Issue Date:                                            December 22, 2023

RFQ Number:                                        SDG-RFQ-01-2023_Ammended

RFQ Name:                                            Professional Accounting Services

Questions due by:                                 January 15, 2024, by 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Answers due by:                                   January 17, 2024

Closing Date for Responses:                 January 19, 2024, by 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Submit to [email protected]

Counterpart International (hereinafter Counterpart) is seeking written quotes from qualified organizations, and/or firms for financial and payroll accounting services for an international development organization as further described below. Please take the time to read and understand these sections as failure to respond fully may result in your submission being determined to be non-responsive and removed from further consideration.

Questions and quotes must be submitted to:

Counterpart International [email protected] 

No phone inquiries please.

1. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND

Counterpart International is a U.S.-based non-governmental organization working in the international development sector with an annual portfolio of $65M, primarily funded through awards from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Counterpart works on behalf of the social sector – individuals, organizations and networks around the world who are committed to creating social good. They are our Counterparts –those striving for more open and participatory government; healthy communities, access to education, natural resource protection and climate resiliency; and improved livelihoods. No matter what sector, or what country, we are committed to moving the marginalized to full participation in civic life. Only throughinclusion will the full potentialof a society be realized. We work with governments, organizations, individuals, foundations, and corporations who are committed to building the capacity of the social sector.

Offerors should put forward their qualifications and price quote to support Counterpart in Financial and Payroll accounting. As a result of this RFQ, Counterpart anticipates issuing one (1) firm-fixed-price vendor contract.

2. SCOPE OF WORK

Counterpart seeks an individual, organization, or firm to provide accounting services, including, but not limited to, general accounting, financial reporting, and payroll withholdings, as described below, for Counterpart International’s Strengthening Democratic Governance (SDG) project in Honduras.

       1.) General Accounting:

• Prepare vouchers and record monthly finance transactions in Counterpart’s accounting software, QuickBooks.

       Note: Counterpart estimates 10-30 transaction vouchers per month.

• Categorize all finance transactions in QuickBooks in accordance with the Counterpart Chart of Accounts.
• Prepare month-endclosing reports per Counterpart International Inc, (CPI) manualand submit it for approval by the 5th of the following month.
• Prepare vouchers in numeric order per CPI QuickBooks manual; upload completed vouchers along with their supporting documentation to the designated folder on Counterpart’s projectSharePoint site. Filingshould follow CPI's standard documentation procedures for financial transactions
• Prepare monthly financial statement reports for the project.
• Prepare Annual Report-Financial Statements to be certifiedby Counterpart’s Legal Representative.
• Provide printout of Main Books (Inventory, General Ledger and Financial Statements).
• Prepare and present annualsworn tax statements to the local tax authority, according to deadlines and requirements set by tax authorities, and any othertax statements required of Counterpart International by local Honduran law.
• Prepare and submitannual fiscal year end closingand audit checklistat the end of October.
• Maintain organized records and ensure compliance with all legal requirements.

        2.) Employee Payroll, Taxes, and Social Security

• Prepare, process,and record the local payroll register per CPI manual and in compliance with local Honduran labor and employment laws and regulations. This will include calculation of and processing of net salary and fringe benefits payments to employees, local government social benefits (social security, pension and local tax, other withholdings and legally required benefits).
• Record additional benefits provided to employees, such as bonuses,incentives, or other non-mandatory benefits.
• Provide employees with detailed payroll statements showing their salaries and deductions.
• Act as a tax agent for new hires, calculate the annual income tax for local employees, based on the applicable tax rates, when establishing new work relations (for new hires), yearly projections at the beginning of local fiscal year (current staff).
• Calculate and withhold income tax from employees' salaries,and ensure timely filing of required forms and payment of withheld taxes.
• Prepare annual income tax reports for each employee.
• Prepare monthly income tax statements for payment (withheld from payroll) and processing the payments.
• Produce Social Security monthly payroll (accounting firm will be granted CPI Social Security Credentials), process payment receipts and final payment on behalf of Counterpart International.
• Record accurately the company and employee contributions to the Honduran Institute of Social Security (IHSS).
• Administer and record other social benefits,such as occupational accident insurance, under Honduran labor laws.
• Prepare Field Host Government Tax Report due in March to HQ– if applicable in award
• Conduct periodic reconciliations to ensure the accuracy of payroll records and consistency with financial records.
• Maintain thorough documentation of all transactions, filings, and communications related to payroll, taxes, and social security.

3. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Offerors must show qualifications in the following areas:

• Ten (10) or more years of experience providing accounting/audit services to companies and organizations locally or internationally.
• Five (5) or more years of experience of providing accounting services to companies and organizations in Honduras.
• Officially registered with respective authorities and legally eligible to work in Honduras.
• Capacity to generate reports from QuickBooks and make entries in it per Counterpart’s accounting requirement.

4. ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The anticipated period of performance for this scope is approximately 12 months with possible annual extension, commencing in February 2023.

5. PRICE OFFER

Quotations in response to this RFQ must be priced on a fixed-price, all-inclusive basis, including delivery and all other costs. Pricing must be presented in Honduran Lempira(HNL). Offers must remain valid for not less than sixty (60) calendar days after the offer deadline. Offerors are requested to provide quotations on official letterhead or format.

In addition, offerors responding to this RFQ are requested to submit the following:

• Organizations/firms are requested to submit a copy of their official registration or business license.
• Individuals are requested to submit a copy of their identification card.

6. EVALUATION PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA

The award will be made to a responsible offeror whose offer follows the RFQ instructions, meets the eligibility requirements, and is determined via a trade-offanalysis to be the best value based on application of the following evaluation criteria. The relative importance of each individual criterion is indicated by the number of points below:

• Technical – 40 points: Responsiveness to the technical specifications and requirements.
• Operating system – 20 points: Ability to use QuickBooks professionally.
• Staff qualification – 20 points: Proficiency with excel, QuickBooks, bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or related field.
• Price – 20 points: The overall cost presented in the offer is reasonable and within budget.

Please note that if there are significant deficiencies regarding responsiveness to the requirements of this RFQ, an offer may be deemed“non-responsive” and therebydisqualified from consideration. Counterpart reserves the right to waive immaterial deficiencies at its discretion.

Best-offer quotations are requested. It is anticipated that the award will be made solely on the basis of these original quotations. However,Counterpart reserves the right to conduct any of the following:

• Counterpart may conduct negotiations with and/or requestclarifications from any offeror prior to award.
• While preference will be given to offerors who can address the full technical requirements of this RFQ, Counterpart may issue a partial award or split the award among various suppliers, if in the best interest of the SDG Project.
• Counterpart may cancel this RFQ at any time.

Please note that in submitting a response to this RFQ, the offerorunderstands that USAID nor the Prime Contractor are a party to this solicitation and the offeror agrees that any protest hereunder must be presented—in writing with full explanations—to the SDG Project for consideration, as USAID or the Prime Contractor will not consider protests regarding procurements carriedout by implementing partners/subcontractors. Counterpart, at its sole discretion, will make a final decision on the protest for this procurement.

INSTRUCTIONS ON SUBMISSION OF OFFERS

You are requested to submit signed and dated offers to the email address specified in this solicitation on or before the exact time specified in this solicitation. Offerors must provide the following information:

   a.The solicitation/RFQ number;

   b. The name, addresses (street, email, other),and telephone number of the offeror;

   c. Brief qualifications of the consultant, organization or firm and its capacity to fulfill the technical specifications including corporate capabilities;

   d. Proof of eligibility to work and/or registration in Honduras.

   e. Brief bios or CVs of accountants who will undertake the work. Counterpart may conduct interviews with accountant staff to ascertain fit.

   f. Past performance information: include recent and relevant contacts for the same or similar services and other references (including points of contact with telephone numbers and email addresses) for 3 – 5 references;

   g. Price quote should be on official letterhead or official quotation format per Section 3

   h. “Remit to” address, if different than mailing address.

It is contemplated one (1) firm-fixed-price vendor contract will be awarded to the responsive Offeror whose offer has the highest evaluation score. Counterpart reserves the right to make an award based on initial submission. Counterpart reserves the right to make no award if it is determined that the offers submitted do not satisfy the needs of the organization. Offers shall be submitted via email and received no later than on the closing date and time. Offers received after the specified time and date will be considered late and will be considered only at the discretion of Counterpart. All written proposals submitted must be valid for a period of not less than sixty (60) calendar days from the stated closing date.

7. QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATIONS

Questions regarding the technical or administrative requirements of this RFQ may be submitted no later than 5:00 PM EST time on January 15, 2024 by email to [email protected]. Questions must be submitted in writing; phone calls will not be accepted. Questions and requests for clarification—and the responses thereto—that Counterpart believes may be of interest to other offerors will be posted on Counterpart’s website as an amendment to the RFQ or will be shared via email.

Only the writtenanswers posted by Counterpart will be considered official and carry weight in the RFQ process and subsequent evaluation. Any verbal information received from employees of Counterpart or any other entity should not be considered as an official response to any questions regarding this RFQ.

8. NOTIFICATION OF SELECTION

Prior to the expiration period of quotation validity, Counterpart will notify the offeror who submitted the highest scoring quotation in writing via email. Clarifications and revision of minor errors and omissions may be requested. Upon completion of either, offeror may be required to submit a revised quote.

9. ACCEPTANCE OF PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS

By submitting a quotation/proposal to Counterpart International, the company or the individual consents to Counterpart’s privacy policy terms and conditions (https://www.counterpart.org/terms-and-conditions/) and provides Counterpart International permission to process the company’s or individual’s personal data specifically for the performance of, and purposes identified in, this solicitation document and in compliance

with Counterpart’s legal obligations under applicable United States and European Union laws, data protection and regulations and any other applicable legal requirements. The company/individual may withdraw their consent at any time by contacting [email protected]. If consent is withdrawn, Counterpart reserve’s the right to accept or reject the offer.

Section 2: Offer Checklist

To assist offerors in preparation of proposals, the following checklist summarizes the documentation to include an offer in response to this RFQ:

• Cover letter, signed by an authorized representative of the offeror(see Section 4 for template)
• Official quotation, including specifications of offered services (see Section 3 for example format)
• Copy of offeror’s registration or business license(see Section 1.5 for more details)
• Brief qualifications of the consultant, organization or firm and itscapacity to fulfillthe technical specifications includingcorporate capabilities, including the Curriculum Vitae of the accountants who will work with Counterpart.
• Past Performance: include contact information (Phone and email addresses) of 3 – 5 references for the same or similar services provided. This should include international NGOs if any.

Section 3: Specifications and Technical Requirements

The table below contains the technical requirements of the services.Offerors are requested to provide quotations containing the information below on official letterhead or official quotation format. In the event this is not possible, offerors may complete this Section 3 and submit a signed/stamped version to Counterpart.

Section 4: Offer Cover Letter

The following cover letter must be placed on letterhead and completed/signed/stamped by a representative authorized to sign on behalf of the offeror:

To:                   Strengthening Democratic Governance (SDG) project

Reference:      RFQ no. SDG-RFQ-01-2023_Amended

To Whom It May Concern:

We, the undersigned, hereby provide the attached offer to perform all work required to complete the activities and requirements as described in the above-referenced RFQ. Please find our offer attached.

We hereby acknowledge and agree to all terms, conditions, special provisions, and instructions included in the above-referenced RFQ. We further certify that the below-named firm—as well as the firm’s principal officers and all commodities and services offered in response to this RFQ— are eligible to participate in this procurement under the terms of this solicitation and under USAID regulations.

Furthermore, we hereby certify that, to the best of our knowledge and belief:

• We have no close, familial,or financial relationships with any Counterpart or SDG project staff members;
• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any otherofferors submitting proposals in response to the above-referenced RFQ; and
• The prices in our offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purposeof restricting competition.
• All information in our proposal and all supporting documentation is authentic and accurate.
• We understand and agree to Counterpart’ prohibitions against fraud, bribery, and kickbacks.

We herebycertify that the enclosed representations, certifications, and other statements are accurate, current, and complete.

Authorized Signature:                                                                                                                                    

Name and Title of Signatory:                                                                                                                                    

Date:                                                                                                                                    

Company Name:                                                                                                                                    

Company Address:                                                                                                                                    

Company Telephone and Website:                                                                                                                                    

Company Registration or Taxpayer ID Number:                                                                                                                                    

Does the company have an active bank account(Yes/No)?                                                                                                                                

Official name associated with bank account (for payment):