Expenditure Verification Exercise on a grant to an implementing partner.

Expenditure verification, audit, financial statements

UNITAR is an autonomous institution established in the framework of the United Nations for the purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of the United Nations in achieving the major objectives of the Organization. The work of UNITAR is project-based. In conducting its work UNITAR engages with a range of implementing partners to support the delivery of activities and results.

In August 2022, UNITAR awarded a grant to an implementing partner based in Accra, Ghana to support security policy self-responsibility of West African partners engaged in the context of crisis prevention/crisis reaction to internal and external threats in the region (“the grant”). The grant was awarded to enable the implementing partner to deliver training activities for military and police personnel in Ghana and beyond. In October 2022, the agreement between UNITAR and the implementing partner governing the grant was amended to support the delivery of additional training activities. In December 2022, the agreement was amended a second time to account for cost overruns associated with the activities implemented outside of Ghana, in addition to general consultancies and flight tickets paid in US Dollars due to the international invoicing of these expenses, as well as to the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi against the US Dollar. The second amendment also extended the validity of the agreement to 31 December 2022 and introduced the requirement that the grant be subjected to an expenditure verification exercise.

The objectives of the expenditure verification exercise are to:

• verify that cost overruns reported on activities performed under the grant are attributable to invoicing requirements in US dollars; and
• verify that the cost overruns are attributable to the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi against the US Dollar between the period of 14 October 2022 and 15 December 2022 in accordance with the approved grant budget.
• issue a report using the required reporting template.

More information can be found in the terms of references (Annex 1).

The consultant shall become familiar with the engagement context, undertake a risk assessment and samplying exercise to verify the financial statement. ed documents including analytical reports; collect data using appropriate tools, including surveys, interviews and focus groups; analyze data using quantitative and qualitative methods as appropriate to the evaluation questions; and submit deliverables in accordance with the below schedule.

• Draft report
• Briefing
• Final report

1. Deliverable: Draft report

From: consultant

To: UNITAR

Deadline*: 7 April 2023

2. Deliverable: Briefing presentation

From: consultant

To: UNITAR**

Deadline*: 7 April 2023

3. Deliverable: Final report

From: consultant

To: UNITAR

Deadline*: 14 April 2023

*To be adjusted depending on the contract signature and to be agreed upon with the Supervisor.

**Briefing to be organized by UNITAR.

The performance indicators for evaluation of results for this assignment are the following:

• Timely submission of deliverables;
• Satisfactory quality of the expenditure verification report and adherence to the reporting format.

The expenditure verification exercise will be undertaken by an international consultant under the overall responsibility of the Director of the Division for Strategic Planning and Performance, UNITAR.

Qualifications:

The Expenditure Verifier/consultant shall have appropriate professional qualifications and suitable experience with IFAC standards and with experience in verifying financial statements and other information of entities comparable in size and complexity of the grant. In addition, the Expenditure Verifier/consultant should have:

• At least 10 years of experience as a professional auditor or accountant in public audit practice.
• He/she should be a member of a national or international accounting or auditing body or institution.
• Experience with programmes and projects funded by national and/or international donors and institutions.
• Experience with expenditure verifications in Ghana.
• Experience with expenditure verifications of public entities.
• Knowledge of relevant laws, regulations and rules in the country concerned. This includes but is not limited to invoicing, exchange rates, accounting and reporting is desired.
• Knowledge of accounting, finance, reporting and regulatory procedures.

The Expenditure Verifier/consultant must meet at least one of the following conditions:

• Is a member of a national accounting or auditing body or institution which in turn is a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
• Is a member of a national accounting or auditing body or institution. Although this organisation is not member of the IFAC, the Expenditure Verifier/consultant commits to undertaking the verification exercise in accordance with the IFAC standards.
• Is registered as a statutory auditor in the public register of a public oversight body and the register is subject to principles of public oversight as set out in the legislation of the country in which the implementing partner is established (this applies to auditors and audit firms).

Languages:

• Fluency in written and oral English.