Financial Auditing Tender

National Audit Office
157-197 Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria
Contact point(s): Central Procurement Team (CPT)
SW1W 9SP London
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 2077987000
E-mail: z3-procurement@nao.gsi.gov.uk

Internet address(es):

General address of the contracting authority: www.nao.org.uk

Address of the buyer profile: http://nao.g2b.info/

Electronic access to information: www.delta-esourcing.com/delta

Electronic submission of tenders and requests to participate: www.delta-esourcing.com/delta

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)

Body governed by public law

Economic and financial affairs

The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: no

Framework Agreement for Financial Audit and Assurance Services.

Services
Service category No 9: Accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services

NUTS code UKI

The notice involves the establishment of a framework agreement

Framework agreement with several operators
maximum number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged: 7

Duration of the framework agreement

Duration in months: 48

Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement

Estimated value excluding VAT: 40 000 000 GBP

Accounting, auditing and fiscal services. Accounting and auditing services. Financial auditing services. Auditing services. Statutory audit services. The National Audit Office (NAO) scrutinises public spending for Parliament and is independent of government. The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) is an Officer of the House of Commons and leads the NAO; he certifies the accounts of all UK government departments and many other public sector bodies. The NAO’s recommendations and reports on good practice help government to improve public services, and its work led to audited savings of 1 150 000 000 GBP in 2014.
The NAO is seeking to establish a framework for appointing firms able to deliver, or contribute to the delivery or development of, financial audit and other assurance engagements or related work for and on behalf of the C&AG. This work is required throughout the United Kingdom. The NAO currently has three major client groups (‘Lots’) from which it contracts-out financial audit work to firms providing financial audit and assurance services. The relevant contracts are due to expire, and the NAO intends to replace these groupings with a single framework covering all areas of central government. The contract will commence with work to support the audits of 2016-17 financial statements.
The services to be provided are expected to cover a wide range of resource and expertise and are expected to include, but are not limited to, external audit services, including providing reasonable assurance that income and expenditure have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament, and that financial transactions conform to the authorities which govern them (‘regularity’), as well as IT audits and information assurance work, related consultancy and provision of staff support and advice and training. This could require firms to undertake a range of work including, but not limited to, complete audits, the provision of specialist expertise on specific account or audit areas, and the provision of contract staff to work as part of NAO audit teams.

79200000, 79210000, 79212100, 79212000, 79212300

The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): yes

This contract is divided into lots: no

Variants will be accepted: no

Duration in months: 48 (from the award of the contract)

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Please see the NAO ITT for full details.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: The NAO will use the following formulas in its assessment of the potential provider’s financial and economic standing:
Liquidity ratio expresses a company’s ability to repay short-term creditors out of its total cash. The liquidity ratio is the result of dividing the total cash by short-term borrowings. It shows the number of times short-term liabilities are covered by cash.
Liquidity = (Current assets — Stock) / Current liabilities.
Pass: If the liquidity ratio is equal or greater than 1.00.
The formula/criteria is based around business critical risk as follows:
— High: There is a serious risk to the NAO’s ability to function and provide services to Parliament if the services cannot be provided;
— Medium: There is some risk to NAO’s ability to function efficiently;
— Low: There is little risk on NAO’s ability to perform its services to Parliament and the wider community;
The financial suitability of a supplier to provide services requires the following:
— Business Critical Risk (Low) = Supplier Net Worth must be at least = the total contract;
— Business Critical Risk (Medium) = Supplier Net Worth must be at least 2 times the total contract;
— Business Critical Risk (High) = Supplier Net Worth must be at least 3 times the total contract;
Net Worth = Fixed tangible assets + Current assets — Current liabilities — Long term liabilities;
Pass: If net worth is equal or greater than the contract value.
Please see the NAO ITT for further details.

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
Please see the NAO ITT for full details.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
The requirement includes core financial audit, as well as information assurance, and tax work. We therefore require bidders to demonstrate a core of CCAB-qualified accountants, as well as CISA-qualified information assurance and CTA qualified tax practitioners. Further information is available in the ITT.

Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: yes
Reference to the relevant law, regulation or administrative provision: Staff working on financial audits of companies under this framework agreement are required by the Companies Act 2006 to be Registered Auditors.

Legal persons should indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the execution of the service: no

Open

The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document

An electronic auction will be used: no

GEN_15_18

Prior information notice

Notice number in the OJEU: 2015/S 206-374007 of 23.10.2015

Time limit for receipt of requests for documents or for accessing documents: 12.1.2016 – 10:00
Payable documents: no

13.1.2016 – 10:00

English.

in days: 120 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)

Date: 14.1.2016 – 10:00

Place:

Delta esourcing portal.

Persons authorised to be present at the opening of tenders: no

This is a recurrent procurement: yes
Estimated timing for further notices to be published: 50 months.

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

The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.
The NAO is moving away from a system of lots towards a single framework across its portfolio of clients. This is to ensure that NAO teams are able to draw from a wider range of resource and expertise from across the private sector and to drive efficiencies by increasing the volume of work available to our framework partners.
The ‘Main place of performance or of delivery’ at II.1.2) states ‘London’. Please note that services are required throughout the whole of the United Kingdom.
Please note that the date at IV.3.3) Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document (in the case of a competitive dialogue) is not applicable.
The procurement for the Financial Audit and Assurance Services Framework Agreement will be managed electronically via BIPs Delta e-Sourcing Suite. To participate in this forthcoming procurement, suppliers must first be registered on the e-Sourcing Suite. If you have not yet registered on the e-Sourcing Suite, this can be done online at www.delta-esourcing.com Potential providers must keep their contact details on the Delta e-Sourcing portal up to date or they will be unable to receive communications from the NAO. If tenderers experience any problems with registering they should contact BiP’s Delta e-Sourcing helpdesk (+44 8452707050) or email: helpdesk@delta-ets.com for assistance.For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at:

https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Victoria:-Accounting%2C-auditing-and-fiscal-services./96346393H9

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:

https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/96346393H9

GO Reference: GO-2015124-PRO-7415379.

Body responsible for mediation procedures

National Audit Office
Victoria

Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: The Contracting Authority will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the point when information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. Participants who are unsuccessful shall be informed by the Contracting Authority as soon as possible after the decision has been made as to the reasons why the participant was unsuccessful. If an appeal regarding the award of the contract has not been successfully resolved, The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/102), as amended, provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by breach of the rules to take legal action. Any such action must be brought within the applicable limitation period.

4.12.2015