--- title: "Accountancy Services Contract for the Academy Sector Annual Report and Accounts (SARA)" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-e4fa740d-a7ca-4d38-8dcf-3a71bd9a1881" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-e4fa740d-a7ca-4d38-8dcf-3a71bd9a1881" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-e4fa740d-a7ca-4d38-8dcf-3a71bd9a1881.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-e4fa740d-a7ca-4d38-8dcf-3a71bd9a1881.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION" published: "2018-01-04" --- # Accountancy Services Contract for the Academy Sector Annual Report and Accounts (SARA) Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-b5fd17-e4fa740d-a7ca-4d38-8dcf-3a71bd9a1881 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-e4fa740d-a7ca-4d38-8dcf-3a71bd9a1881) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-e4fa740d-a7ca-4d38-8dcf-3a71bd9a1881.json) ## Summary The Department for Education is seeking tenders for the "Accountancy Services Contract for the Academy Sector Annual Report and Accounts (SARA)" as part of its planning stage. This contract, valued at approximately £5 million, is intended to support the production of standalone annual reports for the academy sector. The contract will commence around May/June 2018, with services starting by November 2018, and is expected to run for three years until December 2021, with potential extensions. Interested parties have until 10th January 2018 to register for supplier engagement events taking place on 12th January 2018. This procurement presents a significant opportunity for firms specialising in accountancy services, particularly those experienced in handling large datasets and public sector reporting. Companies that can demonstrate expertise in technical accounting analysis, project planning, and stakeholder management will be well-positioned to compete. The supplier engagement events will also allow prospective bidders to gain insights into the Department's requirements and refine their proposals accordingly, making this a valuable opportunity for growth in the public sector marketplace. ## Notice The Department for Education (DfE) secured agreement from Parliament to remove the academy sector from its consolidation boundary from the financial year 2016-2017 and to prepare a separate standalone Annual Report & Accounts (ARA) for the academy sector for the academic year 2015/16 onwards - the academies Sector Annual Report and Accounts (SARA). The Department for Education has secured, through open competition, an organisation to assist in the production of the SARA. The existing contract expires on 8th December 2018, and the Department is seeking to secure an organisation to assist with the future production of the SARA. A new contract will commence May/June 2018, leading to services commencing by November 2018. The contract is likely to require the delivery of services for 3 years to November 2021 with extension options included. It is anticipated that the value of the contract will be approximately PS5m for an initial 3-year term, increasing in line with extension options. Please note these figures do not include VAT that may be applicable. The SARA for the year ended 31 August 2016 can be found here: - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016 Initially, the core services (subject to ongoing development of requirements) are likely to include, but not limited to: a) Providing technical accounting analysis, support and advice on the aggregation of Academy Trust annual accounts b) The development and implementation of an end to end process (to be automated where practicable), which aggregates over 3,100 separate sets of financial data through to delivery of the financial statements and supporting notes within the SARA c) Facilitate the collection and collation of Academy Trusts' accounting data, to support the Department in meeting its financial reporting requirements. It is expected that this will be best achieved through the development/utilisation and maintenance of online data collection tools Additionally: d) Detailed project planning support to inform SARA production e) Liaising with several internal and external stakeholders such as the Department, National Audit Office and Academy Trusts f) Other ad hoc technical accounting advice over the duration of the contract in relation to the Department's financial reporting requirements Additional information: Supplier Engagement The Department will be holding Supplier Engagement Events on 12th January 2018 via webinar. These events will provide an opportunity for interested suppliers to hear more about the service requirement and the Department's proposed strategy for the future. Following this, there will be a two-week window for one-to-one engagement opportunities with the Department. These engagements will be for the purpose of i) enabling suppliers to further understand the required services, and ii) enable the Department to test and secure supplier views on the Department's proposed strategy for the future - intelligence that will be helpful in shaping the final strategy and service need. Please note, the sessions will not be used to present potential solutions. Information will also be available on the proposed procurement process and timetable and suppliers will be able to meet key members of the DfE project team involved in this procurement. Disclaimers and conditions: No information provided by the DfE, contained in this notice or in any communication made between DfE and any party in connection with the Accountancy Services Contract for the Academy Sector Annual Report and Accounts (SARA) shall be relied upon as constituting a contract, or representation that any contract will necessarily be offered. DfE reserves the right to change without notice any documents and communications, in whole or in part, during the procurement process for the Accountancy Services Contract for the Academy Sector Annual Report and Accounts (SARA). Under no circumstances shall DfE incur any liability in respect of any documentation issued as part of this process nor shall DfE reimburse any costs incurred by any parties in connection with attendance or participation at the planned Supplier Engagement Event on 12th January 2018 Suppliers need to pre-register to attend a Supplier Engagement Event by emailing: BetterFinancialReporting.COMMS@education.gov.uk by 10th January 2018 expressing their preference for a 1 hour slot at either 10am or 2pm. Suppliers must send their lead attendee's name and the organisation name. The event will be via a webinar, with the joining details provided on registration.. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/2aa7e152-e1d8-420f-bc36-af9facd7db67 | | Notice type | Planned Procurement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Not specified | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 4 Jan 2018 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 16 Mar 2018 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 14 Jun 2018 - 31 Dec 2021 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £5,000,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planned | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | 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 | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security ### Codes - 79211000 - Accounting services ## Release History - 4 Jan 2018 at 16:01 - Planning - Planned Procurement Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/2aa7e152-e1d8-420f-bc36-af9facd7db67 ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/2aa7e152-e1d8-420f-bc36-af9facd7db67 4th January 2018 - Future opportunity notice on Contracts Finder ## Notice URLs - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016 ## 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-e4fa740d-a7ca-4d38-8dcf-3a71bd9a1881. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-e4fa740d-a7ca-4d38-8dcf-3a71bd9a1881.json.