Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) Procurement & Market Options Review for External Audit Services to Local Authorities
A review to analyse, report and present on the options and factors for structuring a future procurement approach and audit contracts to maximise a sustainable supply of external audit services to local authorities in the next procurement exercise, thereby securing a strong, sustainable market supply for external local audit provision from 2023.
In summary, this was an in depth review of the market for local authority audit work, where the output was a quantitative and qualitative analysis including:
- Capturing the views of the current cohort of actual and potential audit providers concerning this objective.
- Carrying out further review and analysis of the specification in terms of procurement and possible options for achieving sustainability.
- Identifying and analysing other possible options for procurement and / or sustainability and a series of relevant issues and factors for PSAA to consider having regard to PSAA’s aims and priorities to secure a sustainable audit supply market and maximum opt-ins from eligible bodies.
The outcome of this project supported PSAA’s drive to ensure a sustainable mix of external audit suppliers to most local authorities in England. Our report was published on the PSAA website and we delivered a webinar on the review in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
