--- title: "CARD Financial service - Panel for Forensic Accounting and Audit & Assurance, including post 16 funding audit" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-e0ac87f6-7134-4f9b-8f3b-27afc17c305c" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-e0ac87f6-7134-4f9b-8f3b-27afc17c305c" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-e0ac87f6-7134-4f9b-8f3b-27afc17c305c.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-e0ac87f6-7134-4f9b-8f3b-27afc17c305c.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION" published: "2025-01-31" --- # CARD Financial service - Panel for Forensic Accounting and Audit & Assurance, including post 16 funding audit Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-b5fd17-e0ac87f6-7134-4f9b-8f3b-27afc17c305c [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-e0ac87f6-7134-4f9b-8f3b-27afc17c305c) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-e0ac87f6-7134-4f9b-8f3b-27afc17c305c.json) ## Summary 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. ## Notice 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. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c31b22da-194e-4431-9848-70e5aa3bb3fb | | 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 | | All stages | Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 31 Jan 2025 | | Submission deadline | 3 Mar 2025 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 7 Apr 2025 - 31 Mar 2028 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION | | Locality | SHEFFIELD | | Post town | Sheffield | | Postcode | S1 2FJ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber | | ITL 2 | TLE3 South Yorkshire | | ITL 3 | TLE32 Sheffield | | Local authority | Sheffield | | Electoral ward | City | | Westminster constituency | Sheffield Central | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security ### Codes - 79212100 - Financial auditing services ## Release History - 31 Jan 2025 at 13:52 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c31b22da-194e-4431-9848-70e5aa3bb3fb ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c31b22da-194e-4431-9848-70e5aa3bb3fb 31st January 2025 - Opportunity notice on Contracts Finder - https://education.app.jaggaer.com/go/304921000191C1F1E82E Register to Project_9240 in Jaggaer to take part in the opportunity ## 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-e0ac87f6-7134-4f9b-8f3b-27afc17c305c. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-e0ac87f6-7134-4f9b-8f3b-27afc17c305c.json.