The Canadian Network for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health operating as the Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH) is a completely virtual not-for-profit organization with an independent Board of Directors that focuses on the health and rights of women and children around the world. CanWaCH is currently accepting proposals from qualified and experienced auditors licensed under the Public Accounting Act, 2004 to provide financial audit services.
The selected auditor will be responsible for performing the annual corporate financial statement audit for CanWaCH, serve as a resource and be available for consultation on accounting, tax and related matters throughout the year.
2. About CanWaCH
2.1 Financial year and timelines:
CanWaCH’s organizational fiscal year runs October 1 – September 30. In general, CanWaCH presents completed financial statements to its membership at its AGM, held at the end of November each year.
2.2 Financial activity:
CanWaCH currently receives the majority of its funding from Global Affairs Canada and receives other funding from other departments and foundations, for example Women and Gender Equality Canada and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Revenue for CanWaCH for the previous fiscal years are as follow:
Fiscal year
Revenue
September 30, 2020
$4,375,493
September 30, 2019
$4,851,014
September 30, 2018
$2,482,984
2.3 Key Financial Systems:
CanWaCH currently uses Quickbooks as its software solution for General Ledger and Accounts Payable.
2.4 Finance, Audit and Risk Committee:
CanWaCH’s Finance, Audit and Risk Committee (FAR Committee) is responsible for reviewing the annual financial statements of CanWaCH prior to submission to the Board of Directors. The Auditor will present the audited financial statements and results to the Committee on an annual basis.
3. Project Purpose and Deliverables
3.1 Project Purpose:
The objective of this Proposal is select an audit firm to enter into a contract with CanWaCH. The Auditor shall have experience and expertise in performing not-for-profit audits, be free of any obligations or interests that may conflict or affect their ability to perform and act as the Auditor on our behalf, and have the capacity to provide this service in a timely manner that provides best value for quality.
The purpose of the Financial Audit Services is to:
Meet with the necessary stakeholders, including Management and Board members when required throughout the audit process and be available to CanWaCH members at the Annual General Meeting
Perform the annual financial audit;
Complete the annual tax return;
Serve as a resource and be available for consultation on accounting, tax and related matters throughout the year.
From a technical perspective, we envision the provider to submit a proposal and any appendices, which includes the following:
Company Profile and Contract: A brief profile of your firm indicating the scope of its practice, the range of activities performed by the firm such as auditing, tax returns/service, and accounting services. Identify the contact person, phone number and email address as well as the address and phone number of the office that will manage or assist in managing this audit.
Experience with Not-for-Profit Audits: List current and past audit clients and indicate the number of years your firm has been the auditor for each client. Describe your familiarity and experience with ASNPO accounting and accounting standards.
Experience with government contribution agreement funding: Describe your familiarity and experience in audits for non-profit organizations who receive funding
Audit Staffing: Name and brief resume of the partner(s), manager(s) and other key staff who would be assigned to this audit.
Audit Implementation: Proposals performed, audit approach and commitment to perform the work within the time specified in the annuals schedule. This would include the approach to be used to gain an understanding of CanWaCH’s structure and systems as well as a proposed schedule and any specific techniques or processes to be used for the annual audit.
COVID-19 Protocols: Outline the necessary precautions that the firm will take to ensure the safety of all staff involved. This plan must, at a minimum, follow WorkSafe Ontario and other governmental requirements or legislation in place.
Other Services: Description of the methodology to be used for keeping CanWaCH abreast of any changes in accounting principles or legislation that would impact the annual financial statements.
3.2 Scope of Work and Project Deliverables:
The Auditor will be responsible for the following deliverables:
Provision of audit services to CanWaCH in accordance with Part III of the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting, including the examination of the financial records, systems and controls;
Provision of an Independent Auditor’s Report as a component of the audited financial statements and the Management Representation Letter, identifying areas of concern of weaknesses encountered in the examination of CanWaCH’s financial statements, recommendations for improvement, and management’s response to any such concerns raised;
Participation in the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee meeting and conference calls as required to close the audit (early November each year)
Prepare and file the organization’s annual tax return;
Perform subsequent event procedures to the date of the Independent Auditor’s Report.
To serve as a resource and be available for consultation on accounting, tax and related matters throughout the year.
3.3 Key Dates and Timelines:
The expected key dates and deliverables relating to the audit are as follows:
Deliverables
Key dates*
Letter of engagement
August
Conduct year-end audit field work
October
Present the Audited Financial Statement to the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and discuss Audit Report
Early November
Completed audited financial statements
Mid-November
*Depending on the Auditor’s availability, dates to be adjusted.
3.4 Period of Contract:
The resulting contract will be in effect from approximately December 2021 (pending approval from CanWaCH members at the 2021 Annual General Meeting in November 2021) to provide auditing services for the 2021-2022 organizational financial year, with the possibility of renewal or extension for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 organizational financial year based on membership approval.
4. Proposal Evaluation Criteria
According to CanWaCH’s by-laws,
“A public accountant shall meet the qualifications set out in section 180 of the Act and shall:
be a member in good standing of an institute or association of accountants incorporated by or under an Act of the legislature of a province;
meet any qualifications under an enactment of a province for performing any duty that the person is required to perform under the Act; and
subject to the Act, be independent of the Network, its affiliates, or the directors or officers of the Network or its affiliates.”
Only those bids that meet all mandatory requirements identified in this Request for Proposals will be further evaluated. The bid should be concise and should address, at a minimum, all mandatory criteria identified below. It is suggested that the Bidder address these criteria in sufficient depth in the bid.
4.1 Mandatory criteria for technical and financial bid includes:
Estimated fees in Canadian dollars, excluding applicable taxes, for each deliverable listed. All costs must be itemized to include an explanation of all fees and costs. Bidders are requested to provide the hourly fee for personnel involved in delivering the proposed deliverables. All costs and fees must be clearly described.
History of the firm and location, affiliation with any relevant partners or networks, size, etc.
Description of support team, including bios, relevant experience and specific expertise that they will bring to this role – this section should demonstrate the ability of the firm to deliver on the specific items outlined in Deliverables in Appendix A
Description of support process, including specifics regarding the level of responsiveness that CanWaCH can expect on a regular basis – this section should include details about measures in place for when the primary contact/support staff are not available.
Two (2) client references ONLY, for whom you have provided the services described in the statement of work.
Value-added services, including whatever the Bidder may want to add to its proposal.
Timeframe for completion of the project;
All proposals must be signed by an official agent or representative of the company submitting the proposal.
Any proposals which call for outsourcing or contracting work must include a name and description of the organizations being contracted. Additionally, all costs included in the proposals must be all-inclusive to include any outsourced or contracted work.
4.2 Evaluation criteria:
CanWaCH will evaluate all proposals against all mandatory and rated requirements identified herein, based on the following criteria. To be eligible, all proposed solution(s) must meet the scope and needs included herein and be presented in a clear and organized manner.
To ensure consideration for this Request for Proposals, your proposal should be complete and include:
Organizational Experience (60%): Bidders will be evaluated on their experience as it pertains to the scope of this project; examples of their work; client testimonials and references. Specifically does the bidder have the:
Functional, technical or vertical expertise – including staff expertise and experience – needed to accomplish their proposed deliverables?
Sectoral/problem or issue set expertise needed to accomplish their proposed deliverables?
Geographic/location-based expertise and bilingual (French and English) language competency necessary to accomplish their proposed deliverables?
Experience working effectively within complex governance structures?
Value and cost (40%): Bidders will be evaluated on the cost of their solution(s) based on the work to be performed in accordance with the scope of this project;
Is the scope of the proposed work and the funds requested reasonable and commensurate with the proposed goals?
Does the proposal represent a particularly thoughtful and efficient use of resources?
5. Request for Proposal Timelines
All proposals in response to this RFP are due no later than 5pm EDT, June 29 2021. Any proposals received after this date and time will be returned to the sender.
The shortlisted selection of firms will be presented to the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, for recommendation to the Board. CanWaCH will notify the preferred bidder and bidders who were not selected will be made within 10 business days of a decision from the Board of Directors.
The preferred bidder will be voted upon by the CanWaCH members at the CanWaCH AGM in November. Upon successful vote, contract negotiations with the successful bidder will begin within 10 business days. Contract terms and conditions will be negotiated upon selection of the winning bidder for this RFP. All contractual terms and conditions will be subject to review by CanWaCH and will include scope, budget, schedule and other necessary items pertaining to the project.
6. How to submit a Proposal
Bidders should submit their proposal to Alli Bunting, Director of Programs and Operations at [email protected] by June 292021 at 5pm EDT, with “RFP – CanWaCH Financial Audit Services” in the subject line.
