Official UK procurement notice
External Audit Tender · Bishop Fleming LLP for Arts University Bournemouth (Mar 2026)
Authority: Arts University Bournemouth (Education)
Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: UK
Published estimate£312,500≈ £104k / year · £375,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 27 Mar 2026awarded 14 Aug 2026
Award (standstill) to Bishop Fleming LLP
Contract term 3 yrsends 3 Apr 2030 · up to 4 Apr 2030 with extensions · starts 5 Apr 2027
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionProvision of external audit service
- How the procedure runs: This will follow a competitive flexible procedure and will be broken down into stage 1 - request to participate and stage 2 - Tenders (Technical & Commercial)
CPV: Auditing services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£312,500
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).
How bids were scored
Published sub-criteria (4)
- Q1 – Statutory Auditor Registration: 25%
- Q2 – Independence Compliance: 25%
- Q3 – HE Sector Audit Experience: 25%
- Q4 – U.S. Federal (Title IV) Audit Requirements: 25%
Published award criteria (4)
- Q1 – Statutory Auditor Registration : Is your organisation registered on the UK Register of Statutory Auditors and legally authorised to conduct statutory external audits? (Yes/No)
- Q2 – Independence Compliance : Can you confirm full compliance with the FRC Ethical Standard and OfS independence requirements, with no existing or proposed services to AUB that impair, or could reasonably be perceived to impair, your independence? (Yes/No)
- Q3 – HE Sector Audit Experience : Has your organisation delivered external audit services within the last three years to at least one UK Higher Education Institution or an equivalent charity preparing its financial statements under FRS 102 and the HE/FE SORP? (Yes/No)
- Q4 – U.S. Federal (Title IV) Audit Requirements : Can you confirm that your organisation has delivered, or is able to deliver, external audit services compliant with U.S. Federal (Title IV) audit requirements applicable to UK universities enrolling U.S. students receiving U.S. federal financial aid? (Yes/No)
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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 2 Mar 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Last source update
- 14 Aug 2026, 15:59 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 14 Sept 2026
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-018660- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-066031Find a Tender
- How it runs
This will follow a competitive flexible procedure and will be broken down into stage 1 - request to participate and stage 2 - Tenders (Technical & Commercial)
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 27 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline
- 27 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 27 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
https:www.mytenders.co.uk ↗
Timeline
2 Mar 2026 → 5 Apr 2027 · 8 dates- Tender notice published234 days ago2 Mar 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Clarification questions by209 days ago27 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline209 days ago27 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent69 days ago14 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published69 days ago14 Aug 2026, 15:59 BST
- Standstill ends56 days ago26 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
- Award decision expected by37 days ago14 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 165 days5 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 2 Mar 2026- Tender notice published2 Mar 2026, 17:00 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published14 Aug 2026, 15:59 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete14 Aug 2026, 15:59 BST
- Contract signature expected7 Sept 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 1
Awarded value £312,5001 award exc. VAT
Bids received 54 from SMEs
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Fleming LLP14 Sept 2026 – 13 Sept 2029 · up to 13 Sept 2031Extensions: Extension is at the discretion of buyer · Options: There might be some adhoc work over the course of the contract for approximate value of £50,000. | £312,500 | 14 Aug 2026standstill to 26 Aug 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5final-stage tenders · 7 at stage one | 4 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- BISHOP FLEMING LLPAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: www.mytenders.co.uk
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender