Tender 09/02- Consultancy Services

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF AN ACCOUNTING AND BUDGETING MANUAL FOR THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM

INSTRUCTION TO TENDERERS         

1. Tenders are invited from qualified accounting firms/consultants having the required resources and experience to offer consultancy services for the production of an Accounting and Budgeting Manual for the SADC Parliamentary Forum.
2. Tender documents consist of:

Downloads

(a) Instruction to Tenderers             - Doc A

(b) Terms of Reference                    - Doc B

(c) Form of Tender Bond                - Doc C

(d) Forms of Tender                        - Doc D

3. Tender shall be made on the prescribed tender form and the tenderer shall complete the tender form, sign, date the documents and affix its seal in the space provided for that purpose.
4. The tender documents must be enclosed in a sealed envelope, which shall conspicuously bear the words:

‘Tender 09/02 - Consultancy Services’ but shall bear no mark indicating the identity of the tenderer and shall be addressed to:

Secretary General

 SADC Parliamentary Forum

Parliamentary Gardens

Erf 578 Love Street

Private Bag 13361

Windhoek, Namibia

5. The documents must be deposited at the reception of the SADC Parliamentary Forum or sent by registered mail by Thursday 25^th January 2010 at 3.30 p.rn . Tenders submitted after this date and time shall not be considered.
6. All recipients of the tender documents, whether they submit a tender or not, shall treat the details of the documents as private and confidential.
7. Any Tenderer not complying with all the foregoing instructions may find their tender rejected.
8. Complete set of Tender documents are available on our website, www.sadcpf.org, or from the reception of the Forum free of charge.

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF AN ACCOUNTING AND BUDGETING MANUAL FOR THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM

Background:

The SADC Parliamentary Forum is presently in the process of reviewing its administrative, financial, information technology and management strategies to cope with the increasingly demanding role played by the Forum as a known and established voice of parliamentarians in SADC Region.

Such reform is based on the need for continuous improvement in organisational efficiency and corporate governance due to the dynamic environment in which the Forum operates. In this context, an Organisational Assessment exercise was carried out by two international firms and this present assignment also forms part of their recommendations.

Scope of the Assignment:

The main objective of the consultancy is to develop an Accounting and Budgeting Manual which incorporates the accounting policies and procedures, based on international best practice. The manual is also expected to detail policies on Budget, Payroll, Cash Handling, Accounts Payable, Grants, the Internal Control System, Procurement, etc.


Consultant Activities:

The overall aim of the consultancy is to produce a Manual of Accounting and Finance for the SADC Parliamentary Forum which will serve as the rules, procedures and policies in handling financial transactions.

The consultant is expected to:

1. Review the existing Accounting and Budgeting Manual in light of the present operation of the SADC Parliamentary Forum and the various donor funded projects.

2. Have a preliminary meeting with Management of SADC Parliamentary Forum and prepare and submit a work plan within Three (3) working days after the discussion.

3. Develop an Accounting and Budgeting Manual which details the policies and procedures of all the financial transactions; these will include inter alia, policies and procedures on:

1. The preparation of Annual Financial Budgets and Budgetary Control. This will include staff responsibilities, format of budget schedules, Capital Budget, Revenue Budget, Projects Budget and reporting format of Variances.
2. Monthly Reporting
3. Annual Financial Statements
4. Internal Control System, Segregation of duties and Corporate Governance.
5. Administration of Donor Fund.
6. Contribution from Member States
7. Payroll, overtime, Allowances, leaves and Loan.
8. Travel, accommodation and per diem payments
9. Procurement of supplies and services
10. Cash and Bank balance management.
11. Fixed Assets Management.
12.  Petty Cash, Insurance, etc

4. Work closely with the management team and will report directly to the Finance and Administration Officer (FAO) or any designated liaison person. The Consultant will keep FAO updated on developments as the assignment progresses by means of regular e-mail or other direct contact.

5. Will prepare and review with management, the following;

            (a) An Interim Report within Eight (8) weeks of commencement of the assignment.

(b)  Final report within Twelve (12) weeks of commencement of the assignment

All reports will be submitted in electronic form and one hard copy, in English

6. Provide training to relevant personnel about the use of the manual.

Qualifications and Experience:

The assignment will require a high level of technical competence on financial management systems and experience in designing and developing accounting policies and procedures.

Thus, the consultant should have:

1. University degree in Accounting, Finance, Management or related discipline
2. Demonstrated experience in Accounting procedures in public sector, Regional or international agencies.
3. Minimum 5 years experience in auditing, accounting or financial management
4. Thorough knowledge of International Accounting Standards, financial rules and regulation
5. Prior experience in preparation of Accounting manuals will be a definite advantage
6. Excellent written and oral English

Proposal fees

Any consultancy firm or individual who is interested and is in a position to undertake the assignment is invited to submit its proposals and quote its best professional fees for the whole project inclusive of all applicable duties and taxes.

Payment for the Consultancy Services will be effected after submission and approval of the Authority.

The mode of payment will be as follows:

(i) Upon presentation of the outline of the Manual                                           25%

(ii) Upon presentation of first draft                                                                   50%

(iii) Upon presentation of Final Accounting and Budgeting Manual                50%

Proposal Details from Tenderers

The proposal should include the following:

1. Details of the firm or individual,
2. Details of the experience of the firm or individual relevant to this assignment,
3. A detailed work plan and the proposed methodology, which shall include full justification for procedures to be adopted.

Additional Information

The Tenderer may also submit:

1. Information on any ongoing or successfully completed similar project.
2. Any other information that would help in the choice of the consultancy firm or individual.

Evaluation of Proposals Received

A one-stage procedure will be adopted for evaluating the proposals, ie,  the technical and financial evaluations will be combined.

The overall evaluation parameters will be as follows:

1. Technical - 70%
2. Financial - 30%

The technical proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

The weights attached to the technical and financial proposals shall be 70% and 30% respectively, as indicated above.

The successful bidder will be the one whose proposal gets the highest combined Technical/Financial score.

FORM OF TENDER BOND

                      .                                 .

KNOW ALL MEN by these present that we …………………………..................... whose

registered office is at ..,................................................................ (hereinafter called “The Surety” are held and firmly bound unto the SADC Parliamentary Forum called "The Employer" in the sum of Namibian Dollar...        ...         .....

(N$………..) for the payment of which sum we bind ourselves, our successors and assign

jointly and severally by these present.

WHEREAS …………………………………………………………….. whose registered office

is at………………………………………………. (hereinafter called "The Tenderer") has, by a Tender (hereinafter called the "said Tender") made to the Employer offered to enter into a Contract, Viz. CONTRACT for consultancy services of Financial Consultant at the SADC Parliamentary Forum as therein mentioned and has undertaken to enter into a Performance Bond for the due performance of the Contract should the said Tender be accepted by the Employer.

NOW THE CONDITION of this Bond is such that if the Tenderer shall maintain the said Tender and shall enter into a Contract for the due performance of the Contract within ten days of the date of notification of acceptance of the said Tender by the PurchaserlEmployer, then this obligation shall be null and void but otherwise shall be and remain in full force and effect until. .. . .. . . . . ..

Date at ................................................................. day of ................................ 2010

Signature ………………………………..

FORM OF 'TENDER FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICES OF A FINANCE PROFESSIONAL AS CONSULTANT FOR THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM”

I, the undersigned, Mr……........................................................................................... (Name)

representing........... ................................................................................... (Company's Name)

of ……………………………………………………………………….(Company's Address)

do hereby tender the sum of... .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . .. . . .. .. .. . .. . . .

for consultancy services the production of an Accounting and Budgeting Manual for the SADC Parliamentary Forum in accordance with the specification attached herewith.

Signature:................................ ……….

Tel No.: ………………………………

Fax No: ………………………………….

Company Seal: …………………………….

Date: ………………………………………….

N.B: Sum quoted to include all taxes, charges, V.A.T

DOWNLOADS

Instruction to Tenderers (Document A)

Terms of Reference (Document B)

Form of Tender Bond (Document C)

Forms of Tender (Document D)