The ARISE Grant for ASEAN Secretariat Capacity Development invites applicants from consultants for the project:
Updating ASEAN Financial Rules and Procedures (AFRP)
Technical Assistance
Deadline of Application: 30 July 2015
1. Rationale:
The current the ASEAN Secretariat Financial Rules and Procedures (AFRP) has been in place since April 2010. In the last five years, there have been several changes and development and some of them have implications on certain financial rules and procedures. To aid their implementation and conform to international standards and best practices, some rules and procedures in the AFRP need to be updated, refined and be supported by clear procedures and samples. These standards include the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing and International Procurement Standards.
The need to revise and bring into force additional rules and procedures to complement the current AFRP has been highlighted by one of the recommendations of the High Level Task Force on Strengthening ASEAN Secretariat and Reviewing ASEAN Organs.: “The CPR should review the ASEAN Secretariat Staff Regulations (ASSR) and the ASEAN Secretariat Financial Rules and Procedures (AFRP) in order to strengthen the ASEAN Secretariat in the area of human resource management and administration as well as financial management.”
In revising and updating the current AFRP, a Task Force has been set up. To ensure that the revised AFRP meets international standards and incorporate prevailing best practices, an external consultant will be hired to assist the Task Force.
2. Objectives and Deliverables
The consultant shall provide technical assistance:
- To ensure that ASEAN Financial Rules and Procedures are in accordance with International Standards (IPSAS, IA Standards, Procurement Standards, INTOSAI, ISAs);
- To improve existing rules and procedures and provide more guidelines and samples to aid implementation;
- To bring into force additional rules and procedures to complement the existing ones and incorporate best practices.
Deliverables:
- Inception Report
- Draft AFRP with proposed technical annexes, forms/templates and a summary table of major changes and improvements.
3. Scope of Work
The consultant will report to the Task Force Chair and work closely with the Task Force Coordinator/Secretary.
Specific tasks include:
a. AFRP Review and Desk Research.
- Based on the initial assessment of policy gaps and rooms for improvement recommended in the EU Pillar Assessment report and inputs and suggestions of the Task Force, the consultant will conduct desk research and review the current AFRP, make comparative analyses with other international standards and best practices, and further identify what need to be improved or added to the AFRP.
b. AFRP coverage.
- At the inception meeting with the AFRP Task Force, the consultant shall present his/her proposal and suggestions on:
i. AFRP scope;
ii. Areas of coverage/table of contents;
iii. Technical annexes/forms
iv. Initial findings on gaps and rooms for improvement
c, Revising AFRP.
- Based on the discussion and agreement with the Task Force on areas of coverage and format of AFRP, the consultant will revise the AFRP accordingly. New policies, procedures and templates/forms shall be developed to meet the international standards and best practices. The 1st draft of AFRP will be submitted to the Task Force for their review and consideration. For easy digestion and timely review, the consultant may be required to submit the revision by chapter/area (e.g. budgeting, procurement, finance and accounting, and auditing).
- All comments from the Task Force will be considered and incorporated into the 2nd draft of the AFRP. The consultant will submit the 2nd draft highlighting the major changes and improvements.
d. Presentation of the draft AFRP
- After the submission of the 2nd draft of the AFRP, the consultant is required to present the draft AFRP to the Task Force at ASEAN Secretariat highlighting the major changes and improvements as well as the proposed additional rules and procedures.
4. Indicative Work Plan
No.
|
Activities
|
Deliverable
|
When
|
Consultant days
|
1
|
Desk research on AFRP and international standards and best practices
Study the inputs and suggestions from the Task Force
|
Draft Inception report and initial findings on gaps and rooms for improvement
|
August
|
3
|
2
|
Inception Meetings at ASEC, Jakarta
|
Inception Report
|
Sept
|
3
|
3
|
Revise/Update/Formulate AFRP and Annexes
|
1st Draft
|
Sept-Oct
|
12
|
4
|
Improve and incorporate changes and suggestions by the Task Force
|
2nd Draft
|
Nov
|
4
|
5
|
Final presentation to the Task Force
|
Final Draft
|
Dec
|
2
|
Total
|
24 days
|
5. Management and Implementation Arrangement
The project is funded under the ARISE Grant. The consultant will work under the supervision of Director of Corporate Affairs who is the Chair of the Task Force. For administrative matters, the consultant will report to ARISE Grant Project Manager. The consultant is required to be at the Secretariat for three days for inception meetings and two days at the end of assignment for presentation of the draft AFRP to the Task Force.
6. Qualifications
- Advanced Degree in Finance and Accounting, preferably is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- At least 15 years direct work experiences in finance, accounting, procurement, auditing and administration
- At least 5 years work experience in management position with international organization and/or multinational corporation
- Have thorough knowledge of UN financial management system, IPSAS and other international standards and best practices.
- Demonstrated experiences and expertise in reviewing and developing financial rules and procedures.
- Fluency in English (Writing and Oral)
7. Bidding
The bidder should submit a proposal comprising two components: Technical and Financial.
7.1 The Technical component should present the following information:
- A brief discussion indicating the bidder’s understanding of the needs of the project;
- A brief analysis of key issues;
- A methodological discussion of how the bidder proposes to address those needs including analytical assessment of the current gaps, limitations and rooms for improvement.
- A detailed workplan that specifies activities to be undertaken, expected outputs, deliverables and timing;
- CV of the Consultant.
- Brief discussion of consultant’s past experience in undertaking similar work and brief summaries of all projects undertaken.
7.2 The Financial component should specify professional fees of the consultant.
Other costs for the consultant such as reimbursable expenses for airfare, other travel costs and daily subsistence allowance for meetings, and all other agreed activities will be covered by ARISE Grant in accordance with prevailing ASEAN Secretariat policies.
8. Submission of Applications
Applicants should send via email their applications with a cover letter to ARISE Grant Project Manager at suchat.katima@asean.org and cc the AFRP Revision Task Force Chair atung.srengkong@asean.org indicating “Updating AFRP Technical Assistance” as the subject not later than 31 July 2015.
Any queries on the TOR should be sent to suchat.katima@asean.org
