ST MATTHEW S HOUSING ASSOCIATION LIMITED INTERNAL AUDIT SERVICES INVITATION TO TENDER

Transcription

1 ST MATTHEW S HOUSING ASSOCIATION LIMITED INTERNAL AUDIT SERVICES INVITATION TO TENDER Tenders must be received at the Association offices no later than p.m. Wednesday 4th November 2015.

2 CONTENTS Section Section A Section B Section C Section D Description Background Statement of Requirements Documents to be Submitted Additional Information

3 Section A Background St Matthew s Housing Association Limited ( SMHA or the Association ) wishes to engage a service provider to provide internal audit services to the Association. SMHA provides social housing and housing support services Belfast, primarily Short Strand. The Association develops, manages and maintains rented accommodation for the general needs and housing for the elderly. We have approximately 200 units of accommodation. The Association is required to work within the regulatory framework for Registered Housing Associations in Northern Ireland, which is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development (DSD). More details can be found from their website An Internal Audit is required to provide assurance to the Board of Management on the whole system of internal control. The work of the service provider must fully adhere to the standards and guidelines for the professional practice of internal audit as set out by the Institute of Internal Auditors UK and Ireland. In addition, the service provider should refer to the standards and guidelines set out by the Tenant Services Authority as accepted by DSD in their Code of Audit Practice. Your proposal should give specific comment about your ability to work to both standards. An important element of this tender process is that the selected contractor must be able to review the entire operations of the Association. In particular, IT Audit, Value for Money issues, risk management and governance issues are just as important to the Association as general assurance work. Those organisations who wish to submit a tender should therefore ensure that their proposal clearly sets out how their service will assist the Association in these areas.

4 Section B Statement of Requirements SECTION C outlines the information that must be included in tender submissions. Failure to provide all or part of the information may result in your submission being excluded from the evaluation process. The contract shall cover the internal audit service for three financial years 2015/16 to 2018/19. The contract will be for a period of 36 months, with the possibility of an extension of a further 24 months, subject to satisfactory performance. The contractor will be expected to provide the following estimated days per annum: Core internal audit service. Contract Management, Annual Reporting, Audit Committee 10 days 2 days Contractors may be required to provide additional days at an agreed rate. The Internal Auditor will report to SMHA s Board of Management and to the Chief Executive. The scope of the Internal Audit work extends to all operations and records, financial and operational, of the Association. The scope of the work to be delivered is as follows: The development of an audit needs assessment and strategic audit plan; The delivery of internal audit services as specified by the plan; The delivery of ad hoc value for money reports as requested by management; The provision of other special reports such as investigations into specific control breaches, as required; and Advice and support to the Association in its implementation of a risk management strategy. The internal audit contractor may also be invited to provide certain management consultancy services, including: IT consultancy with regard to our in house systems including Omniledger; Advice on financial management and financial systems; and Advice on other financial matters such as PFI. Applicable daily rates for specialist consultancy staff should be provided.

5 To avoid potential conflicts of interest, the Association may wish to specifically exclude the successful Internal Audit provider from undertaking certain consultancy assignments on their behalf. Working files or papers produced during the course of the contract will remain the Association s property and that these must be handed over in the event of contract termination. There will be performance indicators set down for the measurement of the quality and efficiency of service delivery. i) Time measurement between the completion of fieldwork and issue of draft report. ii) Number of recommendations accepted as a percentage of recommendations made. iii) Performance against agreed plan. iv) Proportion of manager input on individual audit assignments. Last date for submission of tenders is 12 noon on Wednesday 4 th November THREE copies of the proposal should be submitted. Late submissions will not be accepted under any circumstances. Firms will be judged on the following evaluation criteria; The firm s internal audit methodology, particularly in the areas of risk assessment and quality assurance; The ability of the firm to add value by providing useful business advice. The Association requires more than purely a compliance audit. The quality of the proposed internal audit team; Ability of the firm to work with the Audit Committee; A detailed understanding of the Housing Association sector; The firm s experience of auditing complex not-for-profit organisations; The firm s abilities to offer consultancy services; and The cost of the internal audit. Short-listed companies may be invited to present and discuss their proposals. Tender documents should be returned, marked Tender for Internal Audit Services. The envelope should not identify your firm. SMHA will not be liable to reimburse any costs incurred by the contractor during this tender process. SMHA is concerned to maximise the value obtained from the available internal audit resource. However the Association does not bind itself to accept the lowest tender.

6 The Association expects an invoice to be presented for each piece of work undertaken, once the final report has been received and accepted by us. The Association normally settles invoices within 28 days following the receipt of the invoice. Tenders are expected to confirm that they accept these arrangements. Evaluation of tenders will be carried out by a Tender Panel, and the evaluators will, if necessary, contact representatives to seek clarification of any aspect of a tender. Tender information should identify any work they are currently carrying out or competing for which could cause a conflict of interest, and indicate how such a conflict would be avoided.

7 Section C Documentation to be submitted To facilitate the needs of the Tender Committee in the evaluation process, all proposals submitted must follow the following format. Failure to supply all or any part of the requested information in the required format may result in a proposal being excluded from the evaluation process. Section 1 Organisation chart for your firm, stating the total number of staff working on internal audit assignments and the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) number. Please state which office will be responsible for managing the contract. Please also state which office shall be responsible for the administration of the contract, if different from above. Section 2 Organisation chart for the office responsible for managing the contract. Section 3 Details of previous experience of providing internal audit services to the public sector, the voluntary sector and the Registered Social Landlord/Housing Association sector. The Association is seeking a provider that is fully familiar with the operating environment and regulatory issues faced by Housing Associations. Please provide details of all Registered Social Landlords/Housing Association that your firm currently acts for. State what type of service is provided, when the contract commenced and the number of days internal audit service provided per annum. SMHA will want to take up references from two of your current clients. Our intention is to select these from the list that you provide to us. We will make contact to advise which clients we shall be contacting and obtain contact points from you. Section 4 Personnel and employment details should be provided in section 4 of your proposal. This section should include: Name of employee; job title; internal audit qualifications; other professional qualifications; date that they joined your firm; current and previous work experience. Please include a table setting out the experience of the RSL/Housing Association sector, for each member of your nominated team, i.e. Name Job Title Date they joined the office servicing our contract No of years RSL/Housing Association Experience Please include a table showing the level of input from each grade nominated in your team:

8 Section 5 Methodology Partner or Director (please state) Manager Assistant Manager Other Qualified Part Qualified (MIIA, PIIA, QiCA) Part Qualified (Other) Junior Total 100% Assessment of audit needs The successful firm will be expected to undertake an assessment of audit needs and present its findings, along with a strategic plan for internal audit, to the Association for consideration and approval. Please provide details of your approach to the assessment of audit needs, including the key stages of the process and whom this would involve. Audit fieldwork Please outline your approach to audit fieldwork, including the level of input that you would expect from Association staff Audit reporting Please provide an example of your standard report template(s) Section 6 Price Please outline your fees (including expenses) for the following activities. Tenderers should note that the Association expects these rates to remain constant [1] for the duration of the contract: [1] Subject only to an RPI increase

9 Assessment of Audit Needs Operational Audit VFM Audit Other (please specify) Section 7 Daily Rate ( ) Additional Daily Costs ( ) For each daily rate you should specify if the level of input will differ from the table set out on page 6 of this invitation to tender Quality is a key concern to the Association. Tenderers should set out the arrangements within their firm for ensuring that quality exists throughout the internal audit process. Reference should be made to the relevant Institute of Internal Auditor UK and Ireland standards. Section 8 Please provide the following additional information with your proposal: Section D A copy of your Health & Safety Policy Statement; A copy of your Equal Opportunities policy; Details of any rulings against your firm in respect of equality legislation; and Details of your firm s Professional Indemnity Insurance. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Anyone requiring additional information should contact: Mr Jim Black Chief Executive St Matthews Housing Association Ltd 58 Harper Street Belfast BT5 4EN Tel: jimblack@smha.co.uk Any requests for additional information will be collated by the Association and a composite response sent to all firms who have been invited to tender.