Official UK procurement notice
External Financial Audit and Funding Assurance Services
Authority: National Oceanography Centre (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe National Oceanography Centre intends to procure external financial audit and funding assurance services to support its statutory, regulatory, and funder assurance obligations.
The requirement is expected to include the external audit of the National Oceanography Centre's annual financial statements, together with assurance and certification services in relation to externally funded programmes, grants, and research activities. Services may also include associated reporting, attendance at governance or audit committee meetings, and the provision of audit opinions and assurance reports in accordance with applicable accounting, audit, and regulatory standards.
The procurement may additionally include related statutory or regulatory support activities that are commonly delivered as part of an external audit engagement, such as assistance with financial filings to external regulators and funders, and support in relation to audit planning, risk assessment, and control‑based audit approaches.
This notice is published to provide early visibility of the National Oceanography Centre's intention to procure these services. It does not constitute a call for competition.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Nov 2030, 23:59 GMT.
CPV: Accounting review services · Compilation of financial statements services · Financial auditing services · Internal audit services · Statutory audit services · Tax consultancy services · Tax-return preparation services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
- Economic & financial standing
The National Oceanography Centre intends to apply proportionate legal and financial capacity conditions of participation that are appropriate to the nature, scale and risk of the external financial audit and funding assurance services.
Conditions of participation may include requirements for bidders to confirm that they are legally constituted, professionally competent, and appropriately authorised to deliver external audit and assurance services in accordance with applicable professional, regulatory and ethical standards.
Bidders may be required to demonstrate financial standing and organisational capacity through proportionate means, such as declarations or summary financial information. The National Oceanography Centre does not intend to require the submission of audited accounts as a condition of participation.
The National Oceanography Centre does not intend to require bidders to hold or evidence specific levels of insurance prior to contract award. Any insurance requirements will be confirmed prior to contract commencement and set out in the procurement documents.
The final legal and financial capacity conditions will be specified in the procurement documents and applied in a manner consistent with the Procurement Act 2023.
- Technical & professional ability
The National Oceanography Centre intends to apply proportionate technical ability conditions of participation that are appropriate to the nature, complexity and regulatory requirements of external financial audit and funding assurance services.
Conditions of participation may include requirements for bidders to demonstrate relevant technical experience in delivering external financial audit and grant or programme assurance services to public sector, publicly funded, or comparable organisations.
Where reference is made to specific professional qualifications, standards, frameworks or regulatory requirements, the National Oceanography Centre will accept equivalent qualifications, standards or frameworks that demonstrate an equivalent level of technical competence, professional assurance and regulatory compliance.
Bidders may be required to demonstrate experience through proportionate evidence such as descriptions of relevant contracts, summaries of similar services delivered, and confirmation of access to suitably qualified and experienced personnel.
The final technical ability conditions of participation will be set out in the procurement documents and applied in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.
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).
- Economic & financial standing
The National Oceanography Centre intends to apply proportionate legal and financial capacity conditions of participation that are appropriate to the nature, scale and risk of the external financial audit and funding assurance services.
Conditions of participation may include requirements for bidders to confirm that they are legally constituted, professionally competent, and appropriately authorised to deliver external audit and assurance services in accordance with applicable professional, regulatory and ethical standards.
Bidders may be required to demonstrate financial standing and organisational capacity through proportionate means, such as declarations or summary financial information. The National Oceanography Centre does not intend to require the submission of audited accounts as a condition of participation.
The National Oceanography Centre does not intend to require bidders to hold or evidence specific levels of insurance prior to contract award. Any insurance requirements will be confirmed prior to contract commencement and set out in the procurement documents.
The final legal and financial capacity conditions will be specified in the procurement documents and applied in a manner consistent with the Procurement Act 2023.
- Technical & professional ability
The National Oceanography Centre intends to apply proportionate technical ability conditions of participation that are appropriate to the nature, complexity and regulatory requirements of external financial audit and funding assurance services.
Conditions of participation may include requirements for bidders to demonstrate relevant technical experience in delivering external financial audit and grant or programme assurance services to public sector, publicly funded, or comparable organisations.
Where reference is made to specific professional qualifications, standards, frameworks or regulatory requirements, the National Oceanography Centre will accept equivalent qualifications, standards or frameworks that demonstrate an equivalent level of technical competence, professional assurance and regulatory compliance.
Bidders may be required to demonstrate experience through proportionate evidence such as descriptions of relevant contracts, summaries of similar services delivered, and confirmation of access to suitably qualified and experienced personnel.
The final technical ability conditions of participation will be set out in the procurement documents and applied in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How National Oceanography Centre buys Accounting and auditing services (CPV 7921), and who usually turns up
National Oceanography Centre’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Accounting and auditing services (CPV 7921) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in South East England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in South East England.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 77 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid0%
2–333%
4–633%
7+33%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate55%
Within ±2%9%
Above estimate36%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7921Estimate not published
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 12 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid0%
2–333%
4–633%
7+33%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- 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 1 Nov 2030
- First published
- 28 Mar 2026, 09:21 GMT
- Last source update
- 22 May 2026, 14:59 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 15 Jan 2027
- Authority reference
2026PRNOC-1083- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-048052- Latest notice
- Planned procurement notice (UK3)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06772cFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 4 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 13 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
The National Oceanography Centre intends to conduct the procurement electronically.
Suppliers must be registered on the e‑tendering platform at:
Interested suppliers should ensure that they are fully registered on both the e‑tendering platform and the Central Digital Platform (CDP) in advance of the tender being published.
Once registered, suppliers who wish to be notified of the tender launch should email [email protected] confirming their interest. Suppliers who have expressed interest in this way will be notified when the tender is launched.
Further instructions for submitting tenders will be provided in the procurement documents at the point of tender launch.
Timeline
28 Mar 2026 → 1 Feb 2027 · 7 dates- Planning notice published208 days ago28 Mar 2026, 09:21 GMT
- Latest notice published153 days ago22 May 2026, 14:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 11 days1 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Clarification questions byin 22 days13 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 43 days4 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 86 days15 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 102 days1 Feb 2027
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 28 Mar 2026- Planned procurement notice published28 Mar 2026, 09:21 GMTUK3
- Planned procurement notice published22 May 2026, 14:59 BSTUK3
- Deadline moved to 4 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT22 May 2026, 14:59 BST+200 days · was 18 May 2026, 12:00 BST
Published amendments (1)
This notice updates the previously communicated timetable for procurement 2026PRNOC-1083. The contracting authority has revised its intended commencement date for the tender, which is now planned for November 2026. This change has been made to align the procurement approach with forthcoming updates to the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), expected to apply from 2027. Aligning the…
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender