REQUEST FOR QUOTATION: audit service of periodic reports by a certified auditor (CWD Plus)

Carrying out audit services by a certified auditor of periodic, annual and final reports on the use of subsidy funds for the implementation of the "Advisory Support Center Plus" Project

I. Description of the subject of the contract:

1. The subject of the contract is the performance of audit services by a certified auditor of periodic, annual and final reports on the use of subsidy funds for the implementation of the "Advisory Support Center Plus" Project, together with the preparation of audit reports.

The “Advisory Support Center Plus” project is implemented by the Cooperation Fund Foundation, together with the Association of Polish Cities, on the basis of Agreement No. DRS/BDG-II/POPT/36/22 concluded with the State Treasury represented by Grzegorz Puda – Minister of Funds and Regional Policy on May 16, 2022.

Acting under art. 150 of the Act of 27 August 2009 on public finances (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 305, as amended), hereinafter referred to as the UFP, in connection with art. 127 paragraph 2 point 2 of the UFP in connection with art. 3a point 3b of the Act of 6 December 2006 on the principles of development policy (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 1057), the Minister granted the Ordering Party a subsidy for the implementation of the task.

The grant is co-financed in 85% by the European Union from the Cohesion Fund under the Technical Assistance Operational Programme 2014-2020 and in 15% by the state budget.

Under the aforementioned Agreement DRS/BDG-II/POPT/36/22 of May 16, 2022, the Ordering Party has agreed to implement the Project within the scope and under the terms specified in the Agreement and in accordance with the detailed Project description, including the Project implementation schedule and detailed Project budget, which constitute part of the detailed Project description. In particular, the Ordering Party has agreed to comply with and apply the following in connection with the implementation of the Project:

a) Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320, as amended);

b) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and

on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1);

c) the Act of 11 July 2014 on the principles of implementation of cohesion policy programmes financed under the 2014-2020 financial perspective (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 818);

d) the Act of 27 August 2009 on public finances (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 305, as amended);

e) when spending funds from subsidies, apply the principles of equal treatment, fair competition and transparency, and in cases provided for in the Act of 11 September 2019 – Public Procurement Law (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 1129) – the provisions of this Act, provided that the Foundation is not the contracting authority within the meaning of the provisions of the Public Procurement Law;

f) the Act of 10 May 2018 on the Protection of Personal Data (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1781);

g) Guidelines of the Minister of Development and Finance on the use of technical assistance funds for 2014-2020;

h) Guidelines of the Minister of Development and Finance regarding the eligibility of expenditure under the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund
and the Cohesion Fund for 2014-2020;

i) Guidelines of the Minister of Investment and Development on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and non-discrimination, including accessibility for people with disabilities and the principle of equal opportunities for women and men under EU funds for 2014-2020;

j) principles arising from documents relating to the Technical Assistance Operational Programme, including principles arising from the document entitled "Procedure for anti-fraud measures financed under POPT 2014-2020";

k) information and promotion principles described in the document entitled "Visual Identification Book of the European Funds brand and cohesion policy programme logos for 2014-2020"
and in the document entitled "Handbook for Beneficiaries of European Funds on information and promotion for 2014-2020".

2. The Contractor will be obliged to audit the periodic/annual/final reports on the implementation of the Project, and to prepare and deliver to the Ordering Party a report on the audit of the aforementioned reports within the deadlines specified below:

a) by 10 June 2022 – periodic report for the period 01/04/2022-31/05/2022;

b) by 10 November 2022 – periodic report for the period 01/04/2022-31/10/2022;

c) by 10 January 2022 – annual report for the period 01/04/2022-31/12/2022;

d) by 10 May 2023 – periodic report for the period 01/01/2023-30/04/2023;

e) by 10 July 2023 – final report on the project implementation for the period 01/04/2022-30/06/2023.

The above-mentioned deadlines may change in the event of changes in the project implementation schedule. In the event of any changes in the project implementation schedule that would result in changes to the deadlines for submitting reports for individual periods, the Contractor will be notified by the Client seven days prior to the commencement date of the review of the periodic/annual/final report.

3. The templates for the periodic/annual/final report and the report on the audit of the periodic/annual/final report are specified in the annexes to Agreement No. DSR/BDG-II/POPT/36/22, which constitute an integral part of this agreement.

4. The scope of activities to be performed during a single audit of a report must be consistent with the provisions of Agreement No. DRS/BDG-II/POPT/36/22, and in particular concerns:
   a) completeness and accounting accuracy in the implementation of the project financing agreement;
   b) compliance of the category (eligibility) of incurred expenses and the amount of incurred expenses with the planned expenses;
   c) completeness of documentation confirming the expenses incurred;
   d) meeting deadlines for incurring expenses;
   e) compliance with deadlines for settling subsidy funds;
   f) the correctness of the documentation confirming the expenses incurred;
   g) correctness of the documentation in terms of compliance with generally applicable legal provisions, in particular the Public Finance Act, the Accounting Act and the Public Procurement Law, all other requirements of Agreement No. DSR/BDG-II/POPT/36/22, including those listed in point I.1 of this Request for Quotation.

5. The study will cover, on average, approximately 200 documents per month throughout the entire project implementation period.

II. CPV code(s) and name:
79212100-4: Financial audit services

III. Source of financing:

The cost of carrying out the study will be financed from the funds of the "Advisory Support Center Plus" Project (grant for the implementation of the Project awarded under Agreement No. DSR/BDG-II/POPT/36/22).

IV. Place and date of order fulfillment:
The audit of the reports will take place at the Ordering Party's registered office in Warsaw at

ul. Górnośląska 4A within the deadlines specified in point I.2 of this Request for Proposals.

V. Requirements for the Contractor:

1. The Contractor is obliged to have documented authorizations necessary to perform an audit of financial statements and should also have appropriate experience in the field of financial auditing, in particular:

a) is an audit firm under the Act of 11 May 2017 on statutory auditors, audit firms and public supervision (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 1089, as amended);

b) is entered on the list of audit firms maintained by the National Council of Statutory Auditors;

c) should demonstrate, within the last 3 years prior to the deadline for submission of offers, and if the period of business activity is shorter – during this period, knowledge and experience in contract performance in the form of proper performance of at least three completed financial audits of projects funded by the European Union and the State budget, with a budget of no less than PLN 1,000,000 (in words: one million PLN). To confirm compliance with the above-mentioned condition, Contractors will submit a list of such services along with evidence of their proper performance (references issued by ordering parties or contracts, invoices, acceptance protocols, etc.);

d) The contractor must demonstrate that it has a team conducting the financial audit of the project, consisting of at least two people, of whom at least one person from the team must be a certified auditor, and have professional experience of at least 2 years.

1. The Contractor and the members of the audit team conducting the audit on its behalf shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, when conducting the audit, their independence is not affected by any actual or potential conflict of interest, business relationship or any other direct or indirect relationship between the audited entity and the audit firm, members of the audit team, members of the network to which the audit firm belongs, the management of the audit firm or persons linked to them by a control relationship.

2. The contractor and the members of the audit team conducting the audit on their behalf are obligated to maintain the confidentiality of all information and documents to which they had access during the audit. The obligation to maintain professional secrecy is not limited in time.

VI. Criteria for evaluation of offers:

1. Gross remuneration in PLN (total for the audit of 5 reports on the Project implementation) – 100%

Ad.1 Price

Points for the “Remuneration” criterion will be calculated according to the formula:

Remuneration of the cheapest offer
——————————————— x number of possible points = number of points Remuneration of the offer being examined

During the examination and evaluation of offers, the Foundation may request explanations from bidders regarding the content of the submitted offers.

VII. Method of preparing the offer:

1. The offer should be submitted on the offer form constituting Appendix No. 1 to the Inquiry.

   offer.

2. The offer must be completed on a computer in Polish and signed by the Contractor's authorized representatives. The fee stated in the offer must include all costs related to the execution of the order and cannot be changed during the contract term.

3. Contractors are obliged to carefully read the information contained in the request for proposals and annexes and prepare an offer in accordance with the requirements specified in this document.

4. Offers prepared contrary to the requirements of this request for proposals, submitted on a different form, incomplete or after the deadline will not be evaluated.

5. Contractors bear all their own costs related to preparing and submitting their offer, regardless of the outcome of the procedure.

VIII. Documents required from the Contractor:

      1. offer in accordance with Annex No. 1,

2. certificate of entry on the list of audit firms maintained by the National Chamber of Statutory Auditors,

3. information about the key statutory auditor together with a certificate of entry in the Register of Statutory Auditors (including the CV of the key statutory auditor confirming professional experience),

4. a declaration of compliance with independence requirements submitted separately by the statutory auditor and the audit firm,

5. a list of services along with references confirming their proper performance,

6. a copy of the third party liability insurance policy covering the activities performed, including services within the scope of the order.

IX. Authorized contact person from FFW:
Marek Żyła – Director of the Financial and Administrative Office, tel. 602-617-888, e-mail address: mzyla@cofund.org.pl

X. The offer must be submitted by:
May 27, 2022, 9:00 a.m. in one of the forms indicated in point XI

XI. The offer can be:

1. send by post/courier to the following address: Fundacja "Fundusz Współpracy",

   ul. Górnośląska 4a, 00-444 Warsaw – the date and time of receipt by the Foundation are decisive,

2. send by e-mail to: mzyla@cofund.org.pl – the date and time of receipt in the Ordering Party’s inbox is decisive,

3. deliver it in person to the office of the Cooperation Fund Foundation, ul. Górnośląska 4a, 00-444 Warsaw – the date and time of receipt at the Foundation will be decisive.

XII. Other provisions

1. This Request for Proposals does not constitute an obligation on the part of the Ordering Party: Fund Foundation

   Cooperation to conclude a contract.

2. The Contractor shall transfer to the Ordering Party all copyrights to the works created as a result of the performance of the Agreement, without any time or territorial limitations, in all fields of exploitation known at the time of conclusion of the Agreement, including those specified in Art. 50 of the Act of 4 February 1994 on Copyright and Related Rights (Journal of Laws of 2016, item 666, as amended), and in particular in the scope of:

   a) recording, copying, modifying, entering into the memory of computers and computer servers,
   b) recording and reproducing the work – producing copies of the work using a specific technique, including printing, reprographic, magnetic recording and digital techniques,
   c) displaying it publicly (on a screen), including during seminars and conferences, as well as making it publicly available in such a way that everyone can have access at a place and time of their choice,
   d) use in publishing materials and in all types of audio-visual and computer media,
   e) the right to use the works in whole or in part and to combine them with other works, to develop them by adding various elements, updating them, translating them into other languages,
   f) in the scope of trade in the original or copies on which the work was recorded – introducing into circulation, lending or renting the original or copies,
   g) within the scope of disseminating the work in a manner other than specified in point 6 – public performance, exhibition, display, reproduction, broadcasting and rebroadcasting, as well as making the work publicly available in such a way that everyone can have access to it at a place and time of their choice.

3. Offer validity period: 30 days from the deadline for submission of offers.

4. The Foundation reserves the right to cancel the inquiry without giving any reason at any time, even after the offers have been submitted and considered, and also reserves the right not to make a selection.

5. The Foundation may conduct price negotiations with the Bidder whose offer was selected.

6. After selecting the most advantageous FFW offer and conducting any negotiations, the Foundation will immediately call on the bidder who submitted the most advantageous offer to conclude the contract. If the bidder fails to conclude the contract within seven days of being called to sign the contract, the Ordering Party may begin negotiations with the bidder whose offer was next in line.

7. There is no possibility of appealing against the choice made.

XIII. Obligations of the Data Administrator related to the protection of personal data

1. The Controller of the personal data contained in the offer is the "Cooperation Fund" Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the "CONTROLLER"), with its registered office at ul. Górnośląska 4a, 00-444 Warsaw. The Controller can be contacted in writing, by traditional mail at ul. Górnośląska 4a, 00-444 Warsaw, or by e-mail at cofund@cofund.org.pl.

2. The Administrator has appointed a Data Protection Officer who can be contacted at the following e-mail address: iodo@rt-net.pl.

3. The personal data referred to in paragraph 1 are processed on the basis of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), i.e. based on the consent of the data subject.

4. Personal data is processed for the purposes necessary to carry out the public procurement process.

5. The processing of personal data is based on the legitimate interest of the controller or a third party.

6. Personal data does not come from third parties.

7. The Administrator does not intend to transfer data to a third country or an international organization.

8. The Administrator will transfer personal data to other entities only on the basis of legal provisions, including in particular: the Public Procurement Office, the Social Insurance Institution, and the Tax Office.

9. Personal data will be processed by the Controller for up to 5 years from the time of selection of the contractor in the public procurement process.

10. The data subject has the right to request from the controller access to personal data, their rectification, erasure or restriction of processing, the right to object to the processing, as well as the right to transfer data.

11. A complaint about the Administrator's actions may be filed with the President of the Personal Data Protection Office.

12. Providing personal data is required to conduct the contractor selection process. Failure to provide it will result in the inability to submit a bid.

13. The Administrator does not envisage automated decision-making.

XIV. Attachments:

1. Offer form;

2. Copy of Agreement DRS/BDG-II/POPT/36/22.

3. Detailed description of the Project entitled "CWD Plus" constituting Annex No. 3 to the Agreement;

4. Template of the report (periodic / annual / final) constituting Annex No. 5 to Agreement No. DRS/BDG-II/POPT/36/22;

5. Template of the report on the audit of the report (periodic / annual / final) constituting Annex No. 6 to Agreement No. DRS/BDG-II/POPT/36/22;

6. Sample contract for the provision of services.