Audit Services for Opted-In Bodies

Under Section 7 of Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 relevant authorities must appoint a "local auditor" to audit their accounts. Only providers that are already registered as local auditors on the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales ("ICAEW") list or that are currently proceeding through the registration process will be eligible to participate in this procurement process. There are ten providers on the list that operate in England at the time the Pipeline Notice is published.

***PLEASE NOTE*** The local audit system is currently undergoing significant reform following the government's announcement in December 2024 "Local audit reform: a strategy for overhauling the local audit system in England". The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, which currently governs the appointment of local auditors, is likely to change significantly under these reforms. The government plans to establish the Local Audit Office (LAO) as a statutory and independent body to streamline the system, which will assume PSAA's functions including appointing and procuring auditors for principal authorities. The government's plans include removal of the option for authorities to appoint their own auditor, potential changes to Key Audit Partner eligibility criteria, and developing public provision of audit services. Therefore, legislative changes are likely to affect the regulatory framework relevant to this procurement should we decide to proceed.

PSAA reserves the right to allow the LAO to reference this pipeline notice should they assume responsibility for this procurement of audit services for principal authorities in England.

The publication of this pipeline notice does not require PSAA to conduct any procurement procedure or to award any contract. It is intended to provide information of a possible future procurement exercise being conducted by the PSAA or the LAO.