TERMS OF REFFERENCE FOR EXTERNAL AUDIT
Introduction
Founded in 1937, Plan international is a development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We strive for a just world working together with children. Young people, our supporters and partners.
Plan international is a global federation that is active in over 70 countries around the world. The global organization comprises 21 fundraising offices, which are separate legal entities known as National Organizations, and Plan International Inc, which runs our field operations, principally through branch offices Plan International headquarters in the UK is run through Plan Limited, Plan International Inc’s subsidiary.
Plan International, Inc. “The Organization” has its Asia Pacific Regional Hub and Thailand Country Office in Bangkok, Thailand and its International Headquarters in UK at the following addresses:
Asia Pacific Regional Hub and Thailand Country Office: 14th Floor, 253 Sukhumvit 21 Road(Asoke) Klongtoey Nua,Wattana,Bangkok 10110,Thailand, Tel: +(66-2)598 284.
International headquarters (Global Hub): Dukes Court, Block A, Duke Street,Working Surrey,GU21 5BH, United Kingdom,Tel: (+44)1483 755 155, Fax: (+44)1483 756 505
Plan International’s webpage is located at : https://plan-international.org/
Plan International Inc (“the Organization”) has yearly period between 1 July 2020-30 June 2021
The external audit shall be carried out in accordance with Certified Public Accountant (CPA) issued by Federation of Accounting Professions (FAP) Under The Royal Patronage of His majesty The King and according to Thai International Financial Reporting Standard.
Engagement of the audit service
Plan International Asia Pacific Regional Hub and Thailand Country Office wish to engage the services of an audit firm for the purpose of auditing the income and expenses of Plan’s Asia Pacific Regional Hub and Thailand Country Office operations in Asia Pacific Region for one fiscal year covering 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.
The audit shall be carried out by an external, independent and qualified auditor. The auditor or audit firm shall be registered and have a license with the Federation of Accounting Profession (FAP).
Objectives of the audit
The Objective of the audit is to certify the Income and Expenses of Plan’s Asia Pacific Regional Hub and Thailand Country Office operations in Asia Pacific Region for one fiscal year from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021. This audit is in addition to the annual statutory accounts that is coordinated by Plan International Global Hub.
Plan International Inc. in Thailand has two offices: Asia Pacific Regional Hub and Thailand Country Office. Both are sharing the same office in Bangkok, while Thailand Country Office also has its Project Unit in Chiang Rai.
Plan International Asia Pacific Regional Hub work in different countries across Asia and the Pacific. There are regional staff/teams working from Bangkok, Beijing, Hanoi, Manila, Jakarta, Dhaka and New Delhi to support the regional programmes in 15 countries. Some of regional staff have been working from the National Office (NO) located outside Thailand. Asia Pacific Regional Hub also accommodated a few Global Hub staff based in Thailand.
Due to the different duty stations of Regional staff and the hosting of staff from Global Hub, Asia Pacific Regional hub shall provide support to and/or receive support from other Plan operations outside of Thailand which come in the form of intercompany transactions. The structure of Asia Pacific Regional Hub is quite complex and the regional operations in multiple countries also generate a significant volume of intercompany transactions which need to be considered in this audit in terms of time spending and examination.
Scope of the Audit
The Organisation will prepare the Financial Statements (Income and Expenses) for auditor along with transaction listings and bank statements of Asia Pacific Regional Hub and Thailand Country Office.
In respect of Intercompany transactions, the Organisation will prepare the detailed analysis of intercompany receivables and payables, if any, for auditor along with supporting documents which related to Intercompany Recharges. The audit should be carried out to ensure that the organisation has adequate procedures and processes in place to identify and where relevant, monitor and track intercompany transactions in a timely manner and to review these procedures annually.
The auditor shall adequately plan the audit engagement well in advance and develop plan/schedule with Plan’s responsible staff members. In this planning phase of audit, the auditor shall determine the type of transactions to be audited, the audit methods, the type of physical counts or examination and the period of field/on-site work.
The external auditor or audit firm shall perform such audit of accounts of Plan International in Thailand which includes the operations of two offices: Asia Pacific Regional Hub and Thailand Country Office which has its Project Unit in Chiang Rai.
The auditors are responsible for the formulation of an opinion on the Income and Expenditure Statement based on their audit conducted in accordance with CPA (Certified public accountant) issued by FAP (Federation of Accounting Professions under the Royal Patronage of His majesty The King).
The audit should be carried out to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatements. Auditor should understand Plan International’s accounting and internal control systems in order to access adequacy as a basis for the preparation of the financial statements and to establish whether proper accounting records have been maintained.
The audit should include examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosure of accounts. It should include an assessment of accounting principles and whether they were used appropriately in the organisation’s circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed.
After the completion of the financial audit engagement, but before leaving the premises, the audit manager shall hold a closing meeting with the persons responsible for the operations, accounting and reporting. The meeting shall address the results of the audit, discuss major weakness, administrative and financial management and the pending issues or documentations.
The auditors shall be given access to all legal documents, correspondence and any other information associated with the Income Statement to be audited and deemed necessary by them. Confirmation of amounts disbursed and outstanding can be obtained by income records in SAP. These records are reported and checked by Plan International Inc. are considered correct.
4. Contents of Reporting
The auditor will issue the Statement of Financial Position and the Statement of Income and Expenditures and the audit report in two languages: English and Thai, in both signed hard copies and the digital copies of them with the first draft reports for review by 31 October 2021. The responsible auditor’s signature and title are required on every page of both reports. The auditor or audit firm is expected to issue an opinion on the financial statements as a whole for both Asia Pacific Regional Hub and Thailand Country Office.
The completion of external audit with the final signed audit report expressing the opinion must be submitted no later than 30 November 2021.
The timetable plan for the audit could be as follows:
Submission of offer and award to selected auditor: 15-31 August 2021
Submission of financial statements to the external auditor, planning of audit & audit field: 1 September – 15 October 2021 (depending on the office closure’s policy in responding to Covid situation).
Completion of first draft report: 31 October 2021
Completion of external audit with final signed audit report and certified statements: 30 November 2021.
The timetable plan can be adjusted and agreed upon between auditor and Plan’s team after the awarding and contractual process. The definite deadline for external audit completion must be in the month of December 2021.
5. Auditor’s qualification and experience
The audit shall be carried out by external, independent and qualified auditor (Certified Public Accountant/CPA).
The auditor or audit firm must be completely impartial and independent from all aspects of management or financial interests of organization. The auditor shall not, during the period covered by the audit nor during the undertaking of the audit, be employed by, serve as advisers or mentors for or have any financial or business relationships with the organization. The Auditors should disclose any relationship that might possibly compromise their independence
The auditor shall be registered and have a licence with the FAP (Federation of Accounting Professions). The auditor must demonstrate that s/he employs adequate staff with appropriate professional qualifications with Thailand standards, in particular Thailand Standards on Auditing and with suitable experience in accounting and auditing the accounts of entities comparable in size and complexity to the entity being audited.
In addition, the audit team as a whole should have:
Demonstrate sufficient knowledge of relevant laws, regulations and rules in the country concerned This includes but is not limited of taxation, social security and labour regulations, accounting and reporting and;
Fluency in English.
The key audit team will comprise at least:
An audit manager with several years of experience in auditing and with a sound knowledge of non-profit sector. He/she should be responsible for the formulation of an opinion on the Statement of Financial Position and Statement of Income and Expenditures based on their audit conducted in accordance with CPA issued by FAP.
Please send your Expression of Interest and Application to Mr. Supornchai Nawataweeporn at Supornchai.Nawataweeporn@plan-international.org referencing “Audit for MOL” in the subject line. Application deadline is 06 August 2021 (17:00 hrs, Bangkok time/ICT).
Contact : Supornchai.Nawataweeporn@plan-international.org
