A professional opinion on the financial statements and supporting schedules as regard to their true and fair view;
• Accounting standards and Plan International Nigeria Financial Rules and Regulations that have been applied indicating the effect of any deviations from them;
• The International Audit standards that were applied;
• Include all other requirements of cooperating partners as stated in the various cooperating agreements.

The Report of Factual Findings shall contain:

• A description of factual findings and make recommendations to address any weaknesses identified in the Report on Factual Findings.
• Any ineligible expenditures disclosed in report.
• The Report of Factual Findings will include reactions/comments "Management Response" from Plan International Nigeria on any weaknesses noted by the auditors.

Auditor's Qualification and Experience

• The audit shall be carried out by an external, independent and qualified auditor (Certified Public Accountant/Authorized Public Accountant)
• The auditor must be completely impartial and independent from all aspects of management or financial interests of the organization.
• The auditor shall not, during the period covered by the audit nor during the undertaking of the audit, be employed by, serve as advisers or mentors for, or have any financial or business relationships with the organization.
• The Auditor should disclose any relationship that might possibly compromise their independence.
• The auditor shall be registered and have a license with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) or Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and must demonstrate that s/he employs adequate staff with appropriate professional qualifications with international standards, in particular International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and with suitable experience in accounting and auditing the accounts of entities comparable in size and complexity to the entity being audited.

In addition, the audit team as a whole will have:

• Appropriate experience with audits of development projects financed by the donors. At least one senior member of the team either a manager/supervisor should have such experience; and
• Demonstrate sufficient knowledge of relevant laws, regulations and rules in the country concerned. This includes but is not limited to taxation, social security and labour regulations, accounting and reporting;
• Fluency in English

The key audit team will comprise, at least:

• An audit manager with at least 10 years' experience in auditing and with a sound knowledge of donor-financed projects.
• In addition, s/he should be a member of a recognized accountancy professional body;
• A team leader with at least a Master's Degree in Auditing/Accounting or equivalent with a minimum of 5 years' experience in auditing; and
• An assistant Auditor with adequate experience and professional qualifications.

Application Closing Date
20th June, 2017.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified applicants should send their applications to: [email protected] stating the job title in the subject of the email

Application Instructions

• Curriculum Vitae (CVs) must be provided to the client by the Partner of the firm of auditors who shall be responsible for signing the opinion, together with the CVs of managers, supervisors and key personnel proposed as part of the audit team.
• The CVs shall include details of audits carried out by the concerned staff, including ongoing assignments indicating capability and capacity to undertake the audit.
• Include a financial proposal of Auditing fee expectation for the service to be rendered
• Indicate availability to commence the Audit immediately
• Include names and contact information of three references who can be contacted regarding relevant experience
• The proposal will be scored on both technical and financial aspects weighted at 70% and 30% respectively.