Tender

CARD Financial service - Panel for Forensic Accounting and Audit & Assurance, including post 16 funding audit

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Tender

31 Jan 2025 at 13:52

Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education is inviting tenders for a framework contract titled "CARD Financial service - Panel for Forensic Accounting and Audit & Assurance, including post 16 funding audit." This procurement falls under the Financial auditing services category and aims to secure a panel of suppliers for various audit and assurance services. The project is being managed through an open procedure and targets multiple regions, including the British Overseas Territories, Channel Islands, Europe, the Isle of Man, the rest of the world, and the United Kingdom. Key deadlines include the tender period ending on 3rd March 2025, with the contract anticipated to run from 8th April 2025 to 31st March 2028.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in financial auditing, forensic accounting, and assurance services. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) are particularly encouraged to apply. The procurement is structured into three distinct lots, each with specific requirements and outputs, ensuring that a diverse range of suppliers can participate and potentially expand their business by offering specialised services. Firms with strong capabilities in post-16 funding rules, general assurance reviews, and forensic accounting across various educational sectors will be well-suited to compete for this contract.

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Notice Title

CARD Financial service - Panel for Forensic Accounting and Audit & Assurance, including post 16 funding audit

Notice Description

This is a BAU procurement for audit capacity to support our annual assurance programme and Investigation support. We need 3 different "lots". Lot 1 to cover the annual programme of outsourced post-16 funding assurance reviews (post-16 funding audits). We will seek a panel of up to 5 audit firms to deliver this for us, with outputs being an audit report using the DFE/ESFA assurance tests and an audit opinion from the firms. These require detailed knowledge and experience of post-16 funding rules applicable to funding paid for adult skills,16-19 study packages or apprenticeships training. Lot 2 to cover the combined post-16 and pre-16 general assurance reviews and frameworks support. We will seek up to 10 firms to work with across both the pre-16 and post-16 sector. For this lot before we allocate work to firm(s) we will select the firm most able to deliver the services required through a mini-competition / rota to secure best value and to ensure the specific sector skills and expertise is demonstrated. Lot 3 to provide suitable firms capable of delivering forensic accounting and investigation support services nationally. We will seek up to 10 suppliers who will be awarded work on a rota basis. The output for this work will be an evidence-based findings report which can be shared with the provider in scope.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-e0ac87f6-7134-4f9b-8f3b-27afc17c305c
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c31b22da-194e-4431-9848-70e5aa3bb3fb
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure (below threshold)
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security


CPV Codes

79212100 - Financial auditing services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
31 Jan 20251 years ago
Submission Deadline
3 Mar 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
7 Apr 2025 - 31 Mar 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION
Contact Name
Commercial Team
Contact Email
core.procurement@education.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
SHEFFIELD
Postcode
S1 2FJ
Post Town
Sheffield
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLE3 South Yorkshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLE32 Sheffield
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
Sheffield
Electoral Ward
City
Westminster Constituency
Sheffield Central

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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