---
title: "External Audit Services"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000824605"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000824605"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000824605.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000824605.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS"
published: "2026-07-21"
---

# External Audit Services

Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000824605

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## Summary

The University of the Highlands and Islands has concluded the procurement process for the provision of External Audit Services, marking the completion of the contract award stage. The contract involves delivering audit services for the university and its wholly owned subsidiaries, located in Inverness, UK. The initial procurement process was conducted through an open procedure, with a budget spanning GBP 180,000 to GBP 240,000 for a period of four years, commencing in June 2026. Armstrong Watson, a large-scale firm, has been awarded the contract, which is valued at GBP 360,000 for the entire contract term, including optional extensions. The procurement falls under the services category with the CPV code 79212100, concerning financial auditing services in the education sector.

This tender represents an excellent opportunity for businesses specialising in audit and financial advisory services to engage with a leading educational institution. Positioned in the education industry, this opportunity could be ideal for firms with expertise in auditing academic institutions or those with capabilities to meet statutory and regulatory reporting requirements. The contract offers potential for long-term collaboration and expansion through possible extensions or future re-tendering. Furthermore, the requirement for services extends to handling complex financial reporting, providing avenues for firms with robust experience in financial auditing under public procurement regulations to demonstrate and augment their competencies in the sector.

## Notice

University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) has a requirement for External Audit Services. The University has three (3) wholly owned subsidiary companies, UHI Research and Enterprise Ltd (UHIRE), MPI (Dornoch) Limited and MPI (Elgin) Limited whose accounts are consolidated with the University's. It is expected that these services will be required from June 2026 for an initial period of 4 years, unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of the Contract, with UHI having the option to extend for a further 2 x 12 months periods following the Initial Term. The 4 year budget currently available to deliver this service is between GBP180,000 to GBP240,000 (excluding VAT). The value provided in section II.1.5 and II.2.6. is the estimated maximum value for the full contract term (initial term plus optional extensions).

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The first Audit required will be for the period 1st August 2025 to 31st July 2026. UHI's Financial year runs from 1st August to 31st July each year and will do annually until the end of the contract period including any optional extension(s). The annual audit plan to be agreed between the Contractor and client will ensure effective delivery of services to ensure that statutory and regulatory reporting deadlines are met with accounts approved by UHI Court prior to 31st December annually for the preceding financial year. The University seeks a Supplier to issue an annual report on its consolidated financial statements which provides an opinion as to their compliance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting for Further and Higher Education (SORP 2019) and any subsequent revisions applicable during the contract period, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, regulation 14 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 12.

Options: UHI reserves the right, on giving reasonable written notice from time to time, to require changes to the Services (whether by way of the removal of Services, the addition of new Services, or increasing or decreasing the Services or specifying the order in which the Services are to be performed or the locations where the Services are to be provided). UHI shall not require any such change other than where it is permitted by Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Renewal: UHI have the option to extend for a further 2 x 12 months following the initial term.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUL560625 |
| Notice type | OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 21 Jul 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 4 May 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | UHI reserves the right to re-tender for these services upon termination of the contract or at the end of the contract, including any optional extension period(s). |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £360,000 |
| Lots value | £360,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £360,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS |
| Locality | INVERNESS |
| Post town | Inverness |
| Postcode | IV2 3JH |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM2 Highlands and Islands |
| ITL 3 | TLM20 Highlands and Islands |
| Local authority | Highland |
| Electoral ward | Inverness Millburn |
| Westminster constituency | Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire |
| Delivery location | TLM6 Highlands and Islands |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ARMSTRONG WATSON |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79210000 - Accounting and auditing services
- 79212100 - Financial auditing services

## Release History

- 21 Jul 2026 at 00:00 - Award - OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUL560625
- 31 Mar 2026 at 00:00 - Tender - OJEU - F2 - Contract Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAR552913

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAR552913
  External Audit Services - University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) has a requirement for External Audit Services. The University has three (3) wholly owned subsidiary companies, UHI Research and Enterprise Ltd (UHIRE), MPI (Dornoch) Limited and MPI (Elgin) Limited whose accounts are consolidated with the University's. It is expected that these services will be required from June 2026 for an initial period of 4 years, unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of the Contract, with UHI having the option to extend for a further 2 x 12 months periods following the Initial Term. The 4 year budget currently available to deliver this service is between GBP180,000 to GBP240,000 (excluding VAT). The value provided in section II.1.5 and II.2.6. is the estimated maximum value for the full contract term (initial term plus optional extensions).
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUL560625
  External Audit Services - University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) has a requirement for External Audit Services. The University has three (3) wholly owned subsidiary companies, UHI Research and Enterprise Ltd (UHIRE), MPI (Dornoch) Limited and MPI (Elgin) Limited whose accounts are consolidated with the University's. It is expected that these services will be required from June 2026 for an initial period of 4 years, unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of the Contract, with UHI having the option to extend for a further 2 x 12 months periods following the Initial Term. The 4 year budget currently available to deliver this service is between GBP180,000 to GBP240,000 (excluding VAT). The value provided in section II.1.5 and II.2.6. is the estimated maximum value for the full contract term (initial term plus optional extensions).

## Notice URLs

- http://
- http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000824605
- https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/courts-and-tribunals/courts-tribunals-and-office-locations/find-us/inverness-justice-centre/
- https://www.uhi.ac.uk

## 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-r6ebe6-0000824605. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000824605.json.