Vacancy: [Auditor General s Office - PUNTLAND] Terms of Reference

Transcription

1 I. General Information Vacancy: [Auditor General s Office - PUNTLAND] Terms of Reference Post/Title Public Financial Management (PFM) & ACCA Expert/ Advisor on Public sector- Auditor General Date of issue 28 th January, 2014 Duty Station Garowe with frequent travel to Bosasso Stream/Band To be determined under the MIDA salary scale Duration of 12 months Assignment Deadline for 7 th February, 2014 applications II. Background Information About SIDA-MIDA The SIDA-MIDA project is a Swedish IOM joint initiative that aims to facilitate the transfer of skills, competencies and knowledge of qualified Somali expatriates to specific institutions within Somalia. The beneficiary institution will host the qualified Somali expatriate, and will be responsible to provide a safe and secure work environment. SIDA-MIDA will monitor the expatriate while in assignment. After carefully looking at the priorities of the Somalia and Somaliland Governments, SIDA-MIDA will target three key sectors, namely: Health, Public Finance Management (PFM), and Justice. About [Somalia: Growe Puntland ] At present, Somalia comprises three principal administrative areas: South Central Somalia; the semi-autonomous Somali State of Puntland; and Somalia which unilaterally declared itself an independent republic in While interlinked ethnically and economically, each of these three regions has evolved differently and faces differentiated levels of stability, development and governance. Areas of Somalia have been in a state of armed conflict of one form or another since The administration in Puntland has developed relatively extensive governance structures including executive offices with line ministries, parliaments and judicial system..however, capacity remains low, and the government faces challenges including weak human resources, under-equipped institutions, and out-of-date legal frameworks. Government institutions demonstrate relatively limited accountability and transparency, and are not responsive to the needs of populations. 1

2 About Puntland Office of the Auditor General The Office of the Auditor General in Puntland is a key partner in the joint effort to improving accountable management of public finance. It is the responsibility of the Office of the Auditor General to review Governments revenue collection and spending and issue audit reports on the execution of the budget and strengthen of wider public financial management systems. The main purpose of Puntland OAG is therefore to provide timely independent information on effectiveness and efficiency in government operations, compliance with financial rules, regulations and quality of functional of finance reports and information. Audit is one of the tools that may be used to promote accountability and transparency in the collection and use of public fund High quality audit is an essential prerequisite for cultivating the culture of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds. Currently, in Puntland, the audit scope is limited, and audits do not lend to public scrutiny of either budget execution or financial management processes (for example, audit reports lack analysis of issues that would require the attention of the Public Accounts Committee such as the reliability of annual financial statements, regularity of transactions or any other system issues.) There are no international auditing standards being applied, and improvements to audit planning, execution, reporting and analysis, (as well as documenting implementation of recommendations) is required. Because of the limited audit scope, the auditor s opinion is not expressed in the reports issued, and thus the users of the reports are not able to determine the gravity of the irregularities identified by the auditor. Reports are not accompanied by management letters describing recommendations: it is therefore difficult to establish progress in improvement of financial management, as recurring issues are not identified. For that reason, the Office of the Auditor General has requested assistance from SIDA-MIDA in order to improve quality of audit. SIDA-MIDA agreed to recruit an expert/advisor from diaspora which ensures needed technical capacity are built and audit skills are transferred to civil servants through hands-on assistance both in formal training and holding hand on-job training. III. Activities / Key Results Expected The work of the Advisor on Public Sector Audit will be supervised by Mohamed Osman Puntland Auditor General, Office for Auditor General Jama The role of the expert/advisor on Public Sector Audit is three-fold: 1. first, to provide advice to the Office of the Auditor General in the improvement of audit and government oversight of public finances, and, to build technical capacity of staff for Auditor General office. 2. Second, to work with international experts providing technical assistance to the Office of the Auditor General, acting as liaison with OAG staff and ensuring a civil servant-based focus, and 3. Third, Teach ACCA/Government accounting and support local education 2

3 institutions in improving curricula on public accountancy and finance. The Advisor will develop a clear work plan with monitoring and evaluation tools that measure the transfer of knowledge and skills to counterpart staff in the office for Auditor General during his contract period. The Expert will work closely with the Office of the Auditor General, providing timely technical advice and support. The Expert/ Advisor on Public Sector Audit will also liaison with training provider institutions like East Africa University to align their training curricula in auditing and oversight to support PFM reforms. The Expert/advisor on Public Sector Audit will be contracted by IOM and the Office of the Auditor General IV. Target Outputs (Measurable Results) 1. Training and skills transfer for civil servants on audit: a. Training need Assessment conducted b. Technical knowledge and skills gaps are identified c. Up to two audit staff and two intern are identified for skill transfer d. Two audit staff and two internship are mentored and received audit skill transfer e. Training and workshops conducted f. Auditing technical knowledge of Staff for Auditor General office is improved through trainings and capacity building g. Computer literacy of staff improved h. Basic assessment of OAG staff capacity i. Report on workshop/classroom trainings provided for civil servants j. Report on the job training for civil servants, showing examples of impact of on the job training 2. Technical assistance to government institutions on audit a. Assessment report, identifying key areas for improvement, in audit planning and implementation b. Audit assignment planned in effective manner c. Work with the OAG team conducting audits, providing advice on effective audit reporting in line with international standards d. Effective and efficient audit program produced for audit assignment e. Audit report based on sufficient appropriate evidence improvement f. Review legal framework that under pins the mandate and functions of the OAG g. Review office for Auditor General organizational structure and functions h. Review Auditor general strategic plan and align with National development Plan 3. Teaching and University support 3

4 a. Support university (in both Garowe & Bosasso) in order to improve public finance and accountancy curricula b. Review and revise accounting and finance curriculum c. Provide technical support to university in relation to curricula d. Delivering professional accounting courses at university premises e. Provide assistance to university in order to build their own finance and accounting system 4. Monitoring and Evaluation a. Establishment of an operational work plan, in alignment with OAG objectives and activities b. Quarterly progress report against the Monitoring Plan, including report on trainings 5. Communications a. Write a lesson s learned document or a success story on either improving public sector audit or being a SIDA-MIDA participant, based on personal experience and incorporating inputs of civil servants and government officials V: SIDA-MIDA requirements Besides the specific outputs mentioned in section IV, SIDA-MIDA is requiring the following steps/actions to be undertaken throughout the assignment. These are standard requirements for all assignments undertaken through this project: 1. Transfer of skills: One of the main responsibilities of the qualified Somali expatriate, and one which he/she will be measured against, will be to ensure continuous and systematic transfer of knowledge and skills as related to the assignment. It will have to be agreed with the beneficiary institution which civil servants will have to benefit from this knowledge. 2. Work plan: A work plan will have to be developed with the Supervisor during the first week of assignment which will provide clear and time bound activities to successfully implement the outputs of the assignment. This work plan will be shared with the SIDA-MIDA Project Assistant. This work plan can be revised during the mid-term review to reflect new developments or changes in strategy. 3. Mid Term Review: there will be a mid-term review of the assignment between the incumbent and the beneficiary institution to discuss progress of the assignment and feedback on performance. 4. Interim and Final Reports: A progress report will be submitted by the incumbent to the Supervisor and to the SIDA-MIDA Project Assistant. Thereafter a final report will be provided at the end of assignment. 4

5 V: Qualifications Level of Education: Area of Study: Years of work experience in what area(s): Languages needed: At least MBA in finance, ACCA, CIPFA, CPA or equivalent qualification Accounting, Auditing, Public financial reporting and Auditing, At least 10 years of experience in either in Auditing financial statement, public financial reporting, government accounting or in public financial management, Speaks and writes Somali and English General Skills / Other Requirements: Post-qualification experience in designing and delivering training programmes Conversant knowledge of International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs) Working knowledge of IFRS, IPSAS, ISA s and ISSAI Experience in training Supreme Audit Institutional staff with ISA s and ISSAI. Proven record of Civil servant capacity building experience Experience in coordinating institutional capacity development and staff training programs. Proven experience in teaching accounting and finance Professional course such ACCA, CIPFA etc Proven experienced in reviewing finance & accounting course curricula Good organizational and interpersonal skills. Proficiency level in computerised accounting packages and Office applications Strong commitment to equality and diversity and high understanding of how these affect training /mentoring and work relations and work place. Ability to promote vision, mission, goal and values of the host- Organisation. Conversant knowledge of the economic, culture, political 5

6 environment, and governance of Puntland state of Somalia VI: Salary Under the direction of IOM MIDA and in consultation with the beneficiary institution, it has been determined that the salary level for this position be the following: (This will be determined by SIDA-MIDA based on qualifications (VI) and level of the assignment (X). VII: Security and insurance modalities Health insurance, including evacuation due to medical emergency, will be provided by the project. However, experts will be requested to provide a recent medical certificate stating that they are physically well and apt to work in a hardship area in Africa. Please note that neither IOM nor Swedish Government, according to the contract, will be responsible for the security of the qualified Somali expatriates. The host beneficiary institution will be responsible for the security of the individual. Before leaving the country of residence and upon arrival in Nairobi or in Somalia, the qualified Somali expatriate will receive a pre-departure briefing including security advice and cultural background. VIII: How to apply All applications must apply online through the QUESTS-MIDA website. To start the application process the applications are required to register on account with the QUESTS-MIDA website. Go to login and register as a user, then fill the form and create a password to inter in the application section. Short listed candidates will be informed of the status of their application. If you encounter any problems when applying visit the FAQs section on the website for more information. 6

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