Summary
Date Posted: Wednesday, March 09, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Type of Audit
In depth

Location
Home-based with field mission travel to Teso Region, Uganda

Languages Required
English

Application Deadline
March 24th 2022

Starting Date
June 1st 2022

Auditing Period
From January 1st 2021 to May 31st 2022

Project Title
Community-Based Restoration and Conservation of Fragile Ecosystems and Enhancement of the Resilience of Local Communities towards Climate Change Effects in the Teso Region, Eastern Uganda

Total Project Budget
1.373.000 EUR

Annual Project Budget
457.000 EUR

Background and Organisational Setting
Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. is a Christian motivated organisation for Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation. Based in Constance, Germany, Sign of Hope 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.
Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. will be the private German executing agency and the contracting party, while the Soroti Catholic Diocese Integrated Development Organization *(SOCADIDO)* will be the local implementing agency.

SOCADIDO and Sign of Hope are carrying out the project “Community-Based Restoration and Conservation of Fragile Ecosystems and Enhancement of the Resilience of Local Communities towards Climate Change Effects in the Teso Region, Eastern Uganda” from January 1st 2019 to May 31st 2022. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is co-funding 75 % of the project.
The aim of the project is the sustainable, community-based regeneration of the local ecosystems forest and wetlands in eight districts along the Awoja River, as well as increasing the resilience and climate adaptation of 10,000 target households through improved, climate- adapted agriculture, alternative income sources and the establishment of Disaster Risk Reduction mechanisms. The project follows national and regional strategic plans and enforces capacity building, networking, participation and ownership at all levels for both the target community and local authorities. The project follows a community-based, participatory approach. The four sub-objectives (increase in tree population, regeneration of wetlands, increase in resilience and diversification of income sources) are therefore largely achieved through awareness-raising measures, group formation, training and support in the development and implementation of community action plans. In addition, networking, dialogue and advocacy measures take place on an ongoing basis.

Audit Objectives
The purpose of the in-depth audit is to provide Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. with a sound basis for its accountability, transparency and accuracy in the financial disclosure towards the funding agency BMZ. The tasks of this recruitment relates to two stages:
An annual audit, with a detailed examination of all the supporting documents for 2021 and five months of 2022;
A conclusive examination of the complete project duration (January 1st 2019 – May 31st 2022). 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, Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V., national regulations and the international accounting standards.
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 for all funds received and expended by SOCADIDO from January 1st 2021 to May 31st 2022.
Additionally, the audit shall give recommendations on strengths, weaknesses, and required improvement in the project-related financial and human resources management systems of SOCADIDO.
The audit will support the project quality assurance measures implemented by Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. and contribute to the decision-making process with regard to the project management and monitoring of finances by Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. and SOCADIDO.

Expected Deliverables
The auditor is expected to produce an audit report, an audit certificate and a management letter, which will comprise the following:
• Presentation of the scope and mandate of the audit, as well as the list of documents that formed the evidence for the audit,
• An opinion whether financial statements (statement of accounts) are issued in accordance with the financial reporting framework of the project, BMZ requirements and an internationally recognised accounting standard,
• A checked, signed and stamped list of all project costs receipts, sorted by BMZ budget lines (list can be provided by the local implementing partner).
• 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 SOCADIDO as well as relevant donor documents through Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V.
The auditor will be responsible to set up a schedule in agreement with the local implementing partner SOCADIDO. Any expenses for field trips, postal and translation services and other expenses shall be included in the auditor’s proposed budget. SOCADIDO will support the auditor with logistics and arrangements, however, all payments of the contract will be made directly by Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V.

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 Uganda.

Education Requirement: No Requirements

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 60

Job application procedure
Please submit the following documents with “Final Audit in Teso Region, Uganda” to procurement@sign-of-hope.org  no later than March 24th 2022:
• A financial proposal (EUR),
• A qualification certificate of a recognized independent auditing authority as confirmed by a relevant institution in the project country (for example, a chamber of commerce, national association of auditors or another relevant organisation),
• A reference list of three previous customers.
The selection of the auditor will be conducted jointly by SOCADIDO and Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V.
The audit agreement will be set up by Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. and SOCADIDO. Audit agreements set up by auditors won’t be accepted.
Please note that the audit will not start until June 2021.
Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

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