AIDSTAR-Two Project Trip Report – Lebanon Dec. 10 – Dec. 16, 2012

The trip aimed to assess the implementation of plans developed after a regional training on USAID financial management and rules and regulations compliance, delivered in January 2012. The trip report highlights the major findings and accomplishments of the trip. In the area of finance management, the review of financial documentation revealed several issues, including the lack of memos or advance requests from program staff, no advance vouchers or expense vouchers, and no cash reconciliation after project activities. Additionally, finance documents were not filled based on activities, and some consultants did not fill in bills or validated timesheets. The review of procurements also identified several issues, including no approbation level defined for procurements, no bid documentation, no cost analysis, and no proof of delivery. The petty cash review revealed that there was $1000 in petty cash with no payment threshold defined and no cash reconciliation at the end of the month. The review of HR filing revealed several issues, including missing employee signatures on timesheets, no employee position and title on timesheets, and missing job descriptions for some staff. The review of small grants documentation and process revealed several issues, including no selection criteria, no selection memo, and no payment request or memos for sub-grantee reimbursement. The trip report also highlights the need for tailored training to support the management of the AIDSTAR-Two partner SIDC in Beirut. New tools were designed to support the management of the partner, and exercises were conducted to demonstrate their utilization and filling out. The next steps outlined in the trip report include starting to use an advance request template designed in January 2013, reconstituting advance vouchers and reconciliation and payment vouchers from the previous fiscal year, and updating the procedure manual on items related to petty management. Other tasks include reconstituting and validating all advance requests from the previous fiscal year, filing HR documents staff by staff, and updating all job descriptions of the staff. The trip report also lists key individuals contacted during the trip, including Nina, Nadia Badran, Karine Nassar, Golda EID, and others. The report provides a brief description of the interactions with each individual and their organization. The relevant documents and addendums listed in the trip report include the finalized products and formal presentations, TraiNet Participant List, Participant Contact sheet, and Meeting/Workshop Participant Evaluation form. These documents are located in eRooms or the MSH network. The AIDSTAR-Two Project Trip Report for Lebanon provides a comprehensive overview of the trip's objectives, accomplishments, and next steps. The report highlights the need for tailored training and the importance of implementing USAID financial management and rules and regulations compliance.