2. Organizational Background:
The Canadian Association for Global Health (CAGH) is a national non-governmental organization that works domestically and internationally to reduce global health inequities and strengthen health systems. Founded in 1977 as The Canadian Society for International Health (CSIH), in 2021 amalgamated with the Canadian Coalition of Global Health and Research (CCGHR) forming the Canadian Association for Global Health (CAGH). CAGH is governed by a 12-member volunteer Board of Directors, which includes a Finance and Audit Committee, who meets regularly to review the monthly financial statements.
For more information on CAGH, please visit: https://www.cagh-acsm.org.
3. Financial Information Background:
CAGH’s fiscal year is January 1st to December 31st. The organization has an annual budget of approximately $1.5 million dollars. CAGH receives funds from the following sources:
- Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
- Global Affairs Canada (GAC)
- International Development and Research Centre (IDRC)
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
- Health Systems Global Associations (HSG)
- Other miscellaneous revenues
CAGH’s bi-weekly full and part-time payroll consists of approximately 10-12 employees.
CAGH’s financial system (general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, report preparation, etc.) is computer based and operates on a network with the accounting coordinator. We are currently operating Sage 300 as the accounting software.
The Auditor is accountable to the Board of Directors of CAGH, and while interacting with the Finance and Administrative staff on a regular basis, is expected to deliver their opinion on the Audited Financial Statements directly to the Board, together with the Management Letter giving opinions on the adequacy of systems, practices, etc. From time to time, the Auditor may be called upon to perform special analyses of procedures, system and management practices.
It is necessary that the audit is conducted and completed by mid-June. Our Board of Directors reviews and approves the audited financial statements during their June meeting.
CAGH Annual reports are available on CAGH website: https://cagh-acsm.org/en/about/annual-reports.
4. Submission Requirements:
(i) CAGH will receive proposals by email until 12:00 p.m.(noon) on December 19, 2022, for the selection of an Auditor to provide auditing services to the organization for a term of one year (fiscal year beginning January 1, 2022 and ending December 31, 2023). If the agency is satisfied with work performed, it is currently the agency’s practice to tender auditing services every 5 years.
(ii) Any proposal received after the above stated time and date will not be considered. It shall be the sole responsibility of the proposer to have their proposal delivered to the Director of Finance for receipt on or before the above stated time and date.
(iii) Each proposer shall examine all requests for proposal documents and shall judge all matters relating to the adequacy and accuracy of such documents. CAGH shall not be responsible for oral interpretations given by any employee, representative or others. If any amendments are made to the request for proposal after distribution, CAGH shall notify all prospective proposers about the amendments.
(iv) All communications with CAGH regarding any aspect of this RFP must be directed via e‐mail to the Director of Finance:
Name: Ms. Nazik Avagyan
Title: Director of Finance
Subject: Auditor’s Proposal
E‐mail: navagyan@cagh-acsm.org
(v) Included within the proposal shall be a section which clearly identifies the audit fees. This section will include:
- The total audit fee for 2022 to be charged for audit services with respect to the following:
- audit and preparation of Annual Financial Statements and Supplementary Statements
- examination of transactions
- preparation for and attendance at Finance and Audit Committee meeting, and CAGH Board of Directors meeting to present audited statements
- provision of Management Letter
- Other additional services
- Any additional charges including out-of-pocket expenses and discounts where applicable, must be clearly identified.
vi) Proposals shall clearly indicate the legal name, address, and telephone number of the proposer (company, firm, partnership, individual) as well as a contact person. Proposals shall be signed above the typed or printed name and title of the signer. The signer shall have the authority to bind the proposer to the submitted proposal.
vii) CAGH reserves the right to accept or reject any and/or all proposals, to waive irregularities and technicalities and to request resubmission. There is no obligation on the part of the CAGH to award the contract to the lowest proposer. CAGH shall be the sole judge of the proposal and the resulting negotiated agreement that is in its best interest and its decision shall be final. CAGH will not be liable for any costs incurred by the proposers in the preparation of this request for proposal.
viii) All applicable laws and regulations of the Province of Ontario will apply to any resulting agreement.
ix) The Auditing Services agreement resulting from the acceptance of a proposal shall be approved by CAGH and shall contain, as a minimum, applicable provisions of the request for proposal. CAGH reserves the right to reject any agreement which does not conform to the request for proposal.
5. Selection Steps and Timeline
i) December 19, 2022, 12:00 p.m. EST (noon) is the closing time for receiving proposals.
ii) The successful proposer will be contacted. All other proposers will receive subsequent notification by email or telephone.
6. Guidelines for Submission
i) Eligibility. To be eligible to qualify as external auditor, the following minimum requirements must be met. In your proposal, please describe your ability to comply with these statement requirements.
- The firm or individual must have audit experience in the non-profit sector.
- The firm or individual must be a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.
- The staff assigned to the Audit Team must be free from conflict of interest through business or personal relationship with members of the agency's administration, Finance and Audit Committee and/or Board of Directors.
ii) A review of the proposals on the basis of qualifications, relevant experience and responsiveness of the proposers will be conducted by the Finance and Audit Committee.
iii) Audit Planning: CAGH will require the proposer selected to participate in annual audit planning to set the calendar and working paper lists.
7. Required Information
In order to maintain comparability and enhance the review process, it is required that proposals be organized in the manner specified below.
a) Title Page. Should reflect the name of the proposer, address, telephone number, name of contact person and the date.
b) Table of Contents: Include a clear identification of the material by section and by page number.
c) Letter of Transmittal: (two pages maximum) Briefly state the proposer’s understanding of the work to be done and make a positive commitment to perform the work within the specified time period.
d) Profile of the Proposer:
In the following section, firm means accounting firm, partnership, individual practice, etc.
- State whether the firm is local, regional or national;
- Specify the location of the office from which the work is to be done and the number of partners, managers, supervisors, seniors, and other professional staff employed at this office;
- Describe the range of activities performed by the firm such as audit, tax accounting, tax services or management services;
- Describe the firm’s experience in auditing social service, educational, health or other non-profit organizations;
- Describe the firm’s position on:
- the issuance and purpose of management letters
- the relationships between the auditor and the Finance and Audit Committee of the Board, and
- assisting CAGH to reduce audit fees.
e) Summary of the Proposer’s Qualifications (in addition to minimum qualifications)
Identify the personnel which will be assigned to work on the audit. Resumes for each managerial and supervisory person to be assigned to the audit should be submitted and should include formal education, supplemental education relative to governmental accounting and auditing, experience in public accounting in general, work experience in private business or government as an employee, experience with government audits, experience in computerized accounting systems, membership in various boards, committees, and any professional recognition.
f) Scope Section
Clearly describe the scope of the required services to be provided. Assuming that the requested services include an examination of financial statements and a financial audit examination, define the scope of services to be provided in terms of the matters discussed in the following subsections.
- Financial Audit
Association staff prepare draft financial statements based on agreed upon requirements. The examination will be made in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. The primary purpose of the examination is to express an opinion on the financial statements and that such an examination is subject to the inherent risk that errors or irregularities may not be detected. If conditions are discovered which lead to the belief that material errors, defalcations or other irregularities may exist, or if any circumstances are encountered that require extended services, the auditor will promptly advise the CAGH Director of Finance. No extended services will be performed unless they have been authorized in the contractual agreement or in an amendment to the agreement.
The auditors shall familiarize themselves with and comply with the provisions of any and all Federal and Provincial orders, statutes, rules and regulations which may pertain to the work required in the engagement.
- Review of Internal Controls
An evaluation is to be made of the system of internal control to assess the extent it can be relied upon to ensure accurate information, to ensure compliance with law and regulations and to provide for efficient and effective operations. The study of internal controls should include:
a. a review of the system which is primarily the process of obtaining information about the organization and the procedures prescribed and is intended to serve as the basis for tests of compliance and for the evaluation of the system.
b. tests of compliance which are designed to provide reasonable assurance that the accounting control procedures are being applied as prescribed.
- Management Letter
The audit report shall include a management letter which shall contain the audit findings which, among other matters, may include the following material items discovered within the scope of the audit.
- recommendations to improve management, accounting procedures, internal controls and increase efficiency.
- Violation of the laws, rules, and regulations
- Improper expenditures
- Improper or inadequate accounting procedures
- Failure to properly record financial transactions, and
- Other inaccuracies, irregularities, shortages, and defalcations.
The Auditor is expected to attend a meeting to review and discuss the contents of the management letter with the CAGH Finance and Audit Committee of the Board.
- Additional Services
If additional services are needed during the contractual period covered by the agreement, the Auditor, at the option of the Association may be engaged to perform these services at the rates established in the agreement.
8. Evaluation of Proposals
Proposals will be evaluated to ascertain which proposer best meets the needs of CAGH. Evaluation consideration will include the following:
a) Responsiveness of the proposal in clearly stating the understanding of the work to be performed.
b) Relevant technical experience.
c) Relevant experience with other non-profit agencies.
d) Experience and professional activities of the audit team.
e) Commitment of the audit firm to perform audit within specified timeframes.
f) Cost. (Cost is a significant factor, however, cost may not be the dominant factor. Cost is particularly important when all the other evaluation criteria are relatively equal.)
g) Range of services offered by the audit firm.
