Procurement for Audit Services

The EMBASSY OF SWEDEN IN MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE is procuring audit firms for the new Framework Agreement for Audit Services.

The tender shall be submitted in hard copy and must be signed by an authorized representative of the company or equivalent. The complete tender must be submitted in duplicate-one original and one copy. The tender should also contain a digital copy (USB memory or equivalent) and should be clearly marked with the name of the company and the Embassy’s reference number UM2024/19446/MAPU.

Tenders must be delivered to the Embassy of Sweden, Av. Julius Nyerere 1128 Maputo, Mozambique no later than May 21, 2025 at 16.00 hours.

QUESTION: The document mentions the audit of various projects and programmes. Can you provide more detailed information about these projects? Understanding the scope and complexity will help us estimate the required hours accurately.

ANSWER As the procurement is made for a framework agreement of 2 + 1 + 1 years, it is difficult to provide a more detailed description of individual projects as the services may vary between the years.

As a general rule, all projects funded by the Embassy are subject to annual audit. This is generally procured by the implementing partner as part of the program and not by the Embassy. However, there is an agreement with some partners that the Embassy procures the annual audit, for which the framework agreement would be applicable. This would constitute an annual project/program audit, as well as an additional 4400-assignment, for each project.

When starting a new project, the Embassy undertakes a capacity assessment of the suggested implementing partner where, amongst other things, the partner’s administrative capacity to conform with the requirements of the agreement is made. It is foreseen that the Embassy will call off from the framework agreement for assistance with some of these assessments.

The Embassy also has a responsibility to follow up any reports of ineligibilities. It is foreseen that the Embassy will call of from the framework agreement for assistance with evaluating and further investigating parts of these reports.

During the implementation of the projects, there are often questions arising regarding the efficiency of organizations and/or compliance questions. For these reasons, it is foreseen that the Embassy will call of from the framework agreement regarding procurement processes (procurement audit)  and/or efficiency of the organizations (efficiency audits).

For more general information regarding the Embassy’s work in Mozambique, please refer to the following link: Sida's work in Mozambique | Sida

QUESTION: Specific details about the yearly budget for development and research cooperation in Mozambique, which amounts to approximately 65 MUSD for Sweden, are provided. However, more specifics on individual projects to be audited would be required.

ANSWER As above, the specifics on individual projects to be audited is not possible to provide at this stage, as the procurement is for a framework agreement of 2 + 1 + 1 years. Prior to making a call-off from the framework agreement, specific details and terms of reference for the individual engagement would be provided for the supplier to properly staff the engagement.

QUESTION: What is the typical profile of the entities to be audited (e.g., NGOs, public entities, multilateral projects)?

ANSWER The typical profile of entities to be audited would be NGOs and public entities. No separate external audit is performed for projects implemented by multilateral partners, as they fall under the ‘single audit’-principle.

QUESTION: Are there any estimates regarding the complexity of the audits (e.g., financial volume, number of funders, geographic scope)?

ANSWER As above, the specifics on individual projects to be audited is not possible to provide at this stage, as the procurement is for a framework agreement of 2 + 1 + 1 years.

The programs funded by the Embassy range from an annual volume of around 100 MSEK (roughly 10 MUSD) and 5 MSEK (roughly 0,5 MUSD) spanning over 2 – 5 years. All programs are fully implemented in Moçambique, while organizations may have administrative operations (including accounting) abroad. The Embassy both finances projects that are solely financed by Sweden, as well as shared projects with financing from other funders.

QUESTION: Could you provide an estimate of the number of audits to be contracted annually under the framework agreement?

ANSWER The number of projects that are expected to the audited annually through the framework agreement is between 5 – 10. Additionally, it is expected that other services will be requested as per the procurement document.

QUESTION: What is the expected average duration per audit mission?

ANSWER It depends on the complexity of the audit. As per above, the programs funded by the Embassy range from an annual volume of around 100 MSEK (roughly 10 MUSD) and 5 MSEK (roughly 0,5 MUSD) spanning over 2 – 5 years. All programs are fully implemented in Moçambique, while organizations may have administrative operations (including accounting) abroad. The Embassy both finances projects that are solely financed by Sweden, as well as shared projects with financing from other funders.

QUESTION: According to the appendix, it appears that a "price basket” (Appendix 8) might be expected. Are we also required to submit a comprehensive financial proposal? Given the ambiguity around project details and complexity, estimating the hours and costs without further specifics presents a challenge.

ANSWER As the procurement is for a framework agreement over 2 + 1 + 1 year, no comprehensive financial proposal is requested. The “price basket“ (Appendix 8) serves as the price comparison.

QUESTION: The document mentions the possibility of audits involving travel outside Maputo. Can you provide guidelines or expectations on how to estimate these travel costs in our financial proposal?

ANSWER Each individual assignment that is called off under the framework agreement will include an individual budget for that project, including eventual travel costs. The price comparison in the procurement will be based of the cost of the consultants, as per the “price basket”.

QUESTION: Should travel costs be included in the rates proposed in the Price Basket, or will they be reimbursed separately? If reimbursed, is there a per diem table?

ANSWER No. As above, for each individual assignment called off under the framework agreement, an individual budget for that specific project (including travel costs) will be agreed. Fees and expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with the attached “Sida’s General Conditions for Framework Agreements and Contracts”.  

QUESTION: For audits that take place outside Maputo, which provinces are most involved?

ANSWER Currently, the programs implemented by the Embassy are most likely based in Niassa, Nampula, Cabo Delgado and the Beira corridor. In most cases, our partners have a head office in Maputo and a local office in the respective province. It is our experience that most audits are performed in Maputo, while information/confirmations might be sought in the provinces.

QUESTION: For Efficiency Audits: What specific competencies and resources are expected to be reviewed? Are there specific areas of internal control and management that should be focused on?

ANSWER Each individual assignment will be designed and agreed separately. In general, the Embassy funds development projects implemented by different partners. The aim of the efficiency audit is to evaluate if the partner is well organized to reach the objectives of the project. This could involve, but is not limited to, questions relating to governance, human resources processes, internal control as well as operational processes.

QUESTION: For Review Audits: What elements of management, risk management, and anti-corruption mechanisms should be included? How should the assessment of internal control mechanisms be conducted?

ANSWER Each individual assignment will be designed and agreed separately. Commonly, the review audit is used as part of the assessment of the partner’s capacity to be compliant with the requirements for the funding prior to starting a new project.

QUESTION: For Procurement Audits: What specific procurement regulations need to be reviewed? Are there specific processes related to contract management that should be followed?

ANSWER Each individual assignment will be designed and agreed separately. Commonly, the project’s apply the procurement regulation of the implementing partner, so the procurement audit could be performed to verify compliance with the applicable procurement regulation within that contribution.

QUESTION: For Investigative and Forensic Audits: What methodology is expected to investigate fraud and irregularities? What format is required for the reports of evidence of corruption?

ANSWER Each individual assignment will be designed and agreed separately, both in terms of methodology and reporting requirements. It is expected that the framework partner has the capacity and competence to carry out a investigative/forensic audit and will describe their applied methodology in the application.

QUESTION: Are there any specific methodologies to be followed for efficiency audits or investigative audits?

ANSWER Each individual assignment will be designed and agreed separately, both in terms of methodology and reporting requirements. It is expected that the framework partner has the capacity and competence to carry out a efficiency and/or investigative audit and will describe their applied methodology in the application.

QUESTION: Could you provide examples or typical areas that should be covered in efficiency, procurement, and investigative audits?

ANSWER Below are some examples of typical areas for each type of service:

Efficiency audit: During the implementation of the projects, there are often questions arising regarding the efficiency of organizations and/or compliance questions. The efficiency audit, as stated in the procurement document, aims to evaluate if the implementing organization has the capacity, resources and competence to achieve its goals and whether the financial management is sound

Procurement audit: During the implementation of the projects, there are often questions arising regarding the efficiency of organizations and/or compliance questions. The procurement audit, as stated in the procurement document, aims to review the implementing partner’s procurement procedures and compliance to procurement regulations and eventual other documentation guiding the procurement processes.

Investigative audit: If there are implications or reports of fraud or other irregularities, the Embassy has an obligation to follow up and evaluate any such implications. One part of the follow up could be to conduct an investigative audit, where a specific claim is evaluated, dismissed or affirmed by the investigative audit.

QUESTION: Audit Scope: Does the scope of the audits cover only expenditures related to Sida-funded projects, or does it also include the overall structure of the beneficiary organizations (governance, management, human resources)?

ANSWER In most cases, the funding covered by the audit is only from Sida. There could be cases where several donors are funding the same project, or where delegations from other donors are included in the same project. In those cases, the audit would likely be performed for the full project for efficiency reasons.

QUESTION: Audit Standards : Should all assignments be conducted exclusively according to ISA standards, or can some missions be carried out under agreed-upon procedures (ISRS 4400)?

ANSWER For the financial audit, these should be conducted in accordance with ISA standards. In addition, there is a mandatory additional procedure carried out during the financial audit. This additional procedure is based on ISA 4400.

For other types of audits (i.e. efficiency, review, procurement, investigative/forensic and other) the standard for carrying out the engagement will vary. The supplier is expected to describe the methodology applied for the various types of audits in their application.

QUESTION: Forensic Audits : For forensic-type audits, do you expect only a document review or a full reconstruction of evidence for potential use by judicial authorities?

ANSWER In most cases, the investigative audit and forensic audit expressions are used interchangeably. Most investigative or forensic audits carried out by the Embassy are not designed for full reconstruction of evidence for potential use by judicial authorities, but rather document reviews and/or interviews with personnel to investigate a specific suspicion and create a report evaluating the suspicion for internal use.

QUESTION: Internal Control Assessment: Should each audit systematically include an assessment of the partner organization's internal control system, even when not explicitly requested?

ANSWER Every financial audit should be made in compliance with ISA, in which the auditor should consider the design and implementation of internal controls. There is no expectation that a financial audit should include an in-dept review of the organization’s internal control systems – in that case an efficiency audit and/or a review audit would be commissioned separately.

QUESTION: Are the auditing services required to audit a specific project? If so, which project?

ANSWER As the procurement is made for a framework agreement of 2 + 1 + 1 years, it is difficult to provide a more detailed description of individual projects as the services may vary between the years.

QUESTION: What is the period of the project to be audited?

ANSWER As the procurement is made for a framework agreement of 2 + 1 + 1 years, it is difficult to provide a more detailed description of individual projects as the services may vary between the years.

QUESTION: What is the value / budget of the period to be audited?

ANSWER As the procurement is made for a framework agreement of 2 + 1 + 1 years, it is difficult to provide a more detailed description of individual projects as the services may vary between the years. The estimated maximum amount for services provided during this period is 8 000 000 SEK (roughly 800 000 USD).

QUESTION: It seems that we have to fill in, sign and send you the Framework Agreement for Audit Services document, is this interpretation correct?

ANSWER This is not needed at this stage in the process. The Framework Agreement for Audit Services document, as attached to the procurement documentation, is attached to show the contract that will be signed with the winning tenderer(s).

QUESTION: What forms should be attached to the proposal, as there are many appendices? (we are clear about the CV, Price basket and References) There are others that we should attach?

ANSWER It is important to go through the requirements in the full procurement document, as the requirements will vary depending on the tenderer. Not all appendices need to be attached – some are for information, such as the draft contract and the general conditions. In some cases, there are possibilities to submit the information but not using the attached templates. In other words, the tenderer needs to assure that all the requirements in the procurement document are fulfilled.

QUESTION: The company’s legal documentation should be translated in English, or you will consider in Portuguese. ?

ANSWER It depends – if this is a document issued by another party than the tenderer, Portuguese is also accepted. Please refer to part 2.2.3 of the Procurement Document.

QUESTION: Do consultant’s certificates have to be submitted? If so, should they also be translated to English?

ANSWER At this stage of the process, certificates do not have to be submitted but should be available upon request. Should they be requested, we would accept forms in Portuguese if from an external party.

QUESTION: Regarding capacity building, what do you expect from consultants in this area? Do you expect something as on-the-job trainings?

ANSWER As the procurement is made for a framework agreement of 2 + 1 + 1 years, it is difficult to provide a more detailed description of individual projects as the services may vary between the years.

One expected scope would be on-the-job training, or providing guidance/advice to organizations that are in a change process on how to best structure a process or similar.

QUESTION: Appendix VIII – Consultant Hours Allocation

We understand that we are to quote an hourly rate for each level of consultant. However, we are unclear on the origin of the hours assigned to each level in the template (e.g., Level 1 – 20 hours; Level 2 – 185 hours; Level 3 – 20 hours). Could you please clarify how these figures were determined and whether they are fixed or indicative?

ANSWER The figures are representative of, from our experience, a normal audit engagement that would be called off from under the framework agreement. The figures are only indicative and used as a price comparison. Individual assignments will be called off from the framework agreement and include a separate budget for each assignment.

QUESTION:

In Appendix VIII, SIDA refers to “other taxes and charges.” Could you please elaborate on what is meant by this? As our pricing is typically based on a detailed scope of work agreed with the client—including elements such as travel, e-discovery, etc.—it is difficult to provide a comprehensive cost indication without assignment-specific details.

ANSWER The price basket comparison is based on the fees of consultants for each levels, as defined in the procurement document, and shall include the “full price” excluding VAT. This includes, if applicable, any taxes and other charges. For every call-off under the framework agreement, the consultants would be allowed to charge (for their time) the agreed price per category. Other reimbursable costs are agreed separately depending on the scope of the assignment.

QUESTION: Number of Hours Column in Appendix VIII

The template requests input for the “Number of hours (the specified number is to be used solely for the evaluation of tenders).” Could you please advise what should be entered here? Without a defined scope, it is unclear how we should estimate the number of hours per consultant level.

ANSWER The number of hours per consultant category should be added as per the definition, i.e. 20 hours for level one, 185 hours for level 2 and 20 hours for level 3. The information is only used for comparison during the tender process. The allocation of hours for individual assignment will depend on the scope and nature of the service provided.

QUESTION: We intend to apply for the aforementioned bid and kindly request clarification regarding the location where the audits will be conducted.

The notice document mentions the "Place of performance: Country – Sweden," while the proposal is for Auditing Services – The Embassy of Sweden in Maputo, and relevant experience is also requested for Mozambique.

Could you please confirm whether the audits will be conducted in Sweden or in Mozambique? This will help us determine whether we need to engage experts based in Sweden for this assignment.

Thank you for your assistance.

ANSWER The audits will be conducted in Moçambique. There may be instances where partner organizations have their headquarters and certain administrative functions outside of Moçambique, but our experience is that the audits can be conducted in Moçambique.

QUESTION: We noted that the qualifications and competences requirements for a Level 1 consultant include experience of at least five (5) years of experience as signing auditor. If consultants are proposed who meet most of the requirements but not this one, however their experience is specifically related to the service lines - Please confirm if this consultant would be considered or if this would result in the tender being disqualified

ANSWER: The requirements for each category of consultants listed are mandatory, meaning that any tender that does not meet the requirements would be disqualified.

QUESTION: We noted that the qualifications and competences requirements for a Level 2 consultant include good skills in Portuguese, equivalent to at least level two (2) according the language level definition. If consultants are proposed who meet most of the requirements but not this one, however their experience is specifically related to the service lines - Please confirm if this consultant would be considered or if this would result in the tender being disqualified

ANSWER: The requirements for each category of consultants listed are mandatory, meaning that any tender that does not meet the requirements would be disqualified.