The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the EBRD) intends to provide the FYR Macedonia Securities Exchange Commission (the MSEC or the Client) with technical assistance in the area of development and implementation of a suitable Supervisory and Reporting Information System SRIS (software) for MSEC to support its supervisory, reporting and information process. Creation and implementation of suitable SRIS will help in strengthening the capacities of MSEC for better implementation of regulation and performing its supervisory function).
MSEC is now seeking to engage a consulting company (the Consultant) to develop and implement SRIS (the Assignment).
The main objective of the Assignment is the development and implementation of a SRIS system to support the supervisory process, including preparation of specifications of the IT system, advice on the design and development of templates for data collection / processing, creation of reports, storage of data, distribution of reports and data and the development of an appropriate system for analysing the data. Software solution shall enable the on-line supervision and on-line submission of different information/data. The implementation of such software is aimed at improving the MSEC reporting and analysis capability, as well as helping to monitor more closely the capital requirements of investment fund management companies and investment funds.
The Consultant is expected to clearly identify whether a new SRIS system will be developed or an existing product of the Consultant will be used.
The Consultant will be expected to, inter alia:
Assessment Phase
- Recommend a Steering Group including the MSEC staff, with decision making authority;
- Review the current supervisory /reporting system with clear identification and analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the system, as well as problems faced in carrying out the supervisory and reporting functions (this would also include an analysis of the responsibility/accountability lines relevant for supervision);
- Assist MSEC in evaluating its current data analysis requirements from a business perspective, through discussions with relevant parties in the securities market, examination of the existing legislation and preparatory work carried out by MSEC;
- Advise on the methodology for collection of data from investment fund management companies, investment funds and joint stock companies with special reporting obligations and implement the necessary infrastructure;
- Analyse the received information and prepare a project development plan based on such analysis. Phase II Development referred to below will start only upon MSECs approval of the said project development plan.
Development Phase
- Advise on the selection of the SRIS required for securities and investment law regulation and create standard reporting templates to fulfil these requirements ensuring that the SRIS enables the collection, storage and analysis of data in the format agreed;
- Agree on all important screen views and the ergonomic aspects of those views (navigation, readability, font sizes etc);
- Develop a test platform and carry-out testing of all application functionalities;
- Supervise the testing and the development of required forms/reports;
- Provide the technical infrastructure required to enable all interested parties to file their financial reports electronically with the MSEC. The SRIS should also be capable of accepting documents scanned and uploaded from other sources. The SRIS should also be capable for calculation of VaR, volatility and to have a possibility of stress-testing;
- Ensure interconnection and compatibility of the SRIS with the existing software for risk based supervision, reporting of joint-stock companies with special reporting obligations and reporting system of FYR Macedonian Stock Exchange (SEI-NET);
- Ensure possibility for cross-checking of data with compatible data vendors; 
- Upload existing database to SRIS.
Implementation Phase
- Design, prepare and install the production version of the SRIS and will conduct any necessary testing in order to verify that all application functionalities and modules are operational and error free;
- Ensure that investment fund management companies, investment funds and joint stock companies with special reporting obligations are able to file financial returns electronically with the MSEC. SRIS shall also be capable of accepting documents scanned and uploaded from other sources;
- Provide systems training to the MSEC staff and industry end-users as well as any necessary training guides or manuals, in addition to the practical hands-on training on the SRIS. The scope and the contents of such training will be agreed between the IT Company and the MSEC. In addition, the IT company will provide a detailed help manuals specifically tailored for MSEC staff and industry end-users, setting out how to use the SRIS. The manuals will also handle the main issues that arise during the training sessions;
- Ensure that the installation is fully documented and that all manuals are updated to correspond to the installed production version;
- Ensure that MSEC staff carries out a UAT (user acceptance test) on the delivered product capturing main system functionalities. Should any of the trainees fail the test, the IT Company will conduct an additional training to such trainees to ensure that all the participants have processed the information and can use the SRIS.
Post Implementation Phase
- Provide MSEC with the feedback on the results and outcomes of Phases I-III not later than 3 months after full implementation of Phase III, including any issues identified/ addressed or necessary supplementary training/manuals provided;
- Provide further SRIS enhancement to rectify problematic issues/bugs identified during Phases I-III (if any). The exact scope and timeframe for such enhancement will be agreed between MSEC and the Consultant. 
- Provide technical support to MSEC for 6 months following completion of the Phase III Implementation. Unless agreed otherwise with MSEC, the maximum turnaround time for response to any queries from MSEC will be 10 business days.
Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start in the first quarter of 2013 and has an estimated overall duration of 12 months.
Maximum budget available for the Assignment: EUR 110,000.00 exclusive of VAT. Subject to availability of funding, the performance of the Consultant and the specific needs of the MSEC, the Assignment may be extended beyond the scope of the Assignment as described above
The Consultant must determine whether any indirect taxes/VAT are chargeable on the proposed services and state the basis for such. If any indirect taxes/VAT are payable, the Client will have to pay indirect taxes/VAT element to the services directly to the Consultant unless otherwise agreed.
Funding Source: It is anticipated that the contract will be financed through the FYR Macedonia Financial Sector Fund managed by the EBRD.
Source: bne