Terms of Reference for Audit of CLDC

Terms of Reference for Audit of CLDC

Background

The Children’s Legal Defense Center (CLDC) is a non-profit organization in Hargeisa, Somaliland that defends wrongfully and unjustly imprisoned children. We take the written law and make its protections a reality by providing legal assistance and criminal defense to imprisoned children and their families.

We envision a criminal justice system that respects the legal protections of all children accused of crimes regardless of gender or socio-economic status.

To achieve this vision, we assist our clients and their families to know the law, how it applies to their situation, and work with them to use it in their cases. This is not just about teaching people their rights. It is about working alongside those who society marginalizes and disfavors, like children accused of crimes, to ensure they receive the protection of the law.

The following are the terms of reference (ToR) on which CLDC intends to engage an audit firm to perform an audit and to report on the findings in line with the International Auditing Guidelines. The audit shall cover CLDC Fiscal Year 22/23 (June 2022-May 2023) of unrestricted funding (i.e., General Funding) and the first year of the UNICEF project, Making Imprisonment of Children a Last Resort, from October 2022 to September 2023.  

·         Subject of the Engagement

The subject of this engagement is the financial statements of (1) CLDC Fiscal Year 22/23 (June 2022-May 2023) of unrestricted funding and (2) the first year of the UNICEF project, Making Imprisonment of Children a Last Resort, from October 2022 to September 2023. The information, both financial and non-financial, which is subject to verification by the Auditor, is all information which makes it possible to verify that the expenditures of CLDC in the financial statements have occurred, and are accurate and eligible.

• Reason for the Engagement 

To verify the accuracy of CLDC’s accounts. The audit firm is required to submit to CLDC a full audit report.

·         Engagement Type and Objective

The objective of this audit is to verify that the expenditures of CLDC in the financial statements for the services covered by the relevant budgets have occurred (‘reality’) and are accurate (‘exact’) and eligible, and to submit to CLDC a report of   actual findings with regard to the agreed-upon procedures performed. Eligibility means that expenditure have been incurred in accordance with the terms and conditions of CLDC’s financial policy and any relevant agreement.

• Responsibilities of the Parties to the Engagement

CLDC is responsible for:

• Providing financial documents/statements for the services financed by individual donations and the UNICEF grant.
• Providing full and free access to its staff and records and
• Providing the auditors with all the necessary documentation to perform the assignment properly. The following information shall be provided to the auditors before the beginning of the assignment:
• Financial & Procurement Management Manual
• Organizational charts
• Signed/unsigned budgets and project documents
• Staff files

The Auditor refers to the audit firm who is responsible for performing the agreed-upon tasks as specified in these ToRs, and for submitting a report of findings to the CLDC.

The Auditor shall provide:

·         A full audit report including all statements.·         Yearly and cumulative statements of sources and application of funds, which should disclose separately the General Fund and UNICEF funds.·         Reconciliation between the amounts shown as received by the project and those shown as being disbursed by CLDC. As part of that reconciliation the auditor will indicate the procedure used for disbursement and indicate whether the expenditure is fully documented.

1. Notes accompanying the financial statements
2. A statement of comparison between the actual expenditures and the budget estimates
3. Full disclosure of cash balances

·         A separate management letter addressing the adequacy of the accounting and internal control systems, strength and weakness, including compliance with CLDC Procurement Guidelines.

The Auditor shall certify:

• Whether the financial reports are drawn up in conformity with international accepted accounting
• Whether the financial statements are accurate and are drawn up from the books of accounts maintained by
• Whether procurement has been undertaken in accordance with CLDC procurement policy.
• Carry out a physical verification of any significant assets purchased and confirm their existence.

·         Periods covered

The reports on this audit should cover the following:

• General Funding Fiscal Year June 2023 to May 2023
• UNICEF, Making Imprisonment of Children a Last Resort, from October 2022 to September 2023

Requirements

• Have at least 5 years of proven auditing experience
• Have proven experience auditing accounts for UN/INGO and LNGO projects
• Have proven experience auditing non-project based accounts of LNGO
• Have qualified and certified auditors
• Ability to work in the CLDC office in Hargeisa, Somaliland
• Ability work in both English and Somali

Required documents

• Detailed audit proposal (including cost and duration of the assignment)
• Valid license/registration of audit firm
• Profile (work experience, key staff, audit assignment conducted before, etc.)
• Proof of previous audit work conducted and 3 letters of reference

If your institution meets the above requirements, please send the required documents to [email protected] with the subject line “CLDC 2023 Audit” not later than 15 October 2023.

Any application received after 15 October 2023 will not be accepted and only shortlisted institutions will be contacted.