Official UK procurement notice
External Audit Services 2025
Authority: Bournemouth University (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe purpose of this tender is to appoint a single provider to deliver External Audit Services . The primary role of the external auditors will be to report on the financial statements of Bournemouth University and to carry out whatever examination of the statements and underlying records and control systems is necessary to reach an opinion on the statements. The scope of works also includes but is not limited to audits of the University’s subsidiary bodies, annual returns for the US Federal loans and any other funding requirements, as well as individual project audits as required. There will be a requirement to report on whether recurrent and specific grants from OfS (and other bodies and restricted funds where appropriate) have been properly applied for the purposes provided, in accordance with the Bournemouth University’s Memorandum of Assurance and Accountability with OfS and that conditions of grant have been met.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 25 Feb 2031, 23:59 GMT.
- How the procedure runs: Stage 1 - Invitation to submit tenders Stage 2 - Presentation Refer to the tender documentation for the full details on the tender stages
CPV: Auditing services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£750,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (3)
- Quality (Stage 1): 60%
- Presentation (Stage 2): 10%
- Price: 30%
Published award criteria (3)
- Quality (Stage 1): Please refer to the tender documentation for full details
- Presentation (Stage 2): Please refer to the tender documentation for full details
- Price: Please refer to the tender documentation for full details
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 25 Feb 2031
- First published
- 31 Mar 2025, 17:11 BST
- Last source update
- 11 Sept 2025, 10:57 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 29 Jul 2025
- Authority reference
PS/ML/239- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-012099- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04fae4Find a Tender
- How it runs
Stage 1 - Invitation to submit tenders
Stage 2 - Presentation
Refer to the tender documentation for the full details on the tender stages
- Risks
BU Foundation is currently dormant and has no auditing requirements; however, should this change during the term of this contract BU reserve the right to incorporate this as an additional requirement under this Contract.
BU reserves the right to amend the Contract as a result of any regulatory or Sector specific requirements in relation to the provision of this Service, for example, upcoming changes in FRS102 and the Higher Education SORP.
BU reserves the right to request additional “one-off” project specific advice, guidance and support from the appointed auditor, in order to support the University in its decision making.
BU reserves the right to engage and discuss requirements for the 2025/2026 external audit with the appointed provider ahead of the Contract Start Date.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 29 Apr 2025, 13:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 22 Apr 2025, 13:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
31 Mar 2025 → 24 Feb 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published31 Mar 2025, 17:11 BST
- Clarification questions by22 Apr 2025, 13:00 BST
- Submission deadline29 Apr 2025, 13:00 BST
- Award decision expected by29 Jul 2025, 00:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent11 Sept 2025, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published11 Sept 2025, 10:57 BST
- Standstill ends394 days ago22 Sept 2025, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts240 days ago24 Feb 2026
Notice history
5 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 31 Mar 2025- Tender notice published31 Mar 2025, 17:11 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published11 Sept 2025, 10:57 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete11 Sept 2025, 10:57 BST
- Procurement method changed11 Sept 2025, 10:57 BST
- Contract signature expected26 Sept 2025, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| BDO LLPExternal Audit Services24 Feb 2026 – 25 Feb 2031 · up to 25 Feb 2032Extensions: 1 x 12 month period | £711,000 inc. VAT | 11 Jul 2025standstill to 22 Sept 2025 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- did not winAzets Holdings Limited · Greater London
- did not winCROWE U.K. LLP · Greater London
- did not winHaysMac LLP · Greater London
- did not winHW Fisher Audit (A trading name of Sumer Audit Co Limited) · South East England
- did not winMazars LLP · Greater London
- wonBDO LLP · Greater London
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
6 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded- Azets Holdings LimitedBidder / tenderer
- BDO LLPAwarded supplier
- CROWE U.K. LLPBidder / tenderer
- HW Fisher Audit (A trading name of Sumer Audit Co Limited)Bidder / tenderer
- HaysMac LLPBidder / tenderer
- Mazars LLPBidder / tenderer
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender