# CARD Financial service - Panel for Forensic Accounting and Audit & Assurance, including post 16 funding audit

> Tender notice from UK public-sector procurement sources.

## Key facts

- Public buyer: [Department for Education](/buyers/department-for-education/contract-awards)
- Published: 31 January 2025
- Planned start: 8 April 2025
- Planned end: 31 March 2028
- Stage: open_tender
- Procurement category: services
- Notice ID: 4c9437f7-6e87-4708-aff3-e5ecf4b3e900-822319
- OCID: ocds-b5fd17-73c27d66-bbeb-48af-b5ef-491e5320ec83

## Description

This is a BAU procurement for audit capacity to support our annual assurance programme and Investigation support\. We need 3 different "lots"\. Lot 1 to cover the annual programme of outsourced post-16 funding assurance reviews \(post-16 funding audits\)\. We will seek a panel of up to 5 audit firms to deliver this for us, with outputs being an audit report using the DFE/ESFA assurance tests and an audit opinion from the firms\. These require detailed knowledge and experience of post-16 funding rules applicable to funding paid for adult skills,16-19 study packages or apprenticeships training\. Lot 2 to cover the combined post-16 and pre-16 general assurance reviews and frameworks support\. We will seek up to 10 firms to work with across both the pre-16 and post-16 sector\. For this lot before we allocate work to firm\(s\) we will select the firm most able to deliver the services required through a mini-competition / rota to secure best value and to ensure the specific sector skills and expertise is demonstrated\. Lot 3 to provide suitable firms capable of delivering forensic accounting and investigation support services nationally\. We will seek up to 10 suppliers who will be awarded work on a rota basis\. The output for this work will be an evidence-based findings report which can be shared with the provider in scope\.

## Related contract awards

- [IT Research and Advisory Services II](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-db7f8498-b870-407b-a72f-9d6a97072ad6): Department for Education
- [project\_10572 - Speech and Language Therapists in education: a mixed methods research project](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-92b2087c-8ff4-4777-8932-c01074274242): Department for Education
- [Writer services for training content development \(tranche 2\)](/contracts/ocds-b5fd17-ed803f80-369a-4e97-b628-47bd530bb759): Department for Education

## Source

[View the original notice on Contracts Finder](https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/4c9437f7-6e87-4708-aff3-e5ecf4b3e900-822319)