CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES JOB VACANCIES 2025
SCOPE OF WORK (SOW)
EXTERNAL AUDIT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Climate Action Partnerships in Asian Cities (CAPACities)
BACKGROUND
Catholic Relief Services-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (CRS-USCCB) is a US–based humanitarian and development organization working in more than 100 to save, protect, and transform lives of people in need, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS-USCCB has been operating in Indonesia since 1957 under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Social Affairs to support local communities struggling to alleviate human suffering, eradicate poverty, and become self-reliant through the implementation of emergency response, disaster risk reduction, and agricultural livelihoods. CRS is also a major player in humanitarian and disaster response interventions in Indonesia. CRS-USCCB implements its programs in collaboration with local partners operating in CRS’s geographical target areas.
In July 2023, CRS Indonesia initiated the Climate Action Partnerships in Asian Cities (CAPACities) project. CAPACities is a five-year project (1 July 2023 – 30 June 2028) supported by Caritas Australia through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP), with funds coming from the Australian Government. Through a collaborative, multistakeholder approach, CAPACities works with city officials, CSOs, academia, the private sector and other collaborators to build effective solutions to climate change challenges. The overall goal is to improve climate resilience by strengthening the inclusive climate change governance and adaptive capacities of cities to adapt to develop, finance, and implement effective adaptation and mitigation activities. The project is being implemented by Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara Province by CRS Indonesia.
The expected end of project outcomes are:
- Climate change stakeholders have strengthened capacity, multi-stakeholder engagement, and partnership coordination.
- Local government units implement inclusive and accountable climate change adaptation policies.
- Local government units improve two-way communication and feedback with citizens around climate change issues.
Per the project agreement between CRS Indonesia and Caritas Australia (the donor, with funds originating from the Australian government), the project must be audited by an independent external auditor assigned by CRS Indonesia. CRS Indonesia is required to submit a project audit report, along with a management letter. These documents should be submitted to Caritas Australia as either a hard copy or a certified scanned version.
OBJECTIVE OF THE AUDIT
The objectives of the audit are:
- To acquire an independent professional opinion on the financial position of the Climate Action Partnerships in Asian Cities (CAPACities) project.
- To assess and verify that the financial statements are in accordance with the program accounts (books of account), which provide the basis for the preparation of the financial statements and are established to reflect the financial transactions in respect of the program maintained by CRS Indonesia.
SCOPE OF THE AUDIT
The auditor will provide a Financial Statement and a Management Letter detailing any audit findings and recommendations to address identified issues. The Climate Action Partnerships in Asian Cities (CAPACities) funded by Caritas Australia will be audited for the period of 01 July 2024 to 31 June 2025.
The audit should be carried out in accordance with either generally accepted national auditing standards or International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and will include tests and verification procedures as the auditors consider necessary. Sufficient audit evidence should be gathered to substantiate the accuracy of the financial statements in all material respects.
The audit will examine and report on compliance with sound financial management practices, specifically focusing on:
Financial Reporting and Accuracy:
- Whether the finance system is maintained accurately.
- Whether project reports submitted to the donor represent adequate and accurate disclosure of income and expenditure information to enable monitoring and final determination.
- Whether the project’s operations are consistent with CRS asset management policy, confirming that no assets were acquired or are held that would require the establishment and maintenance of an asset register reflecting fair value.
- Whether the balance sheet accounts related to the project are reconciled and provide a true representation of the financial health of the partner in relation to this project.
- Whether the project’s financial transactions recorded have supporting documentation.
Compliance and Regulations:
- Whether the financial transactions reflected in reports from CRS to the donor are in accordance with financial regulations and procedures, budgetary provisions and other applicable directives.
- Whether any taxes that are due and statutory payments are made in a timely manner in accordance with rules and regulations.
Internal Controls and Systems:
- Whether CRS has applied sound financial management practices including accounting systems with associated internal controls.
- Whether internal policies exist and compliance to policy is evident in the operational transactions.
- Whether internal policies are understood and implemented by staff.
- Whether internal controls support a sound financial management framework and there are clear roles and responsibilities.
The external Auditor will present the audit report to CRS and provide any clarifications required by CRS. The audit report of the auditors should state if the audit was not in conformity with any of the above and indicate the alternative standards of procedures followed.
DELIVERABLES OF EXTERNAL AUDITOR
AUDIT REPORT:
- Executive Summary: The title, addresses, and an opening or introductory paragraph containing the financial information audited including the period covered, a Statement of the Responsibility of the CRS management and the responsibility of the auditor.
- Membership number of the auditor to either the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Indonesia, Institute of Chartered Accountants Indonesia, or appropriate auditor regulatory body for Indonesia.
- A scope and methodology paragraph describing the nature of the audit referencing the accounting standards that have been applied and indicating the effect of any deviations from those standards; the audit standards that were applied; and the work the auditor performed.
- The type of assurance to be provided is reasonable assurance.
- An opinion paragraph disclosing whether the financial statements and supporting schedules and documentation fairly present the financial position of CRS as it pertains to the project as at year end date.
- Whether the financial transactions reflected in the statements are in accordance with financial regulations, procedures and budgetary provisions.
- The auditor may expand the report to include other information and explanations not intended as a reservation.
MANAGEMENT LETTER:
- Comments and observations on the accounting records, systems and controls that were examined during the course of the audit.
- Identify specific deficiencies or areas of weakness in systems and controls.
- Auditor’s recommendations to resolve the internal control weaknesses.
- Management response to audit findings and recommendations.
- Communicate matters that have come to the attention of the auditor during the audit which may have had a significant impact on CRS’ operations pertaining to the project.
- Bring to the recipient’s attention any other matters that the auditor considers pertinent, including ineligible expenditures.
- Where an audit management letter was issued on a previous reporting period of this project, management comments on the extent to which previously identified issues have been addressed.
All audit reports (including management letters) will be submitted to CRS and signed by the Auditor. The Auditor will submit financial reports for the financial year to CRS upon completion of the audit and will include comments on the quality of financial management of the organization and any implications including recommendations for improvement.
The draft report will be submitted to ORGANISATION within ten (10) working days of completion of the audit.
Authorized staff of CRS will review the draft and provide any comments within ten (10) days of receiving the draft report.
On receipt of the response from CRS, the Auditor will finalize and submit the final report directly to CRS within ten (10) working days.
All reports or documentation produced both electronically or printed during the course of or as a consequence of the contract will remain the property of CRS.
TIMELINE OF THE AUDIT
The audit work shall be completed within a maximum of one month from the date of commencement of the audit. The audit is expected to start on 25 July 2025, a draft audit report should be submitted by the latest 01 September 2025 and a final signed audit report with certified statements along with a management letter should be submitted at the latest by 30 September 2025.
QUALIFICATIONS AND INDEPENDENCE OF EXTERNAL AUDITOR
The audit must be conducted by a qualified and experienced auditor who is a member in good standing of the Indonesia Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Institute of Chartered Accountants, or the appropriate regulatory body for Indonesia. The auditor’s membership number will be disclosed in the audit report for verification. If online verification is unavailable, proof of membership/qualification must be provided.
- The auditor must be completely impartial and independent from all aspects of the management of financial interests in the entity being audited.
- The auditor should not, during the period covered by the audit or during the undertaking of the audit, have any financial or close business relationships with any senior participant in the management of CRS. The auditor should disclose any relationship that might compromise his/her independence.
- The auditor should be experienced in applying either national or ISA audit standards, whichever is applicable to the audit.
- The auditor must employ adequate staff with appropriate professional qualifications and suitable experience with auditing standards, including experience in auditing the accounts of entities comparable in size and complexity to CRS.
- Curriculum vitae should be provided to CRS by the principal of the audit institution who would be responsible for signing the opinion, together with the CVs of managers, supervisors, and key personnel proposed as part of the audit team. CVs should include details on audits carried out by the applicable staff, including ongoing assignments indicating capability and capacity to undertake the audit and experience in auditing financial statements.
ACCESS TO FACILITIES AND DOCUMENTS
The auditor will have full access at any time to all records and documents such as books of account, legal agreements, minutes of committee meetings, bank records, invoices, contracts, etc. The auditor will have the right access to banks and depositories, consultants, contractors, and other persons or firms engaged by the program management over the period under the audit review.
AUDIT FEES
The audit fees will be determined through a competitive bidding process.
LOCATION OF SERVICES
The required service of the external audit will be rendered at the CRS Indonesia Jakarta office at Jl. Cililin II No 4, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan.
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
An Expression of Interest detailing the Scope of Services, documentation to verify membership of appropriate national audit bodies, and a fee quotation must be submitted to CRS by close of business at the latest on 30 May 2025 sent by email to Indonesia_HR@crs.org indicating “EOI CAPACities Audit” in the subject line.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Individuals and institutions must be committed to the dignity of individuals and vigilant about preventing and addressing harassment, abuse and exploitation.
***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.
CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.
CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer