Financial Audit Services Preston
Financial Audit of the Group and it’s subsidiary companies.
United Kingdom-Preston: Financial auditing services
2014/S 094-165004
Contract notice
Services
Directive 2004/18/EC
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)
Places for People Group Limited for itself and on behalf of its present and future subsidiaries (the contracting authority) and all other bodies identified in the paragraph II.2.1) Total quantity or scope
4 The Pavilions, Portway
For the attention of: Lisa Gallacher
PR2 2YB Preston
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 1772897200
E-mail: lisa.gallacher@placesforpeople.co.uk
Internet address(es):
General address of the contracting authority: www.placesforpeople.co.uk
Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: The above mentioned contact point(s)
I.2)Type of the contracting authority
I.3)Main activity
I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities
Section II: Object of the contract
II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:
II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance
Service category No 9: Accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services
NUTS code UK
II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)
II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)
II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)
79212100
II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
II.1.8)Lots
II.1.9)Information about variants
II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
Places for People requires the following specific audit services that will constitute the basis of the audit fee:
— To form an opinion on the individual financial statements of Places for People Group Limited;
— To form an opinion on the individual statutory financial statements of the subsidiaries of Places for People Group Limited;
— To provide an audit on approximately 30 individual service charge accounts from across the Groups subsidiaries;
— To provide comfort letters where required to the Group’s investors;
— Liaising with the internal audit team and place reliance on their work where appropriate;
— Attendance at the Group Audit and Risk Committee and the preparation and presentation of comprehensive reports and findings documents to the Committee.
The audit firm must have the capacity to deliver this size of contract and to evidence experience of similar sized organisations.
Over the course of the past 12 months, the Group has increased from a turnover for the year ending 31.3.2013 of GBP 380 m to a turnover of approximately GBP 485 m for the year ending 31.3.2014, with over 30 trading subsidiaries across the Group.
Due to the geographical location of the Groups subsidiaries it is imperative that the audit firm has offices throughout England and Scotland in order to undertake the site fieldwork from a local office to certain individual subsidiaries. Currently the audit of Places for People Leisure, RMG and Touchstone are the only audits which will be undertaken by local teams with all other audits completed from the Preston Office.
It is expected that the tenderer will be a specialist in the Registered Provider sector and have knowledge of the current issues that are impacting on the sector and the impact that this will have on the Group. It is also expected that the tenderer will have an insight on whatever other issues that are being considered by the stakeholders in the sector, for example the regulator and the SORP working party, to ensure that the Group is best prepared for any upcoming changes to accounting rules or financial legislative changes.
Although there is an expectation that the tenderer will have the specialist knowledge of the Registered Provider sector, it must not be limited to this. Approximately 49 % of the Groups turnover comes from services outside of social housing activities. The Group therefore needs an auditor that has a technical expertise in a wide range of sectors including the development and leisure industries.
The auditor will be engaged for a period of 3 years with an option to extend by a further 2 years, with the first year of engagement being the Group’s financial year ending 31.3.2015.
II.2.2)Information about options
II.2.3)Information about renewals
Number of possible renewals: 2
II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completion
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:
III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
III.1.4)Other particular conditions
Description of particular conditions: Under the contract the appointed economic operator and its supply chain will be required to actively participate in the achievement of social, community and/or environmental policy objectives relating to recruitment and training, community benefits and supply chain initiatives which are relevant and proportionate to this contract.
Accordingly the contract performance conditions may relate in particular to social, community and environmental considerations. Other conditions of the contract with which the successful company will be required to comply will be set out in the tender documentation.
III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
III.2.2)Economic and financial ability
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: As detailed in the Invitation to Tender documents.
III.2.3)Technical capacity
As detailed in the Invitation to Tender documents.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
As detailed in the Invitation to Tender documents.
III.3.1)Information about a particular profession
III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedure
IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue
IV.2.1)Award criteria
The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated below
1. Qualitative. Weighting 50
2. Pricing. Weighting 30
3. Interview. Weighting 20
IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction
IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract
IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document
Payable documents: no
IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up
IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
IV.3.8)Conditions for opening of tenders
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about recurrence
VI.2)Information about European Union funds
VI.3)Additional information
The Contracting Authority intends to use an eTendering system in this procurement exercise.
Expressions of interest and requests for additional information and access to the invitation to tender documents should be emailed tolisa.gallacher@placesforpeople.co.uk before midday on 23.6.2014.
Please title your email “Financial Audit Services” and provide the following contact details: company name, contact name, telephone, email address and postal address.
Applicants will then receive a login to Ariba Sourcing and will be able to view and download invitation to tender documents, additional information and submit invitation to tender responses.
Invitation to tender responses should be submitted online using Ariba Sourcing no later than midday on 23.6.2014. Applicants should allow plenty of time to complete and submit response by the deadline.
Please note that Ariba Sourcing will be unavailable during the hours 9:00 to 10:00 UK time during weekdays to enable new expressions of interest to be set up and provided with their login details. Applicants should provide their username if they already have a profile for Ariba Sourcing.
Save for any mandatory periods, the timescales indicated in this notice are approximate and the Contracting Authority reserves the right to amend the same.
VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures
High Court of England and Wales
Royal Courts of Justice, Strand
WC2A 2LL London
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 2079476000
Body responsible for mediation procedures
High Court of England and Wales
Royal Courts of Justice, Strand
WC2A 2LL London
Telephone: +44 2079476000
VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained
Cabinet Office
1 Horse Guard’s Road
SW1A 2HQ London
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 8450004999
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice: