Audit Services for ECHO FPA Ex-ante Assessment - Ref. No. 26-052

1.Key information

Service start date: 1st September 2026

Service end date: 25th March 2027

Scope of work: Audit services in accordance with the DG ECHO Terms of Reference for Independent Assessment Report

Required qualifications: Please see chapter4 of the Terms of Reference

Location: Budapest, Hungary

Application deadline: 15th August 2026

2.About Terre des hommes Hungary

Terre des hommes Foundation „Lausanne” in Hungary (Tdh Hu) is a registered Hungarian foundation since 2006. Our vision is a world where children’s rights, as defined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, are always respected. Our mission is to protect children and their future, by fostering sustainable change to protect children’s rights and well-being both in humanitarian and development context.

For more background information about our website.

3.Objectives of the Request for Proposal

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that would like to apply for funding under the EU Humanitarian Aid Programme must first be accredited as humanitarian partners, by obtaining an EU humanitarian partnership certificate.

For this purpose, they must undergo a comprehensive ex-ante assessment to validate their status as a humanitarian organisation, check administrative and financial management, operational capacity, financial capacity and compliance with the partnership principles (transparency and accountability, humanitarian principles and ethical standards, compliance and internal control).

Based on the results of this assessment, the European Commission (DG ECHO) will evaluate the application and decide on whether the organisation can be awarded an EU humanitarian partnership certificate.

Tdh Hungary received its certification from DG ECHO in December 2025.

In line with the EU MFF, organisations that already hold a certificate for the period 2021-2027, must re-apply for a new certificate for the next period (MFF 2028-2034). The assessment must be submitted as part of the application for the humanitarian partnership certificate.

It must be composed of two parts:

• the Terms of Reference to be signed by the organisation and the auditor
• the Assessment Report to be issued on the auditor’s letterhead, dated, stamped and signed by the auditor which includes the Assessment Questionnaire (‘the Questionnaire’).

4.Scope of Work

The assessment shall cover the operations of Tdh Hungary for the 12 months period ending on the day of the start of the fieldwork of the assessment.

The scope and process of the assessment has been determined by DG ECHO in the DG ECHO Independent Assessment Report (DG ECHO ToR), also attached to this RFP as Annex A.

Deliverables: Assessment Report as per the DG ECHO Assessment report template and Recommendations for organizational growth and improvement in relation to ECHO standards.

5.Audit timeline

Preparatory Meting: 20th-30th September 2026

Online collaboration: October-November2026

Fieldwork: December 1-10 2026

Closing Meeting: December 10 2026

Draft Report: 15 February 2027

Final Assessment Report: 15 March 2027

6.Auditor qualification requirements

• Independent external auditor registered member of a national accounting or auditing body or institution and authorized to perform audits
• The auditor and/or their firm are a member of a national accounting or auditing body or institution, which in turn is member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
• The auditor and/or their firm are a member of a national accounting or auditing body or institution and, although this organisation is not member of the IFAC, the auditor commits to undertake this engagement in accordance with the IFAC standards and ethics code set out above.
• The auditor and/or their firm are registered as statutory auditor in the public register of a public oversight body in an EU Member State in accordance with the principles of public oversight set out in Directive 2006/43/EC2 (this applies to auditors and audit firms based in an EU Member State).
• The auditor has experience with ECHO ex-ante assessments for certification.

7.RFP timeline

• The RFP has been designed to meet the desired application submission deadline of Tdh Hu.
• To facilitate efficiency, we are requesting firms who intend to respond to notify us by 5th August 2026, at the latest.
• Firms with intent of responding will be promptly provided with our contract template and other terms and conditions to facilitate timely contract execution.

RFP published: 20th July 2026

Questions and Answers period: 1st August-10th August2026

RFP responses due: 15 August2026

Evaluation and vendor selection: 25th August 2026

Business Award & contracting: 28th-31st August2026

8.Proposal content

1. Name, address, telephone number and email address for principal contact.
2. A brief outline of the firm and services offered with details of previous experience providing external audit services to non-governmental organizations and experience in DG ECHO ex ante assessment.
3. Name and professional qualifications of the proposed team. Please also send the individual CVs of the personnel who would work on the assessment.
4. Outline of the audit plan, including timeline.
5. Please provide your proposed detailed pricing in EUR or HUF.

9.Proposal evaluation criteria

Proposals submitted will be assessed based on the following criteria:

Service : Element assessed

• Firm and team qualifications
• Experience
• Audit plan

Weighting factor = 40%

Pricing: Element assessed

• Value for money

Weighting factor =40%

Timing (Element assessed)

• Availability & schedule

Weighting factor = 20%

Only shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview prior to contracting.

All applicants will be informed of the outcome of the selection process after the contract is concluded with the selected applicant.