REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL Reference: RFP No. IPSAS/2019/001 DATE: January 24, 2019 Dear Sir/Madam, The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) kindly requests your Company/Organization/Firm to submit a Proposal for the implementation of accrualbased International Public Sector Accounting Standards conversion services. This Request for Proposal (RFP) consists of the following Annexes. Please be guided by these in preparing your Proposal: i. Terms of Reference (TOR) (Annex 1) ii. Instructions to Offerors (Annex 2) iii. Proposal Submission Form (Annex 3) iv. Price Schedule (Annex 4) v. IDLO General Terms and Conditions for the Procurement of Services (Annex 5) Proposals should be submitted no later than Thursday 21, February 2019 at 17.00 hrs., Rome, Italy time by email to tenders@idlo.int or in hard copies to the address mentioned in this RFP. Services proposed shall be reviewed and evaluated based on completeness and compliance of the Proposal and responsiveness with the requirements of the RFP. IDLO encourages prospective Offerors to prevent and avoid conflicts of interest by disclosing to IDLO if any Offeror or its affiliates or personnel are connected to IDLO or were involved in the preparation of the requirements, design, cost estimates, and other information used to prepare this RFP. You are requested to acknowledge receipt of this document within 3 working days and indicate whether or not you intend to submit a Proposal. 1
Annex 1 TERMS OF REFERENCE ADOPTION OF ACCRUAL BASED INTERNATIONAL PUBLICSECTOR ACCOUNTING STANDARDS (IPSAS). ABOUT IDLO The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) enables governments and empowers people to reform laws and strengthen institutions to promote peace, justice, sustainable development and economic opportunity. We contribute to creating stable and inclusive societies where every person can live free from fear and want, in dignity and under the rule of law. To learn more about IDLO, please visit our website www.idlo.int or follow us on Twitter @IDLO. BACKGROUND As part of IDLO Strategic Plan 2017 2020, in fulfilment of the objective related to Transparency and Accountability, IDLO is adopting IPSAS. As an International Public Intergovernmental Organization and in line with International Accounting Standards it is expected that IDLO should adopt International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). IDLO already adopted accrual accounting and has completed the roll out of MS Navision to country offices. Benefits of IPSAS adoption. Transparency of financial operations as well as to facilitate timely and informed decisionmaking, thus improving governance and accountability Improve the quality of IDLO reporting by requiring new or improved information across a range of areas, thereby increasing the transparency of programmatic and operational management practices. Better comparability with our peers and consistency with similar organisations accounting practices. THE ASSIGNMENT IDLO needs an experienced vendor to plan the adoption of IPSAS and to guide IDLO on implementation. The plan is expected to be detailed with processes, timelines as well as a review of the chart of accounts. A comprehensive communication plan should also be developed, which segments stakeholders into groups, both internal and external, and identifies objectives, content, delivery format and timing of the messages and their intended results. The objective that the 2019 financial statements will be IPSAS compliant. 2
The main objective of the assignment is to support IDLO in the implementation of IPSAS. These would include annual financial statements, recommending modifications to the information system/software, policies, processes and any other changes deemed necessary. DELIVERABLES The IPSAS project aims to: 1. Conduct a Gap analysis and develop a roadmap for IPSAS implementation. 2. Support preparation of IPSASCompliant IDLO financial statements and note disclosures by a. Ensuring the ERP system (NAVISION), is supportive of IPSAS compliance. b. Preparing a plan for introducing changes to the ERP system. c. Using options allowable under IPSAS to extend the timeline for compliance with specific areas, where needed; 3. Analyze the impact of IPSAS adoption on official donor reports, to enable business process owners to decide on any necessary changes and to ensure that changes made to the donor reporting format are reconcilable with the IDLO financial statements. 4. Analyze the impact of IPSAS adoption on internal and external reports other than the IDLO organizational financial statements (including key performance indicators), to enable business process owners to decide on any necessary changes to these reports. 5. Identify transition issues that need to be addressed including restating prior year balances to reflect a fair presentation. 6. Confirm that the recognition and/or measurement of assets and liabilities are correctly stated. 7. Provide training / workshops develop training materials including etraining modules based on the requirements of IDLO, to IDLO staff. OUTPUTS 1. Proposing an implementation plan. 2. An updated chart of accounts in line with IPSAS reporting requirements 3. Review IDLO s current operating budget format and advice on any changes required to comply with transition to and implementation of IPSAS. 4. A complete set of financial statements as they would be generated by the financial system annually comprising of: a. Statement of financial position; b. Statement of financial performance; c. Statement of changes in net assets/equity; d. Cash flow statement; e. A comparison of budget and actual amounts; f. Notes to Financial Statements contains commentary on the responsibility for the preparation of financial statements 5. An automated process of producing the financial statements with as little as possible human intervention. 3
START AND END DATES The Project has effectively started with the adoption of accrualbased accounting in the headquarters and country offices. The adoption of new processes and a new chart of accounts will need to correspond with work flow in the Navision financials to minimise the need for development in the software design. This will take place in the year 2019 and by 2020 the work flow should be implemented and the financial statements for 2020 would be IPSAS compliant. We therefore expect the project to start in quarter 1 of 2019 and end by quarter 4 of 2020. PROJECT GOVERNANCE Membership of the project team comprises IDLO business process owners and field representatives. The team is made up as follows: Director of Finance and Support Services (Chair) Head of Finance (Project Manager) Financial Accountant corporate Coordinator Program Accounting NAV systems administrator Budgets and Reporting manager The IPSAS team is supported by a team of accountants based in Rome and country offices. IPSAS focal points will be established in key units where significant policy development, implementation and changes are required, for example, procurement or human resources. 4
Annex 2 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS Cost of the Proposal The Offeror (or hereafter Offerors) shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the Proposal. Language of the Proposal IDLO will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the solicitation. The Proposal and all correspondence and documents relating to the Proposal exchanged by the Offeror and IDLO shall be written in the English language. Currency of Proposals Clarification of solicitation documents Proposals shall be nominated exclusively in EUR. A prospective Offeror requiring any clarification of the RFP (Solicitation Documents) may notify IDLO in writing to tenders@idlo.int not later than 72 hours prior to the deadline for submission of Proposals. The requests for clarification will have Request for clarifications for RFP No. IPSAS/2019/001 mentioned in the subject. Written copies of the organization s response (including an explanation of the query but without identifying the source of inquiry) will be sent to all prospective Offerors that have received the Solicitation Documents. Any delay in IDLO's response shall not be used as a reason for extending the deadline for submission, unless IDLO determines that such an extension is necessary and communicates a new deadline to the Offerors Amendments of solicitation documents Contents of sollicitation documents Delivery Term & Place At any time prior to the deadline for submission of Proposals IDLO may, for any reason, whether at its own initiative or in response to a clarification requested by a prospective Offeror, modify the Solicitation Documents by amendment. All prospective Offerors that have received the Solicitation Documents will be notified in writing of all amendments to the Solicitation Documents. In order to afford prospective Offerors reasonable time for taking the amendments into account and preparing their offers, the procuring IDLO entity may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of Proposals. Proposals must offer services for the total requirement, unless specified otherwise in this RFP. Proposals offering only part of the requirement will be rejected. The Offeror is expected to examine all corresponding instructions, forms, terms and specifications contained in the Solicitation Documents. Failure to comply with these documents will be at the Offeror's risk and will affect the evaluation of the Proposal. Services are to be provided to: International Development Law Organization, Viale Vaticano, 106 00165, Rome, Italy. 5
Documents comprising the Proposal The Proposal shall comprise the following components: a) Proposal submission form (see Annex 3); b) Price Schedule (see Annex 4); c) Operational and technical part of the Proposal, including documentation to demonstrate that the Offeror and the Proposal meet all necessary requirements. Proposal submission The Offeror shall structure the operational and technical part of its Proposal as follows: (a) Proposed methodology This section should demonstrate the Offeror's responsiveness to the specifications by identifying the specific components proposed, addressing the requirements, as specified, point by point; providing a detailed description of the essential performance characteristics, proposed warranty and demonstrating how the proposed methodology meets or exceeds the requirements. The operational and technical part of the Proposal should not contain any pricing information whatsoever on the services offered. Pricing information shall be separated and only contained in the appropriate Price Schedules. It is mandatory that the Offeror's Proposal numbering system corresponds with the numbering system used in the body of this RFP. All references to descriptive material and brochures should be included in the appropriate response paragraph, though material/documents themselves may be provided as annexes to the Proposal/response. Information which the Offeror considers proprietary, if any, should be clearly marked "proprietary" next to the relevant part of the text and it will then be treated as such accordingly. 6
(b) Management plan This section should provide a corporate orientation to include the year and country of incorporation and a brief description of the Offeror's present activities. It should focus on services related to the Proposal. This section should also describe the organizational unit(s) that will become responsible for the implementation of the contract, and the general management approach towards a project of this kind. The Offeror should comment on its experience in similar projects and identify the person(s) representing the Offeror in any future dealing with the procuring IDLO entity. (c) Resource plan This should fully explain the Offeror's resources in terms of personnel and if applicable facilities necessary for the performance of this requirement. It should describe the Offeror's current capabilities/facilities and any plans for their expansion. Professional qualification of team members should also be provided. 7
Format, signing sealing, marking and submission of Proposals sent by email The Proposal shall be signed by the Offeror or a person or persons duly authorised to bind the Offeror to the contract. The latter authorisation shall be indicated by written powerofattorney accompanying the Proposal. A Proposal shall contain no interlineations, erasures, or overwriting except, as necessary to correct errors made by the Offeror, in which case such corrections shall be initialed by the person or persons signing the Proposal. The Proposal will consist of two attached files named Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal. The Financial Proposal file will contain Price Schedule (see Annex 4) and will be passwordprotected. IDLO will additionally communicate with Offerors for obtaining the password for Financial Proposal, if needed. The Offeror shall scan and email the Proposal (consisting of Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal) to tenders@idlo.int with the Subject: Proposal for RFP No. IPSAS 2019/001 before Thursday 21 st February 2019. 8
Format, signing sealing, marking and submission of Proposals sent in hard copy Deadline for submission of Proposals Late Proposals The Offeror shall prepare two copies of the Proposal, clearly marking each "Original Proposal" and "Copy of Proposal" as appropriate. In the event of any discrepancy between them, the original shall govern. The two copies of the Proposal shall be typed or written in indelible ink and shall be signed by the Offeror or a person or persons duly authorised to bind the Offeror to the contract. The latter authorisation shall be indicated by written powerofattorney accompanying the Proposal. A Proposal shall contain no interlineations, erasures, or overwriting except, as necessary to correct errors made by the Offeror, in which case such corrections shall be initialed by the person or persons signing the Proposal. The Offeror shall seal the Proposal in one outer and two inner envelopes (Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal) and sent it as detailed below. (a) The outer envelope shall be addressed to following address: Albert S. Mola International Development Law Organization Viale Vaticano, 106 00165 Rome, ITALY and marked with: Proposal for RFP No. IPSAS 2019/001, Do Not Open Before Thursday 21 st February 2019, 17 hr. (b) Both inner envelopes (Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal) shall indicate the name and address of the Offeror and contain the information specified in the RFP, with the copies duly marked "Original Proposal" and "Copy of Proposal". The Financial Proposal in one of inner envelopes shall include the Price Schedule (see Annex 4) duly identified as such. Note, if the inner envelopes are not sealed and marked as per the instructions in this clause, the IDLO will not assume responsibility for the Proposal's misplacement or premature opening. The Proposal shall be addressed to IDLO on or before Thursday 21 st February 2019 at 17.00 hrs., Rome, Italy time. Any Proposal received by IDLO after the deadline for submission of Proposals, pursuant to clause Deadline for the submission of Proposals, will be rejected and sent back unopened or destroyed unopened if the return cannot be secured unless the Proposal was sent by email but was not properly received due to issues in IDLO mailing system. 9
Validity Period of Proposals Modification and withdrawal of Proposals All Proposals will be valid for 90 days from the deadline for submission of Proposals. In exceptional circumstances IDLO may request the Offerors to extend the validity of the Proposal beyond what has been initially indicated in this RFP. The Offerors shall be invited to confirm the extension in writing, without any modification whatsoever on the Proposal. The Offerors may choose not to extend the validity period of the Proposals upon request of IDLO. The Offeror may modify/withdraw its Proposal after the Proposal's submission, provided that written notice of the withdrawal is received by IDLO prior to the deadline prescribed for submission of Proposals. The Offeror's modification/withdrawal notice shall be prepared, sealed, marked, and dispatched in accordance with the provisions of clause Deadline for Submission of Proposals. No Proposal may be modified nor withdrawn after the deadline for submission of Proposals. No Proposal may be modified/withdrawn in the Interval between the deadline for submission of Proposals and the expiration of the period of Proposal validity specified by the Offeror in the Proposal Submission Form. Right to accept, reject, or render nonresponsive any or all Proposals IDLO reserves the right to accept or reject any Proposal, to render any or all of the Proposals as nonresponsive, and to annul the solicitation process and to reject all Proposals at any time prior to award of contract, without incurring any liability, or obligation to inform the affected Proposer(s) of the grounds for IDLO's action. Furthermore, IDLO shall not be obliged to award the contract to the lowest priced offer. Clarification of Proposals Preliminary examination To assist in the examination, evaluation and comparison of Proposals, IDLO may at its discretion ask the Offeror for clarification of its Proposal. The request for clarification and the response shall be in writing and no change in price or substance of the Proposal shall be sought, offered or permitted. IDLO will examine the Proposals to determine whether they are complete, whether any computational errors have been made, whether the documents have been properly signed, and whether the Proposals are generally in order. 10
Correction of errors Any discrepancy between the unit price and the total price shall be recomputed by IDLO, and the unit price shall prevail, and the total price shall be corrected. If the Service Provider does not accept the final price based on IDLO's recomputation and correction of errors, its Proposal will be rejected. No price variation due to escalation, inflation, fluctuation in exchange rates, or any other market factors shall be accepted by IDLO after it has received the Proposal. At the time of Award of Contract or Purchase Order, IDLO reserves the right to vary (increase or decrease) the quantity of services and/or goods, by up to a maximum twentyfive per cent (25%) of the total offer, without any change in the unit price or other terms and conditions. Responsiveness of Proposals IDLO will determine the substantial responsiveness of each Proposal to the RFP. For purposes of this Clause, a substantially responsive Proposal is the one which conforms to all the terms and conditions of the RFP without material deviations. IDLO s determination of a Proposal's responsiveness is based on the contents of the Proposal itself without recourse to extrinsic evidence. A Proposal determined as not substantially responsive will be rejected by IDLO and may not subsequently be made responsive by the Offeror by correction of the nonconformity. 11
Evaluation and comparison of Proposals A twostage procedure is utilised in evaluating the Proposals, with evaluation of the Technical Proposal being completed prior to Financial Proposal being opened and compared. The Financial Proposals (Price Schedules) of the overall Proposals will be opened only for submissions that passed minimum technical score of 490 points of the maximum obtainable 700 points. The evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the cumulative analysis method, according to which the Technical and Financial Proposals have preassigned weights and preassigned maximum number of scores: Technical Proposal 70%, 700 points maximum, Financial Proposal 30%, 300 points maximum. The contract will be awarded to the Proposal with highest combined score obtained in technical and financial evaluation. Technical Evaluation The technical Proposal is evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the Terms of Reference (TOR) as per the evaluation criteria below. The obtainable number of points specified for each evaluation criterion indicates the relative significance or weight of the item in the overall evaluation process. Financial Evaluation In the second stage the Financial Proposals of all Offerors who attained a minimum 490 points in Technical Evaluation will be reviewed. The lowest amount for technically qualified Financial Proposal will be awarded maximum 300 points and other Financial Proposals will be awarded points in accordance with the following formula: Financial Proposal score = (Lowest Price / Price under consideration) x 300. Payment Terms General Terms and Conditions Payment will be conducted within 30 days after successful provision of Services described in the Contract and acceptance by IDLO, and upon submission of Supplier s invoice. Any Contract or Purchase Order that will be signed as a result of this RFP shall be subject to the General Terms and Conditions attached hereto. The mere act of submission of a Proposal implies that the Service Provider accepts without question the General Terms and Conditions of IDLO, herein attached as Annex 6. 12
Technical Evaluation Criteria Summary of Technical Proposal Score Points Offerors Weight A B C D E 1. Proposed methodology 45% 300 2. Management plan 25% 200 3. Resource plan 30% 200 Total 700 Technical Proposal Proposed methodology Points Offerors A B C D E 1.1 Quality of the proposed workplan with respect to the activities, outputs and corresponding 200 dates 1.2 Innovativeness of proposed workplan and outputs 100 Total Part 1 300 Technical Proposal Management plan Points Offerors A B C D E 2.1 Experience in IPSAS conversion projects with organizations similar to IDLO 100 2.2 Experience in similar projects with other 50 entities 2.3 General Management Approach 50 Total Part 2 200 Technical Proposal Resource plan Points Offerors 3.1 Team Leader 60 3.2 Team Manager 50 3.3 Technical Member 40 3.4 Quality Assurance 40 3.5 Team Support 10 Total Part 3 200 A B C D E 13
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION FORM Annex 3 Dear Sir / Madam, Having examined the Solicitation Documents, the receipt of which is hereby duly acknowledged, we, the undersigned, offer to provide Professional Services for INSERT AMOUNT OF MONEY AND CURRENCY as may be ascertained in accordance with the Financial Proposal (Price Schedule) attached herewith and made part of this Proposal. We undertake, if our Proposal is accepted, to commence and complete delivery of all services specified in the contract within the time frame stipulated. We agree to abide by this Proposal for a period of 90 days from the date fixed for opening of Proposals in the Request for Proposals, and it shall remain binding upon us and may be accepted at any time before the expiration of that period. We understand that you are not bound to accept any Proposal you may receive. Date: Signature: Duly authorized to sign this Proposal Position: Company/Organization: 14
Annex 4 FINANCIAL PROPOSAL PRICE SCHEDULE The Offeror is asked to prepare the Price Schedule as a separate envelope from the rest of the RFP response as indicated in the Instructions to Offerors. The Price Schedule must provide a detailed cost breakdown. Provide separate figures for each functional grouping or category. In case of an equipment component to the service provided, the Price Schedule should include figures for both purchase and lease/rent options. The IDLO reserves the option to either lease/rent or purchase outright the equipment through the Offeror. The format shown in the below table should be used while preparing the price schedule. The format includes specific expenditures, which may or may not be required or applicable but are indicated to serve as examples. 15
Price schedule Budgeted Hours / Man Days / Units Hourly rate / Unit rate (Euro) Budgeted fees (Euro) Key personnel 1 2 3 4 5 Subtotal Production of 1 2 3 Subtotal Secretarial fees 1 2 Subtotal Consumables 1 Subtotal Travel related expenses 1 2 3 Subtotal 1 Discount Total Cost 16
Price schedule Description of Activity/Item Estimated amount (MENTION CURRENCY HERE) 1. Professional cost (man days) 2. Production of. 3. Incidental expenses 4. Contingencies 5. Consumables and others 6. Travel related expenses (air, per diem, misc.) TOTAL COST 17
Annex 5 IDLO General Terms and Conditions for the Procurement of Services 18