Auditor for Audit Scotland

The Scottish Commission for Public Audit
The Scottish Parliament, Procurement Services
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP
United Kingdom
Contact person: Dorothy Houston
Telephone: +44 1313486620
E-mail: procurement@parliament.scot
NUTS code: UKM25

Internet address(es):Main address: http://www.parliament.scot

Address of the buyer profile: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA10284

The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scottishparliament/aspx/Home

Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address

Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scottishparliament/aspx/Home

Body governed by public law

Other activity: Scottish Commission for Public Audit

Auditor for Audit Scotland.

Reference number: NIC/SER/368

Services

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, on behalf of the Scottish Commission for Public Audit requires a Contractor to audit the accounts of Audit Scotland on an annual basis, as defined in the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000.

The Contractor may also be required to carry out examinations into Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness or other audit needs as required.

The Contractor must have experience of auditing annual accounts within a public sector context and must not carry out audits on behalf of Audit Scotland for the duration of the Contract.

Value excluding VAT: 100 000.00 GBP

This contract is divided into lots: no

NUTS code: UKM

Main site or place of performance:

Edinburgh.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, on behalf of the Scottish Commission for Public Audit requires a Contractor to audit the accounts of Audit Scotland on an annual basis, as defined in the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000.

The Contractor may be required to carry out examinations into Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness or other audit needs as required.

The Contractor must have experience of auditing annual accounts within a public sector context and must not carry out audits on behalf of Audit Scotland for the duration of the Contract.

Criteria below

Quality criterion – Name: Service delivery / Weighting: 60

Price – Weighting: 40

Value excluding VAT: 100 000.00 GBP

Duration in months: 48

This contract is subject to renewal: yes

Description of renewals:

The contract duration may be extended by up to 12 months with the agreement of the Contractor and the SCPA.

Variants will be accepted: no

Options: no

The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no

Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

List and brief description of conditions:

With reference to ESPD question 3D.12 — bidders cannot be considered for this contract if, within the duration of the contract, they carry out audits of public bodies on behalf of Audit Scotland, as this would constitute a conflict of interest.

With reference to ESPD question 4A.1 — if required by the member state, bidders are required to be enrolled in the relevant professional or trade registers within the country in which they are established.

With reference to ESPD question 4A.2 — where it is required within a bidder’s country of establishment they must confirm which authorisation or memberships of the relevant organisations are required in order to perform this service.

With reference to ESPD question 4C.1.2 — bidders will be required to provide 1 example that demonstrates that they have the relevant experience to deliver the services as described in part II.2.4) of the Contract Notice. This example must be for a publicly funded body (e.g. Government Agencies, NDPB’s, Local Authorities NHS bodies, etc.) or publicly regulated organisations such as Registered Social Landlords or Charities.

With reference to ESPD question 4C.6 — bidders will be required to confirm that they are eligible for appointment as a company auditor under section 1219 (1) (b) of the Companies Act 2006 or a member of a body of accountants established in the United Kingdom or another EEA State. ‘EEA State’ means any State which is a Contracting Party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2.5.1992, as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17.3.1993.

List and brief description of selection criteria:

On behalf of the SCPA, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) uses Creditsafe, an independent provider of online business credit reports, to assess the financial standing of tenderers. Tenderers are encouraged to review their financial performance on Creditsafe and read information about how that data is collected and used prior to submitting a tender. Information and the opportunity to run a free report can be found at: http://www.creditsafe.com/products/business-credit-reports/ If a tenderer does not agree with the credit rating it has been given it can provide supporting evidence to demonstrate its current position and this will be taken into account when the financial standing is being assessed.

If a tenderer is not listed on Creditsafe, for whatever reason, then it may be asked to submit equivalent accounts to enable the required assessment of financial standing to be carried out.

Tenderers should have a Creditsafe credit rating of 30 or higher to demonstrate satisfactory financial standing. If a tenderer has a lower credit rating score and has the backing of a parent company with a credit rating of 30 or higher the provision of a Parent Company Guarantee prior to the award of any contract will be acceptable. If a tenderer has a lower credit rating score and no evidence to support a stable or improved financial standing then the tender may be rejected.

Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:

With reference to ESPD question 4B.5, it is a requirement that bidders hold, or can commit to obtain prior to the commencement of any subsequently awarded contract, the types and levels of insurance indicated below:

Employers’ (Compulsory) Liability Insurance 5 000 000 GBP;

Professional Indemnity Insurance 5 000 000 GBP.

List and brief description of selection criteria:

With reference to ESPD question 4C.1.2 — this question will not be weighted and will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis. Bidders will be required to provide 1 example to demonstrate that they have the relevant experience to deliver the services as described in part II.2.4) of the Contract Notice. This example should be for a publicly funded body such as Government Agencies, NDPB’s, Local Authorities NHS bodies, etc. or publicly regulated organisations such as Registered Social Landlords or Charities.

Ref 4C.10 (10) Bidders will be required to confirm whether they intend to subcontract and, if so, for what proportion of the contract.

Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:

Ref 4C.6 This question will not be weighted and will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis. Bidders will be required to confirm that they are eligible for appointment as a company auditor under section 1219 (1) (b) of the Companies Act 2006 or a member of a body of accountants established in the United Kingdom or another EEA State. ‘EEA State’ means any State which is a Contracting Party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2.5.1992, as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17.3.1993.

Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession

Reference to the relevant law, regulation or administrative provision:

Bidders will be required to confirm that they are eligible for appointment as a company auditor under section 1219 (1) (b) of the Companies Act 2006 or a member of a body of accountants established in the United Kingdom or another EEA State. ‘EEA State’ means any State which is a Contracting Party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2.5.1992, as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17.3.1993.

Bidders cannot be considered for this contract if, within the duration of the contract, they carry out audits of public bodies on behalf of Audit Scotland, as this would constitute a conflict of interest.

Obligation to indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff assigned to performing the contract

Open procedure

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes

Date: 19/08/2016

Local time: 12:00

English

Tender must be valid until: 30/12/2016

Date: 19/08/2016

Local time: 12:30

This is a recurrent procurement: no

With reference to ESDP question 2A.18 — Lots are not considered appropriate for the nature of this requirement.

With reference to ESPD questions 2A.17, 2C and 2D — please ensure that any participants and subcontractors provide a separate ESPD response.

With respect to ESPD Part III (Exclusion Grounds)- bidders may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

The duration of this contract has been specifically designed not to overlap with Audit Scotland’s next appointment of auditors, in order to ensure that service providers are not excluded from that procurement process.

The SPCB, on behalf of the SCPA, does not commit to letting a contract for all or any part of the requirement listed should it become evident that it is not economically viable to do so.

The SPCB, on behalf of the SCPA, will not be liable for any costs incurred by those expressing an interest in or tendering for this contract.

The SPCB, on behalf of the SCPA, provides no guarantee to the volume or value of business that will be procured from the contract throughout its term.

The SPCB uses an electronic system called ‘In-tend’ to manage the tender process. The tender documentation for this contract will be issued and collected electronically via the ‘current tenders’ tab on the e-tendering website: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scottishparliament

Guidance is available on the e-tendering system but additional help can be obtained by calling Procurement on 0131 3486620.

(SC Ref:450393).

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body
The Scottish Parliament, Procurement Services
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 1313486620Internet address:http://www.parliament.scot

04/07/2016