External Auditors at Central Bank of Nigeria - CBN

Credit No: 529-NG

Job Description

• The Federal Government of Nigeria has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Nigeria Housing Finance Program (NHFP), and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services.
• The consulting services ("the Services") include the provision of external auditing services to the NHFP. The objective of the audit of the Project Financial Statements (PFSs) is to enable the auditor to express a professional opinion(s) on the financial position of the project at the end of each fiscal year, and on funds received and expenditures incurred for the relevant accounting period.
• The audit of the project will be carried out in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISA) promulgated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), and will include such tests and auditing procedures as the auditor will consider necessary under the circumstances. Special attention should be paid by the auditor as to whether the:
  • World Bank financing (and all external financing where the World Bank is not the only financier) has been used in accordance with the conditions of the relevant financing agreement, with due attention to economy and efficiency, and only for the purposes for which the financing was provided as outlined in the Project Agreement, Financing Agreement. Subsidiary Agreement and the Subordinated Loan Agreement;.
  • Counterpart funds have been provided and used in accordance with the relevant financing agreements, with due attention to economy and efficiency, and only for the purposes for which they were provided;
  • Goods, works and services financed have been procured in accordance with the relevant financing agreements including specific provisions of the World Bank Procurement Policies and Procedures;
  • All necessary supporting documents, records, and accounts have been maintained in respect of all project activities, including expenditures reported using Statements of Expenditure (SOE) or Interim Unaudited Financial Statements (IFS) methods of reporting. The auditor is expected to verify that respective reports issued during the period were in agreement with the underlying books of account;
  • Designated Accounts have been maintained in accordance with the provisions of the relevant financing agreements and funds disbursed out of the Accounts were used only for the purpose intended in the financing agreement;
  • National laws and regulations have been complied with, and that the financial and accounting procedures approved for the project (eg. operational manual, financial procedures manual, etc) were followed and used;
  • Financial performance of the project is satisfactory.
  • Assets procured from project funds exist and there is verifiable ownership by the implementing agency or beneficiaries in line with the financing agreement.
  • Training/workshops/study tour expenditures, where incurred, been in compliance with the established policy and there is value for money.
  • Ineligible expenditures included in withdrawal application are identified and reimbursed to the Designated Accounts. These should be separately noted in the audit report.

Requirements

• The Project Administration Team (PAT) on behalf of the Central Bank of Nigeria as the Project Implementation Entity (PIE) now invites eligible Firms(’Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services.
• Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services.

The shortlisting criteria are:

• The auditor should be familiar with the Bank’s Guidelines on Annual Financial Reporting for World Bank-Financed Activities, June 30, 2003, which summarizes the Bank’s financial reporting and auditing requirements.
• The auditor should be familiar with World Bank Procurement Guidelines, which can be obtained from the project implementing entity.
• The auditor should also be familiar with the Bank’s Disbursement Handbook for World Bank Clients, Disbursement Guidelines for Projects: May 2006. These documents are available on the Bank’s website and could be obtained from the Task Team Leader.
• The auditor should possess a licence from a recognized professional body that permits the practice of external auditing in Nigeria.
• Experience in the provision of external auditing services for World Bank assisted projects or International donor financed projects would be an added advantage.
• The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraph 1.9 of the World Bank’s Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants by World Bank Borrowers January 2011 (“Consultant Guidelines”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.
• A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Consultants Qualification (CQ) method set out in the Consultant Guidelines.