Ministry Of Finance : The Building Capacity in Statistics and Audit project (CAPSA) : Seeking suitably qualified audit firms

The Building Capacity in Statistics and Audit project(CAPSA) is seeking proposals from suitably qualified audit firms to conduct the audit of the project financial statements for each of the years ending 31 December 2024 to 31 December 2028.

It is expected that the successful audit firm or firms will conduct the audits and attend relevant meetings with the Auditee and the Project Audit Oversight Committee in person in country.

1               Project overview

Background

The Building Capacity in Statistics and Audit in the Solomon Islands (CAPSA) Project is a World Bank funded project which aims to build the capacity of the Solomon Islands National Statistics Office (NSO) and the Office of the Auditor General of the Solomon Islands (OAG) to meet their respective mandates in contributing to evidence-based policy-making and improved government accountability.

The CAPSA project is aligned with the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Solomon Islands for the period FY18 –24 and has three components, the first component is directed to NSO, the second component is for OAG and the third component is shared between NSO and OAG for project management activities. The components comprise;

1.    Component 1 Strengthening statistical capacity will be implemented by the NSO and will finance:

·         the implementation of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) with improved methodologies,

·        improvements to national accounts and economic statistics, and

·         a suite of technical and institutional capacity building activities.

2.    Component 2 Strengthening audit capacity will be implemented by the OAG and will finance

·        strengthening quality assurance practices and improving audit quality, and

·         improving the public impact of audits and

3.    Component 3 Project Management will be a shared responsibility under both Implementing Agencies (IAs).

Funding Agreement

The project is funded through a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) with a total funding of SDR 5 million to be disbursed over five (5) years from 2023 through to 2028.

The grant is governed by a Financing Agreement signed between IDA and the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) in December 2023.

Implementing Agencies (IA)

The Implementing Agencies for the project are the Solomon Islands National Statistics Office (NSO), headed by the Government Statistician, and the Office of the Auditor General, headed by the Auditor General.

NSO is an agency under the Solomon Islands Ministry of Finance and Treasury while the Auditor General’s Office is an independent agency.

Minimum Qualifications:

The audit team should be led by an Audit Partner with a minimum of 10 years of post-qualification experience as a practicing Chartered Accountant or a Certified Practicing Public Accountant in Solomon Islands or other recognized jurisdictions.

Day-to-day management of the audit should be the responsibility of an Audit Manager/Partner with at least 5 years of post-qualification experience as a practicing Chartered Accountant or a Certified Practicing Public Accountant.

In addition, the audit team should include sufficient number of appropriate staff commensurate with the size and scope of the assignment:

Audit Seniors with at least 2 years of post-qualification experience as a practicing auditor,

Junior Staff

The auditor will provide, as part of the technical proposal, the composition of the audit team along with the qualifications, experience and the list of tasks that each team member is required to complete.

For further enquiries contact:
Walter Rizu
Procurement and Admin Officer
CAPSA Project
National Statistic Office
Ministry of Finance and Treasury
P.O Box 26
Tel: 25451 | Ph: 677 7172521

Audit_Terms_of_Reference_-_CAPSA_PM_Edits_22_05_25_Client_Version_-Final(2) (Download TOR)