---
title: "con_27930 Audit, Assurance and Forensic Accounting & Investigation Support"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-8efcff90-aa38-4021-9eca-fa115fd37457"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-8efcff90-aa38-4021-9eca-fa115fd37457"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8efcff90-aa38-4021-9eca-fa115fd37457.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8efcff90-aa38-4021-9eca-fa115fd37457.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION"
published: "2025-07-04"
---

# con_27930 Audit, Assurance and Forensic Accounting & Investigation Support

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-8efcff90-aa38-4021-9eca-fa115fd37457

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-8efcff90-aa38-4021-9eca-fa115fd37457)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8efcff90-aa38-4021-9eca-fa115fd37457.json)

## Summary

The Department for Education has concluded the procurement process for the contract titled "con_27930 Audit, Assurance and Forensic Accounting & Investigation Support" within the accounting and auditing services industry. This contract, valued at £570,000, encompasses a call-off from a framework agreement and falls under the "services" procurement category. The awarding process was selective, and the award was granted on 6 June 2025 to HW Controls & Assurance Ltd (trading as Validera). This initiative covers substantial geographical locations across the United Kingdom, including regions such as North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and London, with the contract period commencing on 1 April 2025 and concluding on 31 March 2028.

This tender presents significant opportunities for business growth, particularly for SMEs and VCSEs with expertise in audit and forensic accounting. Companies well-suited to compete for such opportunities would ideally possess sector-specific knowledge and technical expertise in providing oversight on fund usage and managing audits for training provider data. Ensuring compliance and transparency, this contract not only aids the Department for Education in oversight responsibilities but also offers specialised firms the chance to showcase their capabilities on a national scale.

## Notice

This work is specialist in nature and requires sector and technical expertise. The assurance/investigations work covered by the procurement is essential to CARD's oversight responsibilities and providing an opinion on use of funds for the purposes intended as well as investigating allegations of misuse of funds. Lot 1 covers Post 16 funding assurance audit reviews for auditing training provider data return.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/86ffdab8-3bb5-4371-8519-181285ca90f3 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Call-off from a framework agreement |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 4 Jul 2025 |
| Submission deadline | 3 Mar 2025 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 5 Jun 2025 |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2025 - 31 Mar 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £570,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £570,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 3BT |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | HW CONTROLS & ASSURANCE LTD (TRADING AS VALIDERA |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79210000 - Accounting and auditing services

## Release History

- 4 Jul 2025 at 14:29 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/86ffdab8-3bb5-4371-8519-181285ca90f3

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/86ffdab8-3bb5-4371-8519-181285ca90f3
  4th July 2025 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/885abc3d-94ee-48aa-8edf-b9ae7d69f86a
  n/a

## Notice URLs

- https://www.gov.uk/dfe

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-8efcff90-aa38-4021-9eca-fa115fd37457. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-8efcff90-aa38-4021-9eca-fa115fd37457.json.