Financial Audit Services for Northern Ireland Audit Office 2017 – 2018
The Northern Ireland Audit Office is seeking to establish contracts for financial audit services to be allocated in 10 Lots.
United Kingdom-Belfast: Financial auditing services
2017/S 163-336207
Contract notice
Services
Directive 2014/24/EU
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name and addresses
106 University Street
Belfast
BT7 1EU
United Kingdom
Contact person: The Procurement Manager
E-mail: procurement@niauditoffice.gov.uk
NUTS code: UKN
I.3)Communication
I.4)Type of the contracting authority
I.5)Main activity
Section II: Object
II.1.1)Title:
Financial Audit Services on behalf of the Northern Ireland Audit Office 2017 – 2018.
II.1.2)Main CPV code
II.1.3)Type of contract
II.1.4)Short description:
The Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) is seeking to establish contracts for financial audit services to be allocated in 10 (ten) lots. These will appoint service providers for the provision of financial auditing services, and other work to support and assist the NIAO where appropriate and where required in its external audit functions. The NIAO is responsible for the financial audit of Northern Ireland Government Departments, their executive agencies and a wide range of other public bodies, including health and personal social services and local government bodies.
II.1.6)Information about lots
II.2.1)Title:
Financial audit of Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT)
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
Northern Ireland.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
Financial Audit of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust — Public Funds account; Patients’ and Residents’ Monies account and Charitable Trust Funds account.
The successful tenderer will provide financial audit services for the NIAO. The contract shall cover the audit of the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 accounts, with the option of extending annually to cover the 2020-21 and 2021-22 accounts.
The audit work for which proposals are invited is confined to:
— that leading to an audit opinion on the three sets of financial statements of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and part of the Remuneration and Staff Report; and
— a review of the Governance Statement of the three sets of financial statements of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.
The NIAO will place reliance each year on the shadow audit certificate produced by the firm for the three sets of financial statements of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in preparing the C&AG’s audit certificate.
The audit work does not include value for money aspects, although any value for money matters arising as a result of the audit work should be brought to the attention of the NIAO. It also does not extend to the audit of the accounts of any bodies funded by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.6)Estimated value
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
The anticipated annual value of services is in the region of 58 000 GBP (excluding VAT) subject to the requirements. The contract period will be for 3 years with the possibility of 2 annual extensions.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.1)Title:
Financial Audit of Southern Health and Social Care Trust (SHSCT)
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
Northern Ireland.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
Financial Audit of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust — Public Funds account; Patients’ and Residents’ Monies account and Charitable Trust Funds account.
The successful tenderer will provide financial audit services for the NIAO. The contract shall cover the audit of the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 accounts, with the option of extending annually to cover the 2020-21 and 2021-22 accounts.
The audit work for which proposals are invited is confined to:
— that leading to an audit opinion on the financial statements of Southern Health and Social Care Trust and part of the Remuneration Report; and
— a review of the Governance Statement of Southern Health and Social Care Trust.
The NIAO will place reliance each year on the shadow audit certificate produced by the firm for the accounts of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in preparing the C&AG’s audit certificate.
The audit work does not include value for money aspects, although any value for money matters arising as a result of the audit work should be brought to the attention of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO). It also does not extend to the audit of the accounts of any bodies funded by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust.
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.6)Estimated value
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
The anticipated annual value of services is in the region of 39 500 GBP (excluding VAT) subject to the requirements. The contract period will be for 3 years with the possibility of 2 annual extensions.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.1)Title:
Financial Audit of Western Health and Social Care Trust
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
Northern Ireland.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
Financial Audit of the Western Health and Social Care Trust — Public Funds account; Patients’ and Residents’ Monies account and Charitable Trust Funds account
The successful tenderer will provide financial audit services for the NIAO. The contract shall cover the audit of the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 accounts, with the option of extending annually to cover the 2020-21 and 2021-22 accounts.
The audit work for which proposals are invited is confined to:
— that leading to an audit opinion on the financial statements of Western Health and Social Care Trust and part of the Remuneration Report; and
— a review of the Governance Statement of Western Health and Social Care Trust.
The NIAO will place reliance each year on the shadow audit certificate produced by the firm for the accounts of Western Health and Social Care Trust in preparing the C&AG’s audit certificate.
The audit work does not include value for money aspects, although any value for money matters arising as a result of the audit work should be brought to the attention of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO). It also does not extend to the audit of the accounts of any bodies funded by the Western Health and Social Care Trust.
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.6)Estimated value
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
The anticipated annual value of services is in the region of 54 000 GBP (excluding VAT) subject to the requirements. The contract period will be for 3 years with the possibility of 2 annual extensions.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.1)Title:
Financial Audit of the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA)
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
Northern Ireland.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
Financial Audit of the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA)
The successful tenderer will provide financial audit services for the NIAO. The contract shall cover the audit of the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 accounts, with the option of extending annually to cover the 2020-21 and 2021-22 accounts.
The audit work for which proposals are invited is confined to:
— that leading to an audit opinion on the financial statements of Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority and part of the Remuneration Report; and
— a review of the Governance Statement of Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority.
The NIAO will place reliance each year on the shadow audit certificate produced by the firm for the accounts of Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority in preparing the C&AG’s audit certificate.
The audit work does not include value for money aspects, although any value for money matters arising as a result of the audit work should be brought to the attention of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO). It also does not extend to the audit of the accounts of any bodies funded by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority.
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.6)Estimated value
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
The anticipated annual value of services is in the region of 8 000 GBP (excluding VAT) subject to the requirements. The contract period will be for 3 years with the possibility of 2 annual extensions.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.1)Title:
Financial Audit of the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust (PRRT)
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
Northern Ireland.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
The successful tenderer will provide financial audit services for the NIAO. The contract shall cover the audit of the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 accounts, with the option of extending annually to cover the 2020-21 and 2021-22 accounts.
The audit work for which proposals are invited is confined to:
— that leading to an audit opinion on the financial statements of PRRT and parts of the Remuneration and Staff Report; and
— a review of the Governance Statement of PRRT.
NIAO will place reliance each year on the audit work carried out on accounts of PRRT for its audit of DoJ.
The audit work does not include value for money aspects, although any value for money matters arising as a result of the audit work should be brought to the attention of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO).
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.6)Estimated value
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
The anticipated annual value of services is in the region of 10 000 GBP (excluding VAT) subject to the requirements. The contract period will be for 3 years with the possibility of 2 annual extensions.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.1)Title:
Financial Audit of the Northern Ireland Screen Commission
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
Northern Ireland.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
The successful tenderer will provide financial audit services for the NIAO. The contract shall cover the audit of the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 accounts, with the option of extending annually to cover the 2020-21 and 2021-22 accounts.
The audit work for which proposals are invited is confined to:
— that leading to an audit opinion on the financial statements of Northern Ireland Screen Commission (NI Screen) and part of the Remuneration Report; and
— a review of the Governance Statement of NI Screen.
The NIAO will place reliance each year on the audit work carried out on the accounts of NI Screen for its audit of the Department for the Economy (DfE).
The audit work does not include value for money aspects, although any value for money matters arising as a result of the audit work should be brought to the attention of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO). It also does not extend to the audit of the accounts of any bodies funded by NI Screen.
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.6)Estimated value
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
The anticipated annual value of services is in the region of 6 500 GBP (excluding VAT) subject to the requirements. The contract period will be for 3 years with the possibility of 2 annual extensions.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.1)Title:
Financial Audit of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service for two sets of accounts:
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
Northern Ireland.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
Financial Audit of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service for two sets of accounts:
(a) Operating Account; and
(b) Pension Funds Account.
The successful tenderer will provide financial audit services for the NIAO. The contract shall cover the audit of the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years for both sets of accounts (the operating account and the pension funds account) with the option of extending annually to cover the 2020-21 and 2021-22 accounts.
For both sets of accounts of NIFRS, the audit work for which proposals are invited is confined to:
— that leading to an audit opinion on the financial statements and part of the Remuneration Report; and
— a review of the Governance Statement.
The NIAO will place reliance each year on both shadow audit certificates produced by the firm for the accounts of NIFRS in preparing the C&AG’s audit certificate. The NIAO will also take the results of the audit of NIFRS into account in the audit of the DoH’s accounts.
The audit work does not include value for money aspects, although any value for money matters arising as a result of the audit work should be brought to the attention of NIAO. It also does not extend to the audit of the accounts of any bodies funded by NIFRS.
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.6)Estimated value
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
The anticipated annual value of services is in the region of 25 250 GBP (excluding VAT) subject to the requirements. The contract period will be for 3 years with the possibility of 2 annual extensions.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.1)Title:
Financial Audit of the Libraries Authority Northern Ireland (NILA)
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
Northern Ireland.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
The successful tenderer will provide financial audit services for the NIAO. The contract shall cover the audit of the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 accounts, with the option of extending annually to cover the 2020-21 and 2021-22 accounts.
The audit work for which proposals are invited is confined to:
— that leading to an audit opinion on the financial statements of NILA and parts of the Remuneration and Staffing Report; and
— a review of the Governance Statement of NILA.
NIAO will place reliance each year on the audit work carried out on accounts of NILA for its audit of DfC.
The audit work does not include value for money aspects, although any value for money matters arising as a result of the audit work should be brought to the attention of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO).
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.6)Estimated value
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
The anticipated annual value of services is in the region of 32 000 GBP (excluding VAT) subject to the requirements. The contract period will be for 3 years with the possibility of 2 annual extensions.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.1)Title:
Financial Audit of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP)
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
Northern Ireland.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
The successful tenderer will provide financial audit services for the NIAO. The contract shall cover the audit of the 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 accounts, with the option of extending annually to cover the 2019-20 and 2020-21 accounts.
The audit work for which proposals are invited is confined to:
— that leading to an audit opinion on the financial statements of AOP and parts of the Remuneration and Staff Report; and
— a review of the Governance Statement of AOP.
NIAO will place reliance each year on the audit work carried out on accounts of AOP for its audit of DfC.
The audit work does not include value for money aspects, although any value for money matters arising as a result of the audit work should be brought to the attention of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO).
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.6)Estimated value
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
The anticipated annual value of services is in the region of 5 167 GBP (excluding VAT) subject to the requirements. The contract period will be for 3 years with the possibility of 2 annual extensions.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.1)Title:
IT Audit of HR Connect
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
Northern Ireland.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
The successful tenderer will provide IT audit services for the NIAO. The contract shall cover the audit of the HR Connect systems in as far as it impacts on the financial statements of bodies using HR Connect to process its payroll. The audit will be limited to HR Connect itself and does not extend to processes and controls put in place by those bodies using HR Connect. The audit work will include the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 financial years, with the option of extending annually to cover the 2020-21 and 2021-22 accounts.
As required by ISA 315 the auditor of the financial statements of those bodies which use HR Connect to deliver payroll services are required to ‘identify and assess the risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, through understanding the entity and its environment, including the entity’s internal control.’
Part of understanding the entity and its environment is to understand the information system, of which the use of Information Technology (IT) is part. The auditor must understand and assess the risks arising from the use of IT and identify and assess the controls that have been put in place to mitigate these. ISA 315 states that ‘controls over IT systems are effective when they maintain the integrity of information and the security of the data such systems process and include effective IT controls and application controls’.
Accordingly, this work will lead to an opinion over the integrity of the information and security of the data held on and processed by HR Connect. The opinion should conclude whether there is a material risk to the payroll figures taken from HR Connect by those bodies using it and subsequently included in their financial statements.
The audit will require HR Connect to be risk assessed and an audit approach devised on the findings of this assessment. This will include a review of the general IT environment controls and the specific application controls surrounding the input, processing and output of data/information.
This will lead to a shadow ISA 402 report to NIAO.
This report will then be provided to the auditors of the financial statements of those bodies using HR Connect and will contribute to the total audit assurance supporting the opinion on those financial statements.
The audit work does not include value for money aspects, although any value for money matters arising as a result of the audit work should be brought to the attention of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO).
d to a shadow ISA 402 report to NIAO.
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.6)Estimated value
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
The anticipated annual value of services is in the region of 22 514 GBP (excluding VAT) subject to the requirements. The contract period will be for 3 years with the possibility of 2 annual extensions.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1.1)Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
Tenders must confirm their status as a registered auditor.
Tenderers must confirm that they are able to comply with NIAO’s seven year policy for rotation of engagement partners and managers. The policy includes work on previous organisations which have subsequently merged.
Tenderers must confirm that they are capable of fulfilling the Audit Assignment regardless of location. This Audit Assignment may require attendance at a number of locations within the organisation.
Tenderers must confirm that they are able to comply with the timetable.
The selected firm(s) will carry out its work in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) issued by the Auditing Practices Board (APB), and report on the results of its audit of the account to the responsible staff in the NIAO.
III.1.2)Economic and financial standing
III.1.3)Technical and professional ability
III.2.1)Information about a particular profession
Tenderers must confirm their status as a registered auditor.
The selected firm will carry out its work in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) issued by the Auditing Practices Board (APB), and report on the results of its audit of the account to the responsible staff in the NIAO.
III.2.3)Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedure
IV.1.8)Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
IV.2.2)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
IV.2.4)Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted:
IV.2.6)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
IV.2.7)Conditions for opening of tenders
Northern Ireland Audit Office, 106 University Street, Belfast, BT7 1EU.
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about recurrence
VI.2)Information about electronic workflows
VI.4.1)Review body
Belfast
United Kingdom
VI.4.3)Review procedure
‘The Northern Ireland Audit Office [this authority] will incorporate a standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide the information required by Regulation 86 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015 No 102) [the Regulations] regarding the award decision. The standstill period, which will be for a minimum of 10 calendar days, provides time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.
The Regulations provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) within 30 days of knowledge or constructive knowledge of breach.’
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:
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