REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST [REOI]

FOR AN INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP

01, Avenue Joseph Anoma, Plateau, BP 1387, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Financial Control Department (FIFC)

Title of the Assignment : Review of the Bank Group Accounting Manual

Brief description : Conduct a full review of the current Accounting and Financial Reporting Procedures Manual and Policy Documents, undertake a comprehensive Gap and Comparative   Analysis    of   the    manual    and     an assessment of its fitness for use, and formulate recommendations for its revision and update.

Departments issuing the request : Financial Control Department (FIFC)

Place of Assignment : Remotely (Subject to the evolving COVID-19)

Duration of the assignment : Six (6) months

Tentative date of Commencement : 15 October, 2021

Deadline for Applications : September 18, 2021 at 6 pm Abidjan Time

1. The African Development Bank hereby invites individual Consultants to indicate their interest in the following Assignment : Review of the Bank Group Accounting Manual.

2. The estimated duration of the consultancy mission is six months (06) months between October 15, 2021 and April 15, 2022 ;

3. The Consultant will work remotely, for the duration of the consulting period, subject to the evolving and prevailing COVID-19 protocol ;

4. The eligibility criteria, the establishment of a shortlist, and the selection procedure shall be in conformity with the Bank’s Rules and Procedures for Acquisition of Consulting Services funded by the Administrative or Capital Expenditure Budget ;

5. Please, note that interest expressed by a Consultant does not imply any obligation on the part of the Bank to include him/her in the shortlist ;

6. The Terms of References (ToR) indicate the scope of the assignment to be undertaken as well as the services required from the selected Consultant. You are kindly requested to comment on the ToR (in no more than 2 pages) for the proposed assignment and present your practical experience and a customized, updated and responsive Curriculum Vitae/Resume, which must be adapted to demonstrate how the candidate meets the requirements of this REOI ;

7. The shortlisted proposals submitted by the consultants shall be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria :

Experience in accounting policy development in line with IFRS reporting framework as stated in the specific assignment described in the ToR Experience in the accounting practices of multilateral development institutions, development financial institutions and similar institutions General accounting qualification and suitability for the task to be performed

Knowledge of the African context and the Bank operations :

40%

20%

20%

20%

8. The remuneration will be in line with the Bank’s guidelines on remuneration of consultants. The consultants shall be paid a total monthly lump sum, comprising fee, subsistence and other incidentals, for the duration of the assignment and commensurate with the number of years of work experience. The Bank will cover economy class travel costs for the consultant who needs to travel to take up duty, and if relevant, any field mission costs as per its Travel Policy. Leave will also be granted in line with the Bank’s leave policy for short-term consultants. The consultant will be responsible for obtaining personal health insurance at their own cost ;

9. Interested consultants may obtain further information via email from the address below ;

10. Expressions of interest must be submitted by email addressed to Financial_Regulations@afdb.org and specifically mentioning « Review of the Bank Group Accounting and Financial Reporting Procedures Manual » and received by no later than August 25, 2021 at 6 pm Abidjan time.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Financial Control Department (FIFC)

Accounting Manual Consultant

Background :

The African Development Bank Group (ADB, or the Bank) is a regional multilateral development finance institution established in 1963 with a mandate to further the economic development and social progress of African countries, individually and collectively. It has 54 regional member countries and 26 non-regional shareholders from Asia, Europe, and the Americas. It cooperates with a large network of international development partners.

The stated Vision of the ADB is to be the leading development finance institution in Africa, dedicated to assisting African Regional Member Countries in their poverty reduction efforts. Client Focus, Quality, Teamwork, and Best Practices are the four corporate values essential to the realization of the Vision.

The African Development Bank Group (the Bank Group) delivers its operational programs through three entities: The ADB, the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). The Group has a single combined administrative expense budget and records expenses, when incurred, against such budget. While the three windows are complementary, they are statutorily required to be legally separate and distinct. ADF and NTF are required to reimburse the ADB for the fair value of their use of the offices, staff, organization, services, and facilities in accordance with a sharing of costs through a defined cost-sharing formula.

An appropriate accounting manual facilitates the maintenance of accurate accounting records of all business transactions and integrity of the financial data in response to the Bank Groups’ statutory financial reporting requirements, protecting it from financial risk and fraud. The Accounting Manual is also the main point of reference for accounting staff for guidance, principles and procedures governing the recording, accounting, reporting of Bank Group transactions and preparation of its financial statements. The manual should be revised and formulated in such a way as to provide a concise guide and procedures that allow the Bank Group’s accounting function to operate efficiently.

Some of the key components/elements of the current accounting manual are summarized as follows :

• Ethical standards ;
• Significant accounting policies ;
• Internal controls and financial audit ;
• Accounting procedures and general ledger accounts covering, among others, loan accounts, investments, capital subscriptions, equity investments, capital assets, cash and bank, administrative expenses, etc ;
• Management reports including gap reports ;
• Financial close ;
• Allowances and write-offs of accounts receivables.

A copy of the current Accounting and Financial Reporting Procedures Manual will be shared with the successful Consultant.

Objectives :

The Bank’s current Accounting and Financial Procedures Manual was first prepared in 2016 and has not been revised and or updated to date, to take account of new and amendments to financial reporting standards including IFRS 9, and IFRS 16, including amendments and interpretations to IFRSs. The primary objective of the current review is to identify opportunities to improve the manual and its application to reflect the new accounting standards, accounting practices and emerging international accounting and financial reporting best practice.

Thus, the Services of a Senior Expert (hereinafter « the Consultant ») is required to conduct a mission in response to the need expressed above.

Under the supervision and guidance of the Manager of the Financial Reporting Division within Financial Control Department (FIFC), the Consultant will work in close collaboration with the relevant Bank Departments, Teams, and stakeholders.

Scope of Consultant’s work :

This assignment aims at conducting a full-scale review of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Procedures Manual of the Bank Group, in the light of recent developments in financial reporting and international best practice and standards, and in the context of the Bank’s new Development Business Delivery Model (DBDM), in order to identify existing gaps, conflicts and discrepancies. The Consultant is expected to develop a comprehensive and high-level analysis and review of the adequacy of the current Accounting Manual covering, among other things :

• Carry out a gap analysis [in order to identify gaps, conflicts and discrepancies] of the existing Accounting Manual and its key components in the light of the IFRS 9, 16 and other relevant amendments and interpretations to IFRSs including emerging accounting best practice that became effective since the last Accounting Manual was prepated and published in 2016 ;
• Analyse the gaps, conflicts and discrepancies and, document and propose improvements to the manual ;
• Examine and report on the content and structure of the accounting manual and their relevance for ensuring the accuracy of recording, accounting and financial reporting ;
• Review the accounting manuals of comparator organizations and based on the evidence collected, identify areas of improvement, and propose actions to improve the current manual ;
• Based on the results of the gap and comparative analysis and, in the light of peer practices and emerging international financial reporting and accounting best practice, prepare a set of recommendations to serve as a basis for incorporating these and upcoming changes to the existing IFRSs and accounting practices in the accounting manual, for consideration by FIFC Senior Management ;
• Identify any other options for current and future changes in IFRSs and accounting practices, structure, formats, amendments and revisions to the accounting manual and make recommendations, as appropriate, based on the findings ;
• Analyze the different accounting and financial reporting governance implications of the recommended changes and incorporate the same in revised manual, as appropriate ;
• Other issues the review will consider are whether ;
• The accounting manual, as drafted, is complete, coherent and fit for purpose; o There are other accounting policies and significant accounting policies that should be added or revised to enhance the usefulness of the manual ;
• The framework of accounting duties and responsibilities defined therein is effective at protecting the interest of the Bank against fraud and can adapt to changes in work organization and relationships ;
• The chapters, sections, titles, descriptions, procedures and processes, as drafted, are adequate, clear, effective and sufficient to guide users in understanding and applying the provisions/stipulations of the manual ;
• There are other areas, not covered herein, that in the opinion of the consultant, may be relevant in the light of emerging global best practices in accounting practice and procedures manuals.

The Consultant in undertaking the review and revision of the manual, must have full regard to the object of the financial procedures manual and will provide a written report and recommendations, together with the proposed revisions for the consideration of Senior Management as described below.

Deliverables :

By the end of its mission, the Consultant is expected to deliver the following elements :

1. A comprehensive Gap Analysis and Recommendation Report (hereinafter « the report ») including the different elements detailed in the « Scope of Consultant’s work »;
2. The comprehensive Gap Analysis and Recommendation Report should highlights the key chapters, sections, accounting procedures, processes, accounting policies, etc identified for revision, the accounting rationale (including IFRS application and interpretation basis) for the revision and the proposed amendments and recommendation ;
3. A Draft and Final Revised Accounting and Financial Reporting Procedures and Policies Manual ;
4. Source documents used for the benchmarks and external information, where applicable, driving the proposed changes to the regulations.

The Consultant is also expected to lead a virtual interim and closing presentation meetings with all relevant stakeholders to present the main findings and make final revisions, as appropriate, to the deliverables based on comments and inputs received.

Administration and Timeline :

The Consultant will provide his/her services as defined in these Terms of Reference for three months from commencement of the contract;

The main tasks and milestones will consist in a) desk research, interviews, benchmarking and meetings with the Bank’s Management, Staff, and other appropriate means of data collection; and analysis: b) completing [and submitting with the invoices] progress reports at the end of each month of the contract, including drafts as approriate and c) completing the final report, including the Revised Manual, and presentation, virtually and remotely, to Senior Management of the Department at the latest two weeks before the formal end of the contract;

In conducting the tasks, the Consultant will have full access to relevant documents of the Bank Group;

During the term of the contract, the Consultant may work remotely but with some limited period in AfDB Headquarters in Abidjan, if necessary, depending on the evolving Covid-19 situation, to discuss and present his/her findings and the reports. The Consultant and the Bank should agree on the timelines;

The Consultant will work under the supervision of the Manager Financial Reporting Division (FIFC.1).

Qualifications :

• A Chartered Accountant with a Master’s degree in Accounting or related subject ;
• Have a minimum of fifteen (12) years of relevant work experience in drafting of Accounting manuals and processes, procedures, policies and rules; including at least ten ;
• years of work experience in a senior accounting and/ or financial reporting position within an international accounting/audit firm, a multilateral development institution, development finance institution or similar institution ;
• Expert knowledge of international financial reporting and accounting in a multilateral bank context development finance institution or similar institution ;
• Previous work or consultancy experience on subjects related to provision of advise on and drafting of Accounting Manuals and accounting policies in a similar organization to the AfDB ;
• Excellent contacts in other MDBs in order to inquire about their accounting practices for benchmarking purposes ;
• High-level skills in communication, analytical skills, conducting meetings and solving complex problems ;
• Ability to communicate and write effectively in English.