Official UK procurement notice
External Audit Services · UK public procurement notice
Authority: University of the Highlands and Islands (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionUniversity 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).
- 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).
CPV: Accounting and auditing services · Financial auditing services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1The first Audit required will be for the period 1st August 2025 to 31st July 2026AwardedRenewalPublished value£360,000
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.
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 (7)
- Understanding of the Requirement: 10%
- Service Delivery Management: 15%
- Management & Delivery Team: 20%
- Complaints and Dispute Resolution: 5%
- Culture of Organisation: 8%
- Fair Work Practices: 2%
- price: 40%
Published award criteria (7)
- Understanding of the Requirement: 10%
- Service Delivery Management: 15%
- Management & Delivery Team: 20%
- Complaints and Dispute Resolution: 5%
- Culture of Organisation: 8%
- Fair Work Practices: 2%
- Price: 40%
- Suitability
- The Firm and Signing Partner must be eligible for appointment under Companies Act 2006 s1212 and be registered with a Recognised Supervisory Body (e.g., ICAS/ICAEW). Evidence: RSB registration number(s) and confirmation of eligibility. [legislation.gov.uk] - Q. 4A1a in SPD
- The Firm staff attending on site at UHI must hold Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme Disclosure. Suppliers must confirm that all their on-site staff hold a PVG on request from the college point of contact - Q. 4A2 in SPD
- Staff
- Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 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 · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
Yes · 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).
- First published
- 31 Mar 2026, 14:08 BST
- Last source update
- 21 Jul 2026, 16:26 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 4 May 2026 – …
- Authority reference
UHI-FIN-38367- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-068850- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-067943Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: This is a Contract AWARD Notice and as such the procurement process is complete. (SC Ref:838010)
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 4 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bids opened
- 4 May 2026, 12:00 BST
Timeline
4 May 2026 → 21 Jul 2026 · 3 dates- Submission deadline170 days ago4 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Bids opened170 days ago4 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Notice published91 days ago21 Jul 2026, 16:26 BST
Notice history
1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender- Status changed to complete21 Jul 2026, 16:26 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armstrong Watson | £360,000 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 068850-2026-UHI-FIN-38367-1 · Armstrong Watson
- Signed
- 1 Jul 2026
- Value
- £360,000
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2bids · 2 electronic · 2 from abroad | 1 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Inverness Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace CourtReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Armstrong WatsonAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria