Public Financial Management and ACCA Programme Supporting Consultant

Title of Consultancy:Public Financial Management and ACCA Programme Supporting Consultant
Type of Contract: SSA – Special Service Agreement
Duration of the assignment: 45 days
Duty station: Nairobi with frequent travel to Somalia
Expected places of travel:Somalia
Supervisor:Project Manager, SIDP Project
Anticipated presence at UNDP premises: Full time
Date of Issue:8th February 2011
Closing Date:13th February 2011

II. Objectives of the assignment

The Governance Programme of UNDP Somalia consists of three pillars: (i) capacity building and institutional development, (ii) democratic governance (constitutional dialogue and elections) and (iii) local governance/decentralization. The three current legal frameworks under which Somalia is being ruled are the Transitional Federal Charter (2003), the Puntland Charter (1998) and the Somaliland Constitution (2001). The Joint Needs Assessment which was carried out in 2006 identified institution building as one of the major challenges in re-establishing trust in the state and enhancing its capacity for development.

Under the Somali Institutional Development Project (SIDP), support has focused on four areas, namely: (a) policy and legislative development (b) human resource management and development (c) pubic administration and financial management, and (d) rehabilitation of infrastructure and provision of essential facilities and equipment

Public Financial Management
Good Pubic Financial Management supports aggregate control, prioritization, accountability and efficiency in the management of public resources and delivery of services, all of which are critical to the achievement of public policy objectives, including achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In addition, robust public financial management systems are fundamental to the appropriate use and effectiveness of donor assistance since aid is increasingly provided through modalities that rely on well-functioning systems for budget development, execution and control. Public Finance Management is thus an essential part of the development process.

Currently, there is little framework on which good public financial management can be based in Somalia. Key offices such as the Accountant General’s Office and the office of the Auditor General have inadequate or no financial management policies to guide staff in their day to day work. There are also no Accounting or Audit procedure manuals to govern processing of transactions in these departments. Existing staff also lack basic technical and accounting skills leading to delays, errors and inefficiency in work done. Often segregation of duties is largely non-existent with the result that there is duplication of effort and difficulties in the allocation of work. Accounting and Financial Reporting where done, are not done in accordance with generally accepted Accounting standards. Similarly, statutory Audits are not conducted in accordance with any recognized auditing standards. There is no definite framework for managing and accounting for public revenues. The Tax Collection offices face similar challenges in that there are no policies or procedures which have been implemented to govern collection of taxes. The result is that there are a lot of tax loopholes and hence loss of critical revenue badly needed by the government.

In view of the aforementioned, it is necessary that the Governance Programme through SIDP aims recruit Public Financial Management Consultants in the areas of Accounting, Audit, Tax, Procurement and Information Technology, who will provide technical skills and support to the departments identified with the aim of strengthening public administration and financial management therein. These consultants have been identified as priority support required through meetings held with the Somaliland government officials on various dates and through UNDP Somalia’s monitoring and evaluation of progress of LOA implementation. The consultants will provide technical assistance in the Accountant-General’s office, the Auditor-General’s office, the Tax Collection offices, the Procurement Department, and in Information Communication and Technology needed to set up financial management systems.

In order to recruit the consultants, it is necessary to develop the terms of reference of their work, the scope of the work to be done together with time lines for their participation and deliverables due at the end of the consultancies.

ACCA Programme
Under the area of human resource management and development, UNDP Somalia Governance Programme through SIDP has initiated a programme that aims to provide government and public sector employees with the Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) qualification provided by the global accountancy organization, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

The programme has been implemented in Somaliland at Hargeisa and Amoud Universities, and in Puntland at the East Africa and Puntland State Universities. The selected employees are sponsored to attend ACCA CAT lectures and thereafter to sit the biannual examinations in June and December. A total of five (5) tutors have been recruited by UNDP Somalia for this purpose, two (2) in Somaliland and three (3) in Puntland. This project aims to equip government employees with a solid foundation in finance and accounting, providing them with all the necessary technical accounting and financial skills required to perform an accounting-support role. This training will build human resource capacity and provide critical accounting skills required in financial management of government departments and institutions.
Under the tutors guidance the students at these Universities successfully completed the syllabi for the pilot papers. The first examination sitting was in December 2010 where an estimated 60 students from the universities were examined in Papers 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the CAT qualification. The examination results for this pioneer lot will be out in February 2011. Based on interim assessments done, it is anticipated that the students’ performance will be good.

After the successful launch of the programme, it is now necessary for continuity purposes to start planning and preparing for a new intake of the next batch of students. A comprehensive lecturing timetable also needs to be developed for the classes to be undertaken, for both incoming and continuing students. This will involve preparing and administering preliminary aptitude tests in basic accounting skills and English language to potential students, and thereafter short listing and making a selection of the students to be admitted to the programme. It will also involve obtaining the registration of the new students with ACCA and facilitating exemptions from ACCA for those students who may have degrees or have completed previous courses which qualify them for exemption from certain courses. A review of the students register will also be carried out to determine the current enrollment status so that those who are no longer taking part can be replaced with others, to avoid incurring registration and subscription fees.

III. Scope of work

The objective of this assignment is to prepare a comprehensive work plan for the ACCA programme for the year 2011, including recruitment and registration of new students, and provide support for the implementation of the planned Public Financial Management technical assistance, which will comprise:

(i) Develop and administer English language and basic accounting aptitude tests to ACCA applicants;
(ii) Assist in the short listing and final selection of ACCA students;
(iii) Facilitate registration of students with ACCA and processing of exemptions where applicable;
(iv) Develop a comprehensive ACCA program for 2011
(v) Assist in developing various terms of reference for hiring other Public Financial Management consultants/firms;
(vi) Assist in conduct a comprehensive review of LOA’s which are coming to an end in preparation of the new LOAs for 2011;

The consultant will carry out the following tasks:-
i. Develop model English and Basic Accounting questions and answers into an aptitude test
ii. Facilitate the administration of the course; mark the scripts to submit a report with recommendations on the selected students.
iii. Liaise with UNDP Somalia in advertising for the new ACCA programme intake;
iv. Administer aptitude tests to potential programme students and award marks thereon;
v. Analyze the results of the tests and submit to UNDP for consideration;
vi. Compile a list of all the ACCA students who attended the lectures and examination during the previous sitting and use that to update the students register.
vii. Confirm the status of any absentees and expunge them from the programme register where necessary.
viii. Add to the ACCA programme register the new students;
ix. Communicate with ACCA and facilitate the registration of new students and membership subscription of continuing students.
x. Make applications to ACCA for exemptions for qualifying students.
xi. Review the LOA’s to determine the nature of technical support required of Consultants in the field of Accounting, Audit, Tax, Procurement and Information Technology;
xii. Attend meetings with other SIDP and Programme experts in order to identify the key roles, responsibilities, qualifications and deliverables required of the Consultants;
xiii. Summarize the outcomes of these meetings, and research, into the terms of references, the scope of work and deliverables for each of the for the Consultants and submit to UNDP Somalia for review;
xiv. Amend the terms of references, scope of work and deliverables in accordance with review points raised;
xv. Collect all the existing Letters of Agreement that UNDP Somalia have entered into with the Government of Somaliland.
xvi. Identify through meetings with UNDP Somalia staff and Somaliland government staff the progress of implementation in light of challenges being faced, areas which are complete, areas which have been delayed or not commenced at all, areas requiring modification of the original agreement, additional support required from UNDP and estimated timelines for projects which are underway.
xvii. Prepare and present to UNDP a report for discussion, on the findings including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are affecting positively or negatively the implementation of the Letters Of Agreement.

IV. Monitoring and Progress controls

UNDP will undertake the responsibility of guiding the consultant and will recruit the consultant in accordance with the UNDP standard and procedures. The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the SIDP Project Manager and the direct supervision of the Project PFM Advisor and will report to them.

V. Final product/deliverable

At the end of the assignment, the consultant will have successfully completed the following deliverables:
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i. Aptitude tests in English and Basic Accounting together with a set of answers to be administered to potential candidates for admission to the ACCA CAT programme.
ii. Develop at least five (5) terms of references for other consultants required to be hired in the Public Financial Management sector.
iii. Present a comprehensive report on the status of Letters of Agreement which are coming to an end.
iv. Present a final report covering all accomplishments of the consultant’s assignment.

The report shall be in English, in MS Word format, to be submitted by email and one hard copies. The report shall be submitted to UNDP Somalia.

VI: Review/approval time

Maximum of 21 days upon submission

VII: Qualifications

The consultant should possess:

-A degree in Finance, Economics, Public Administration or equivalent qualifications.
- An Accounting qualification from and membership to an internationally recognized Professional Accounting Body
-Five (5) years experience in accounting, audit or related work.
-Experience in Public Sector work or non-profit organizations work.
-Fluency in English is a must and Knowledge of Somali will be an advantage.

Functional competencies:

-Good interpersonal skills with people from different backgrounds and institutions
-Demonstrated leadership skills
-Analytical thinker, strategic.
-Excellent communication skills (oral and written)
-Be result oriented, flexible and have problem solving abilities,

Applicants are required to fill and sign a P11 Form and submit it together with Curriculum Vitae on the online application.

UNDP will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest.

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