Prior-year accruals evidence review and assurance team – merseta

Closing date: 06 November 2026

Closing time: 15:00

Invitation date: 02 November 2026

No briefing session or site visit is stated.

SCM enquiries:

• Contact: Thokozani Dlamini
• Email: [email protected]

Technical enquiries:

• Contact: Vuyokazi Nxangashe
• Email: [email protected]

Submission email: [email protected]

Fraud hotline: 0800 333 057

Submission method: email

Submission email: [email protected]

Email subject: RFQ number and description of the required goods/services

Closing time: 06 November 2026 at 15:00

Late submissions (after closing date and time) will not be considered.

Quotations must be clearly marked with the RFQ number and description.

Returnable documents:

• Bidders Information form: company details, CSD number, contact details.
• Terms and Conditions of RFQ: acceptance of all terms.
• Undertaking by Bidder: binds the bidder to the offer and terms.
• Authority to Sign: authorises the signatory to bind the bidder; attach company resolution or relevant registration certificates.
• SBD 4 (Bidder's Disclosure): declares any relationship with state employees or conflicts of interest; false disclosure disqualifies.
• SBD 6.1 (Preference Points Claim): claims preference points for specific goals.
• Specifications for Goods Required: technical proposal.
• Pricing Schedule: fixed-price proposal with breakdown.
• SBD 7.1 (Contract Form): signed contract form.
• Proof of CSD registration.
• Copy of B-BBEE certificate or affidavit.
• References for similar work (if required).
• Any certification required by the specifications.

Disqualification risks:

• Any required form missing, incomplete, or unsigned.
• Quotation received after the closing date and time.
• Failure to comply with mandatory requirements in Stage 1 evaluation.

Evaluation stages:

1. Stage 1 – Compliance: administrative and mandatory requirements. Bidders must submit all required forms, be registered on CSD, and meet mandatory criteria. Failure leads to disqualification.
2. Stage 2 – Technical/Functionality: scored out of 100. Minimum overall score: 70%. Minimum score per individual criterion also required; failure on any individual criterion leads to immediate disqualification.
3. Stage 3 – Price and Specific Goals: 80/20 preference point system. Price: 80 points. Specific goals: 20 points.

Technical evaluation criteria (100 points):

• Capacity and technical opinion (30 points):
• More than 7 years' public-sector technical accounting, audit-remediation, GRAP advisory or similar experience: 30 points
• 5-7 years: 15 points
• 3-4 years: 10 points
• Less than 3 years: 0 points

Evidence: CV and supporting qualifications/reference letters.

• Reference letters (30 points):
• Three or more signed reference letters from public sector: 30 points
• Two: 20 points
• One: 15 points
• None or unsatisfactory: 0 points

Reference letters must state project period, be on client letterhead or include verifiable contact details. Appointment letters not accepted.

• Methodology, Work Plan and Quality Assurance Approach (20 points): demonstrated understanding, methodology, innovation, QA, governance, risk management.
• Project team (20 points):
• Engagement Lead: CA(SA) or AG(SA) with 7+ years' public-sector experience
• GRAP Technical Lead: demonstrated GRAP and financial reporting experience
• Grants/Contract Management Specialist: relevant grant-management experience

Specific goals (20 points):

• Black people ownership 51% or more: 6 points
• Black women ownership 30% or more: 4 points
• Black youth ownership 30% or more: 4 points
• White women ownership 30% or more: 2 points
• People with disability ownership 20% or more: 4 points

Evidence: valid B-BBEE certificate/affidavit or CIPC certificate/ID/CSD.

Appointment of a service provider for prior-year accruals evidence review and assurance team.

Background:

• merSETA received a qualified audit opinion for FY ended 31 March 2026, with qualifications on discretionary grant accruals, prior-year provisions and contingent liabilities.
• The service provider will supplement internal capacity to produce audit-ready accrual, provision and contingent-liability files.

Scope of work:

• Conduct a 100% review of all discretionary grant projects in the agreed expenditure, accruals and commitments population, including current-year payments relating to prior-year obligations.
• Validate completeness, accuracy, supporting evidence and accounting treatment.
• Part A – Evidence review, reconciliation and assessment:
• Reconcile each project to approved allocations, contracts/SLAs, milestones, deliverables, invoices, claims, payments, accrual registers, commitments registers and expenditure schedules.
• Assess whether obligations existed at reporting date, verify amounts and financial-year classification, document exceptions and corrective actions.
• Compile complete, indexed project-level evidence packs.
• Compile and reconcile prior-year provision and contingent-liability populations in accordance with GRAP 19.
• Part B – Commitments register, governance and assurance:
• Assess, reconcile and enhance the commitments register.
• Maintain central evidence, information-request, issue, exception and decision registers.
• Conduct targeted regional visits to obtain and validate project records.
• Subject all material calculations, assessments, evidence packs, proposed journals, disclosures and reports to independent quality review.

Deliverables:

• Inception report and approved detailed work plan.
• Confirmed project population and information-request register.
• Project-level review tracker.
• Complete indexed electronic evidence packs for every project reviewed.
• Reconciled prior-year accrual schedule and enhanced commitments register.
• Documented expenditure-classification schedule.
• Exception and corrective-action register.
• Weekly progress reports, draft report, presentation of findings, final report.
• Editable schedules and working papers with indexed evidence.

Duration:

• Commence within 5 working days after contract/SLA signed.
• Inception report within 10 working days.
• Diagnostic report and approved remediation plans within 20 working days.
• Assignment concludes 31 July 2027.
• First phase (to 31 March 2027): mobilisation, implementation, diagnostic and remediation.
• Second phase: ongoing support, AFS preparation, AGSA audit assistance, close-out and handover.

Performance and reporting:

• Weekly operational workstream meetings.
• Formal progress reporting at least fortnightly during mobilisation and material remediation, monthly thereafter.
• Payments only for deliverables formally accepted by merSETA.

Confidentiality and independence:

• Protect personal, financial, learner, employer and contract information.
• Use data only for the assignment.
• Comply with merSETA security and records-management requirements.
• Disclose actual or potential conflicts.
• Not perform management decision-making or external-audit assurance.
• Return or securely dispose of data at termination.
• All schedules, templates, evidence indexes and working outputs become merSETA records.
• Obtain approval before using subcontractors or transferring data.

Proposal approach:

• The proposal must include a detailed work plan/methodology linked to a budget reflecting projected costs.
• The work plan must include:
• Clearly defined milestones aligned to objectives and expected outputs/deliverables, inclusive of a Skills Transfer plan.
• Well-defined timelines for each activity and deliverable.
• Allocation of human resources.
• Project cost breakdown.
• Provide examples of at least three similar projects executed in the past with contactable references and contract details.
• The methodology must demonstrate understanding of the assignment, innovation, quality assurance processes, project governance and risk management.
• The proposal must be practical and able to meet project timelines.

Project governance:

• merSETA will establish an Oversight Committee and designate accountable workstream owners.
• Operational workstream meetings held weekly.
• Formal progress reporting at least fortnightly during mobilisation and material remediation, monthly thereafter.
• A reporting task team will manage, monitor and oversee the project, ensuring timely services, information flow, adherence to timeframes, quality assurance, and cost control.
• Progress reports must be tabled for each deliverable as per the implementation plan and SLA.

Required expertise:

• Demonstrable organisational experience in public-sector financial reporting, audit remediation, GRAP, PFMA-governed entities, AGSA processes, grants and contract administration, accruals, provisions, contingent liabilities, data reconciliation, high-volume population analysis, audit-evidence management, knowledge transfer and sustainable control implementation.
• Appropriate accounting, auditing, public-sector financial management and GRAP technical expertise.
• Practical grants and contract-management, data-analysis, evidence-management, quality-assurance and project-management experience.
• Demonstrable experience in accruals, GRAP 19 provisions and contingent liabilities, financial-statement disclosures, technical accounting assessments and audit-ready memoranda.

Minimum team composition:

• Engagement/Project Lead: senior professional accountant with public-sector audit-remediation experience (must be CA(SA) or AG(SA) in good standing with SAICA).
• GRAP Technical/Project Management Lead: demonstrated experience in provisions, financial instruments, SETA grants and project management.
• Grants/Contract Management Specialist.
• Appropriately experienced support staff.

Substitution of key personnel requires prior merSETA approval.

Reference letters:

• At least three signed reference letters from similar public-sector projects required for technical evaluation.
• Reference letters must state project period and be on client letterhead or include verifiable contact details.
• Appointment letters not accepted as references.

Quality assurance:

• All material calculations, assessments, evidence packs, proposed journals, disclosures and reports must be subject to independent quality review before submission.
• merSETA may reject, require correction of, or withhold acceptance of any deliverable that does not meet specified acceptance criteria.
• The bidder must demonstrate a quality assurance approach in the methodology.
• A reporting task team will render a quality assurance role as first line contact point.
• merSETA reserves the right to conduct site inspections at the bidder's premises or client sites where deemed necessary.
• merSETA reserves the right to require any information, agreement, or supporting document necessary to verify a bid.

Pricing requirements:

• Fixed-price proposal linked to deliverables in Section 1.6.
• Prices must be VAT inclusive (where applicable) and in South African Rand.
• Prices must include all related expenses: professional fees, project management, quality assurance, travel, accommodation, subsistence, data processing, administration.
• Supplementary hourly-rate schedule required for benchmarking and price-analysis purposes only.
• Price validity: minimum 60 days from closing date and time.
• Price Declaration must be completed; if total RFQ prices differ, the price on the declaration is considered correct.
• The official merSETA quotation form must be used; additional pricing breakdown on company letterhead may supplement if space insufficient.
• Pricing assumptions and exclusions must be stated; unstated assumptions may not be relied upon after award.
• Payment only for deliverables formally accepted by merSETA.
• No payment for duplicated effort, avoidable rework, unproductive time, staff replacement, inefficient resource allocation or correction of defects.
• Proposed changes to key personnel may not increase the accepted contract price.
• Additional work must be authorised in writing by merSETA before undertaken.
• Supplementary resource schedule required: each professional category, completed qualification, post-qualification experience, proposed role, estimated hours, proposed hourly rate and extended cost.

Pricing format:

• Fixed-price proposal linked to deliverables in Section 1.6.
• Prices must be VAT inclusive (where applicable) and quoted in South African Rand.
• Prices must include all related expenses: professional fees, project management, quality assurance, travel, accommodation, subsistence, data processing, administration.
• Supplementary hourly-rate schedule required for benchmarking and price-analysis purposes only.
• Price validity: minimum 60 days from closing date and time.
• Price Declaration must be completed; if total RFQ prices differ, the price on the declaration is considered correct.

Payment terms:

• Payment within 30 days from statement date for work done to satisfaction upon presentation of substantiated claim.
• Payment only for deliverables formally accepted by merSETA.
• No payment for duplicated effort, avoidable rework, unproductive time, staff replacement, inefficient resource allocation or correction of defects.
• Proposed changes to key personnel may not increase the accepted contract price.
• Additional work must be authorised in writing by merSETA before undertaken.

Pricing assumptions:

• Any pricing assumption or exclusion must be stated; unstated assumptions may not be relied upon after award.
• Total bid price firm for validity period.

Mandatory requirements:

• Bidding firm must be registered with the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) and registration must be valid on the closing date.
• Proposed Engagement Lead must be a registered CA(SA) or AG(SA) in good standing with SAICA.
• Bidders must be registered on the National Treasury Central Supplier Database (CSD).
• Tax status must be compliant on CSD at time of award.
• Bidders must complete and submit all prescribed Standard Bidding Documents.
• Joint ventures must submit a signed joint-venture agreement and required declarations for each party.
• Bidders must disclose all actual or potential conflicts of interest.

B-bbee:

• 80/20 preference point system applies.
• Specific goals and points as per SBD 6.1 (see evaluation criteria).
• Evidence: valid B-BBEE certificate/affidavit or CIPC certificate/ID/CSD.

Other:

• No services to be rendered before acceptance of official appointment letter or purchase order.
• Bidders must provide at least three examples of similar projects with contactable references.

Contract/SLA:

• A Service Level Agreement (SLA) or written contract (SBD 7.1 or SBD 7.2) will govern the relationship.
• The SLA will include project phases addressing each deliverable.
• The contract is subject to the Public Finance Management Act, 1999, merSETA SCM Policy, General and Special Conditions of Contract.
• The offer remains binding for the validity period (60 days).
• Withdrawal of quote or failure to fulfil contract may result in merSETA recovering additional expenses incurred.
• Acceptance may be communicated by email to the address supplied.
• The law of South Africa governs the contract.
• The bidder accepts full responsibility for proper execution and fulfilment of obligations.
• Any action arising from the contract may be instituted against the bidder.
• False or incorrect information may lead to recovery of costs, cancellation of contract, and damages.
• No services to be rendered before acceptance of official appointment letter or purchase order.
• merSETA reserves the right to appoint more than one supplier or award in whole or part.
• Substitution of key personnel requires prior merSETA approval.
• The bidder may not transfer or subcontract all or any material part without prior written approval.
• All costs of preparing the bid are for the bidder's account.
• All supporting documentation submitted becomes merSETA property unless otherwise stated.

The RFQ is evaluated under the PPPFA and Preferential Procurement Regulations 2022 using the 80/20 preference point system. Three evaluation stages:

1. Stage 1 – Compliance: administrative and mandatory requirements. Bidders must submit all required forms, be registered on CSD, and meet mandatory criteria. Failure leads to disqualification.
2. Stage 2 – Technical/Functionality: scored out of 100. Minimum overall score: 70%. Minimum score per individual criterion also required; failure on any individual criterion leads to immediate disqualification.
3. Stage 3 – Price and Specific Goals: Price (80 points) and Specific Goals (20 points).

Technical criteria (100 points):

• Capacity and technical opinion (30 points): based on individual's public-sector technical accounting, audit-remediation, GRAP advisory or similar experience. More than 7 years: 30; 5-7 years: 15; 3-4 years: 10; less than 3 years: 0.
• Reference letters (30 points): three or more signed public-sector reference letters: 30; two: 20; one: 15; none or unsatisfactory: 0. Appointment letters not accepted.
• Methodology, Work Plan and Quality Assurance Approach (20 points): demonstrated understanding, methodology, innovation, QA, governance, risk management.
• Project team (20 points): Engagement Lead (CA(SA) or AG(SA) with 7+ years' public-sector experience), GRAP Technical Lead, Grants/Contract Management Specialist.

Specific goals (20 points):

• Black people ownership 51% or more: 6 points
• Black women ownership 30% or more: 4 points
• Black youth ownership 30% or more: 4 points
• White women ownership 30% or more: 2 points
• People with disability ownership 20% or more: 4 points

Evidence: valid B-BBEE certificate/affidavit or CIPC certificate/ID/CSD.