***CLOSED*** Call For Expression of Interest for Consultancy Services to develop a financial management framework for the BSIF

Scope of Work

The Firm will execute the following activities that contribute towards enhancing the BSIF’s capacity to effectively mobilize, manage, and monitor climate finance in an effort to achieve the national sustainable goals and objectives outlined in national strategies and action plans. This consultancy will provide technical assistance for the development of BSIF’s FMF, which will guide the operations of its finance department in line with international standards. In carrying out this assignment, the firm is required to employ a collaborative approach and close engagement with BSIF and its stakeholders in ensuring that the completed assignment deliverables are consistent with national standards and protocols.  

The firm shall work in close consultation with BSIF’s Finance Unit Coordinator, staff from the Finance, Procurement and Administration units and the Executive Director of the BSIF. This should enable the BSIF to have a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluating and improving the effectiveness of risk management, internal financial control and related governance and management processes.  The particular organizational functions that will be assessed and improved include financial management and administration, procurement, human resources management and information technology. The specific areas to be examined include: 

• • • Develop and institutionalize a Business-Financial Model that ensures adequate recovery of BSIF’s costs and revenue realization through various fee mechanisms;
  • • Establish the requisite organizational arrangements for effective financial management interface with key stakeholders including the BSIF Board, Ministry of Finance, Belize Tax Service, and donor partners (e.g. Caribbean Development Bank and World Bank) to ensure well defined compliance requirements are managed and met;
  • • Develop long-term budgetary planning and cost management procedures in alignment with BSIF’s strategic plan and business objectives and
  • • Establish and integrate key Board sub-committees (audit, procurement and ethics) into BSIF’s governance structure aimed at strengthening the organization’s level of transparency and accountability in its financial management; 

Financial and Operations Management: 

• • • Develop financial management and procurement manuals that are required of GCF accredited agencies or revise/update existing BSIF financial management and procurement manuals to be compliant with GCF accreditation requirements;
    • Develop a BSIF Financial Control Policy and corresponding Financial Control procedures;
    • Adopt and implement IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards) to ensure that BSIF financial statements are compliant with IPSAS;
    • Design and facilitate a “roll-out” of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) at BSIF with the intention of full compliance by the end of 2024 with clean IFRS compliant audit reports;
    • Assessment of fully functional computerized accounting system workflow;
    • Improve existing procedures or establish new procedures that provide oversight for the general accounting function which includes inter-organizational transactions, cash management/reconciliation for multiple accounts, financial reporting and balance sheet management;
    • Develop and support implementation of procedures and processes for monitoring the maintenance of BSIF’s financial records in compliance with regulatory requirements, BSIF’s accounting policies and IFRS;
    • Put in place and support a mechanism for restating BSIF’s financial statements from modified cash/accrual basis to full accruals of IFRS as and when required and on a quarterly basis;
    • Review accounting activities to ensure that a standard level of internal controls and audit procedures and techniques are consistently applied;
    • Develop an Internal Audit Policy/Charter and corresponding Internal Audit Manual in accordance with internationally recognized standards;
    • Develop a corporate Procurement Policy and corresponding Procurement Manual and guidelines in accordance with internationally recognized standards;
    • Develop work policies, procedures, and work-flow processes to produce the necessary controls on the organization’s assets by updating and developing the BSIF financial procedures manual;
    • Develop or improve a complete non-current asset register that includes all assets of the BSIF with appropriate valuations and maintenance schedule where necessary;
    • Develop BSIF assets transfer framework for movement of assets and ensure its implementation with complete documentation and
    • Develop a BSIF green policy that is intended to demonstrate the organization’s commitment to environmental responsibility and assist with reducing its carbon footprint. The initial green policy version will initially focus on increasing transactional efficiency related to financial management functions and lessening the generation of hard-copy paper documents, files and folders through the appropriate and effective use of document scanning and electronic file management and storage technologies. This green policy will be piloted firstly in the organization’s finance and administration departments and across their various functions.

Risk Management and Compliance: 

• • • Develop a risk management and compliance framework (RMCF) inclusive of optimal organizational arrangements to manage risk and exposure for the BSIF;
    • Design the RMCF to allow for ease of compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory framework, financing covenants and the international financial reporting framework (IFRS);
    • Establish sound system of internal controls to ensure adequacy of policies, systems and processes to safeguard BSIF’s assets and to enhance operational efficiency;
    • Develop comprehensive risk management policies and procedures to ensure that BSIF’s financial risks are minimized at an acceptable level;
    • Develop the Funds Accounting Manual, Antifraud Policy and Procedures (Anti-money laundering/anti-terrorist financing), Procedures Manual for Investigating Fraud and Whistleblower Policy and Procedures Manual as part of the preparations being made to submit an accreditation application to the GCF;
    • Develop a corporate Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct to govern BSIF’s financial and procurement transactions;
    • Develop a corporate conflict of interest/financial disclosure policy and accompanying conflict-of-interest review and resolution procedures to govern BSIF’s financial and procurement transactions;
    • Develop a corporate financial mismanagement policy govern BSIF’s financial and procurement transactions and accompanying procedures for dealing with financial mismanagement and other forms of malpractice and
    • Mechanisms for follow-up on matters previously reported in previous audits.