Frequently asked questions

Transcription

1 Frequently asked questions Integrated Contract Work Contracting Regularity Audit, Information Systems and Performance Audits for the period on behalf of Auditor-General of South Africa Strategic Audit Projects 16

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3 No. Question Answer Quality Control 1. According to my records it has been some time since we last received updated average quality assessment scores for confirmation. Could you be so kind as to provide me with a copy of the assessment scores that you have on record since April 2013 for the purposes of the upcoming CWC tender? 2. Previous director from one firm is now a director at another firm and therefore needs the directors QC scores for the purposes of the tender 3. Could you please clarify whether I need to submit the actual assessment reports or could I just prepare a summary for the tender? 4. Which quality control scores carry more weight between IRBA and AGSA for the purpose of the AGSA tender? Kindly submit all your latest QC scores when you submit your tender before it closes, once this scores has been finalized with the audit business unit upon completion of the work end of July we will send you the consolidated QC scores that takes into account the MFMA ending November 2015 and PFMA ending 31 July 2016 for confirmation of scores in line with the past practice The rule is that the QC score does not follow the individual as work was performed as part of the audit firm and not in a personal capacity For the tender, the latest IRBA review scores for new firm have to be submitted. We need actual QC Scores signed by both the AGSA engagement manager and your firm partner for all work performed AGSA QC scores carry more weight based on latest work performed by the firm as that is public sector driven. 5. What is the effect of failure by region or provincial office on IRBA or AGSA QC scores effect on the disqualification of the firm? Training Office Each region or province bids separately and therefore failure will be limited to that office and not the entire national office.

4 6. Further clarity as to what is meant by each stand-alone training office that will bid shall have separate representation at the briefing session 7. Will it be sufficient if I attend the briefing session, as partner responsible for AGSA work in the Western Cape? 8. Should the representatives from the offices be partners or can the managers from those regions attend the session? 9. Do we need to have a separate CD for each stream responding for each office? i.e. Gauteng: Will respond for RA, ISA and PA Do we need 3 CD s for Gauteng or one CD for Gauteng? We have nine regions and 3 streams each - that brings us to 27 CD s It means that if your firm is based in Gauteng or has offices in other provinces and these offices are recognised as separate legal entities, then these entities must have separate representation at the tender briefing session and submit individual submission. If the offices are not separate legal entities then separate submissions should be made per region (i.e. per province) with separate representation at the briefing session. One CD should be submitted for the region (i.e. province) detailing for us the individual training offices including the trainees allocated to those offices If you are the Western cape assurance group partner, you are required to attend the briefing as you are responsible for the Western cape tender. The partner should attend; we will be validating the information submitted against the attendance register. It is also important that any matters that are critical and require clarity, regarding this integrated tender, are addressed with the partners on a first hand basis. The number of CD s and submissions should be 11 for 11 bids equating to R11 000, pro-rated as follows: 9 regions (provinces) bid detailing for us the individual training offices including the trainees allocated to those offices- R1000 for each submission is required 1submission for ISA- National Database- R1000 is required 1 Performance audit bid National Database- R1000 is required

5 10. Please me the terms of reference to see if we are eligible to bid The terms of reference can be downloaded from 11. in terms of training office does this have any particular meaning in terms of the service provider that will be submitting a bid 12. Do we need to confirm that we will be attending the meeting? Does one need to make a reservation to attend or must you just attend no reservation needed. the following link: Integrated contract work contracting for regularity, information systems and performance audits for on behalf of the AGSA The RTT is specific training office as accredited by SAICA (Refer to page 6 of RTT under the definitions). Please engage SAICA as to requirements on how to be accredited There is no reservation, a resident partner need to attend and this will be monitored strictly as that this the first level of disqualification as the briefing is compulsory 13. I am not training office will my submission be considered? To be eligible for the tender refer to the Paragraph of the RTT 14. What if the firm is the process of obtaining confirmation with SAICA regarding their training office accreditation? You need to be accredited with SAICA as training office as at 05 July 2016 in line with the paragraph 15. SAICA allows 6 months waiting period for trainees, so do they still require us to give proof of registration Information Systems Audit of the RTT Please engage SAICA as trainees registration is now on-line.

6 16. Is there any specific qualification that is required to tender e.g. ISACA and to be designated as CISA s (certified information system auditors) Does the AGSA have any specific qualifications such as certified information system auditors when performing IT systems and performance audits as I might have a qualification not recognised by AGSA As Per the RTT: Private Audit firm or Specialised audit services company: A private audit firm or specialised audit services companies with partners with a CISA/CISM/CISSP qualification and ISACA membership IT Specialised firm: For an IT-Specialised firm that is not a private audit firm, the firm should have IT specialist with ACL (audit command language) certified data analyst designation and; IT specialist should have experience and exposure in structured query language (SQL) and ACL. Further engage ISACA on this matter Banking Details 17. Please provide banking details and reference to be used to make the payment of R Happy Moshabi (HappyM@agsa.co.za, ) to assist with the query. 18. If the firm deposits for more than one office do I combine payments or should I pay R per office For the purposes of this bid you will need to pay R1000 for each office regardless of how many offices a firm tenders for. Tender Documents 19. On the excel template, trainee tab, the column Audit experience are you asking a. If this person has audit experience yes or no? b. Or are you asking us to indicate how many years 20. Please clarify if it correct that the tender documents do not contain a score sheet? And if this is correct, how can we know how to calculate our score to ensure that we qualify to tender? If the missing score sheet is an omission, kindly advise where and how we can obtain the score sheet? The audit experience requires the firm to list the number of years. There is no omission. You need to provide us with the latest assessment scores in line with the RTT, if you have performed a MFMA audit that will be your latest QC score. What is to happen is that once we receive your PFMA, we will send you the consolidated QC scores that takes into account the MFMA 2015 and PFMA ending 31 July 2016 for confirmation of scores in line with the past practise

7 21. I refer to the sheet named Section 4(3) audits Please confirm whether the information to be populated in this sheet pertains only to the instances where we provide external audit services to the entities where the AGSA has opted not to audit or if it pertains to any type of service we provide to any entity that the AGSA has opted not to perform the audit i.e. internal audit services 22. The worksheet non trainees (partners and manager refers to the RTT The RTT makes reference for the statistics of staff performing the work. Does this worksheet non trainees need to reflect only partners and managers details or the entire team complement details including partners and managers available for the public sector engagements? 23. The checklist requires annual financial statements. Can the latest statements date 28/2/2015 be submitted? 24. Can valid current tax clearance certificates expiring 30 days during and or after the closing date of the tender be submitted with the tender documents?- 25. If the firm is not materially dependent on the AGSA contract value please confirm as the answer when read can be yes and no when responding to the commitment form completion yes the firm is not materially dependent and no the firm is not materially dependent B-BBEE 26. With reference to the above-mentioned tender, can you please send us the breakdown of the points that will be used to award the following percentages: - Gate 1 : Quality Control 30% - Gate 2 : BBBEE 30% - Gate 3: Resources- 40% It pertains to both It includes all audit professionals excluding trainees available for the public sector audit engagement Yes. It needs to be valid at the date of submitting the tender It s a Yes or No response required. There are no points but work allocation and those are the specific gates of the three elements that are catered for. This is not procurement tender but contract work allocation of which there is no reference to the point system

8 27. In the bid document for Request for tender: CWC the following is stated regarding the BBBEE certificate: On page 11: "Gate (2) broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) certificate based on the new sector codes in line with SAICA s requirements" On page 12: Criteria 2 "BBBEE certificates are issued in accordance to the new sector codes in line with SAICA s requirements. BBBEE verifications in respect of this tender will be conducted in accordance with the generic scorecard under the amended Codes of Good Practice" and in the tender document under the checklist tab the following is stated: " Valid BBBEE rating certificate issued in line with the verification standards of the Chartered Accountancy Sector Code. Please note: BBBEE verifications in respect of this tender will be conducted in accordance with the generic scorecard under the amended Codes of Good Practice." The Chartered Accountancy Sector Code has been repealed and as per the SAICA's requirements for an BBBEE verification in respect of a financial year ending on or before 30 April 2015, the entity has a choice to either apply the old Generic Codes of Good Practices or to apply to the amended generic codes of good practice and the rating agencies applies this rule when BBBEE certificates are issued. AGSA require new BBBEE certificates issued in line with the new BBBEE generic code. The AGSA have confirmed that there is a communication that was issued not to issue B- BBEE certificates to EMEs and QSEs. Therefore AGSA will accept B-BBEE affidavits for the purpose of this tender. However the AGSA encourages where possible BBBEE certificates be submitted under the new generic codes for this category (EMEs and QSEs) to allow effective administration of the process. Where the BBBEE level is not clearly defined, The AGSA will use its own discretion with relevant supporting documentation from the companies that only submitted the affidavits for assessment purposes during the evaluation. If the bidder is in possession of a valid BBBEE certificate based on the old generic codes due to the fact that the SAICA's requirements allows for an entity to still apply the old generic codes on a February 2015 financial year end, will the bidder score zero points in the evaluation of the bid. The DTI also issued a statement of clarity which rule that all B-BBEE Certificates issued in terms of the Construction or CA Sector Codes prior to 17 February 2016 will be valid for a period of 12 months from date of issue in line with Statement 005. Such certificates should be accepted. The tender document is also referring to the Chartered Accountancy Sector Code and can the bidder assume that an BBBEE certificate based on the old codes will then still be acceptable for the tender and the bidder will still score points in the evaluation process? Due to the contradiction in the tender documents regarding the Chartered Accountancy Sector Code and the new codes and the fact that the SAICA's requirements and the DTI allows an entity to still use the old codes, will an BBBEE certificate based on the old codes

9 be accepted for this tender and will the bidder score points in the evaluation of the BBBEE certificate? 28. The BBBEE certificates, you will be accepting the valid certificates with the old codes, as SAICA has them valid till February You mean that if in terms of the amended Codes of Good Practice, the certificate is still valid, you will accept the certificate. We don t need to try to get new certificates if they are not required yet? AGSA require new BBBEE certificates issued in line with the new BBBEE generic code. The AGSA have confirmed that there is a communication that was issued not to issue B- BBEE certificates to EMEs and QSEs. Therefore AGSA will accept B-BBEE affidavits for the purpose of this tender. However the AGSA encourages where possible BBBEE certificates be submitted under the new generic codes for this category (EMEs and QSEs) to allow effective administration of the process. Where the BBBEE level is not clearly defined, The AGSA will use its own discretion with relevant supporting documentation from the companies that only submitted the affidavits for assessment purposes during the evaluation.

10 29. We have a question relating to RTT 4.4, specific to Gate 2 BBBEE We currently have a BBBEE certificate (please see attached), the certificate was issued in terms of the SAICA CA Charter (which is no longer applicable for future verifications). Per RTT the BBBEE certificate should be issued in terms of the amended Codes of Good Practice and per above, our certificate is not issued in terms of this code. Our current certificate issued in terms of the CA Charter, is however still valid in terms of BBBEE legislations. Will the certificate be accepted in terms of your tender evaluation processes? If not, based on the amended codes as referred to in the RTT, our firm is an EME with turnover less than R10Million per annum, will it then be acceptable to submit an affidavit in terms of the amended Codes (the affidavit is per legislation acceptable for EME s). The affidavit confirms turnover and ownership and based on these two elements a BBBEE score of 3 or 4 can be achieved. AGSA require new BBBEE certificates issued in line with the new BBBEE generic code. The AGSA have confirmed that there is a communication that was issued not to issue B- BBEE certificates to EMEs and QSEs. Therefore AGSA will accept B-BBEE affidavits for the purpose of this tender. However the AGSA encourages where possible BBBEE certificates be submitted under the new generic codes for this category (EMEs and QSEs) to allow effective administration of the process. Where the BBBEE level is not clearly defined, The AGSA will use its own discretion with relevant supporting documentation from the companies that only submitted the affidavits for assessment purposes during the evaluation. From the RTT I also do not see the minimum level of BBBEE score that a firm should have, I think in the past it was a level 4 Have this criteria been removed. Performance Audit 30. In the provinces our staff works in all areas. From a Performance audit point of view we have been doing them since they started. But neither I nor my Staff do only Performance audits. There isn t enough work in the Provinces to keep us busy full time. Do we now need to decide where to put our names in or because we don t only do Performance we are now disqualified? 31. We have performance audit experience in private sector, Will that could for the purpose of this tender submission? Terms of Reference If you meet the requirements in line with the RTT for performance audit, please note that the performance database is not provincial based but is national We require experience in performance auditing and auditing in the public sector, refer to Paragraph of the RTT, as that is what is required by the performance audit business unit of AGSA to supplement their resources

11 32. The Large, medium, small didn t you say you were going to allocate the work in the Provinces based on the office capacity in the Provinces. Does it still mean if you nationally are a large office, you will still be regarded as a large office Provincially? I see under the performance and ISA sections you do say they will be considered per office per province, but not in the regularity section 33. Para 4.9 grid reflects 26+ for number of CA s for a large firm classification. Para indicates that this section also includes non CA s viz: o RGA s;aga s who have completed their training contracts with 2 years public assurance experience Can a correct assumption be made therefore that the 26+ therefore is a combination of CA s and RGA s and AGA s? Annual Financial Statement 34. What is the AGSA requirement of the AFS? How is the AGSA going to assess the financial viability as part the AFS submission requirement? Work is allocated on the gate system per the RTT in terms of paragraph 4.4 and how a firm is classified is in accordance with Paragraph 4.9 and Paragraph of the RTT Correct, but each person should represent one profession. AGSA require the latest audited financial or independently reviewed AFS, If not available at the close of tender 05 July 2016, the bidder should submit the AFS available with the tender submission. A separate submission should be made only for the latest audited financial or independently reviewed by 31 July 2016 Tax Clearance certificate 35. SARS has introduced a new system where they have provided the entity with a pin and can print a Tax Clearance Certificate without going to the branch, when we make submission should we submit the pin or the original printed Tax Clearance Certificate? Original printed tax clearance certificate should be provided. Firm classification 36. Must all the criteria s on the 4.9 be met for one to meet the relevant classification levels? Correct, example if you are firm with 15 Number of attest audit partners, 81 numbers of TA s and 25 number of CA does that mean the firm is a large firm? The answer is No as you do not meet all criteria s for large firms Public sector audit experience 37. How do you indicate the public sector experience on the on the tender document? A template that contains guidance note has been uploaded as part of the documents on the website to assist in line with Para 7.9

12 38. Do partners and directors need to have public sector experience for the purpose of the tender? Public sector experience is required for partners or director 39. Does 3 year experience apply to partners or trainees? This applies to directors and partners 40. What is the definition of professional staff? Will that be your CA s, excluding partners? Refer to Para Under the trainees tab you refer to audit experience. Will that be months of audit experience? Yes, its number of years including the months 42. What is the definition of non-trainees? Is that everybody excluding partners, CA s and trainees? Do we need to include admin staff as well (I guess not)? It s all professional staff excluding trainees, partners and admin staff 43. We have 4 partners. Only 2 of the partners have public sector experience. Do we need to Include all the partners CVs include CV s for the partners with no public sector experience? Network firms 44. What is the actual definition of the network firm? Please refer to page 4 of RTT for definition of Network firms CPD hours 45. Please advise what you would deem proof of CPD hours attained for public sector training? 46. Would it be sufficient if we indicate hours attained on the CV s that we will be providing? AGA (SA) Associate General Accountant Page 14 of the RTT Could you please give me the Auditor General s definition of AGAs.- Please refer to SAICA to attain the proof of CPD hours logged for the applicable years. A report from SAICA should be submitted to indicate the hours attained and whether the training is verifiable or not verifiable. There is no AGSA own definition regarding this, the definition is per SAICA AGA (SA) Associate General Accountant An accountant registered with SAICA. Emerging firms 47. Does the AGSA have the program to uplift the small emerging firms Yes, there is separate called Enterprise Supplier Development programme (ESD)