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How to Tender for External Audit Services

Not sure how to tender for external audit services? Read this guide…

We know how confusing the process can be when writing a tender for external audit services. There’s so much information to take in, it can be hard to know if you’re approaching the tender correctly. Follow this guide for tips to help you succeed.

What is the tender process for external audit services?

Audit committees are responsible for initiating and supervising the audit tender process. They recommend the best auditor to suit the needs of the company. Tenders will be invited to bid. Once a shortlist is produced, the tender process begins.

Choosing the right audit

When it comes to a tender for external audit services, it’s important to choose the right audit for the business.  A buyer needs an auditor that knows how to fine tune the process to your needs.

What information will be required?

If you are looking for a tender for external audit services, it’s likely that you will need to include:

  • A proposed methodology fulfilling the contract and meet the specification.
  • An outline audit programme, including timetable, which demonstrates how the requirements in this tender document will be met.
  • A statement of any additional items included within the audit fee.
  • Details of the number and level of trained staff who will service the audit.
  • Names and details of the background and experience of the proposed audit partner and audit manager.
  • Information of any policy on the number of accounts to be held by the audit manager.
  • Points of a commitment to quality assurance processes.
  • Evidence of indemnity cover.
  • Demonstrate how you will meet the criteria.
  • Transition plan and experience of transitions.
  • Clarity of approach and commitment to quality.
  • Cultural fit with the company.

Pricing/methodology

In a tender for external audit services, you will be expected to provide a quote for the annual audit fee. The price quoted should include VAT and all expenses and disbursements. Tenderers should also include any expected increases in the annual fee during the duration of the contract.

Insurances

Tenderers are requested to outline what insurance they have in place to meet any potential liabilities under such an indemnity.

Now you know what to expect in a tender for external audit services you’re ready to tackle the bid. However, before you do, here are some top tips to remember when writing your bid response:

  • Understand what you’re tendering for – be sure you have understood what has been asked of you. Make sure you are able to deliver the contract.
  • Always provide evidence – the buyer will expect to see at least 2-3 case studies of similar contracts you’ve worked on. Demonstrate your experience and make sure your case studies are relevant.
  • Answer the question in full – don’t leave answers half answered or blank. Reach as close to the word count as possible.
  • Create added value – show the buyer what you can bring to the table that your competitors can’t. Make your response stand out and demonstrate why you’re the best for the job.
  • Manage your time – it’s a long process so set plenty of time aside. Be aware of when your deadlines are and set a schedule to work to. You don’t want to rush your work because you didn’t set enough time aside.
  • Proofread – don’t forget to check your work multiple times. Triple check for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors before submitting the bid. Once the bid has been submitted it will be too late to check it over.

Here are some examples of past external audit services we have sources on our Finance Tenders portal:

Provision of External Audit Services

Abertay University- Scotland- Budget: Undisclosed

Provision of External Audit & Taxation Services to Jigsaw Homes Group

Jigsaw Homes Group- North West- Budget: £1,100,000

IWA Contract for the provision of External Audit, Internal Audit & related Services 2021

Irish Wheelchair Association- Republic of Ireland- Budget: Undisclosed

GB-Hemel Hempstead: External Audit Services

Hightown Housing Association Ltd- Eastern- Budget: £500,000

External Audit for Finance

Edinburgh Leisure- Scotland- Budget: Undisclosed

Need assistance on how to tender for external audit services?

 You may not have the time or resources in house to write a winning tender response in house. Outsourcing to tender writing specialists can help you secure your next contract.

Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, provide four levels of bid writing support services. Our Bid Writers have over 60 years of collective bid writing experience and an 87% success rate. Whether you’re new to tendering or need your response proofread – we can help.

Tender Ready

Tender Ready is the perfect programme for those who are completely new to tendering. You’ll have access to an expert Bid Consultant to answer any questions that you may have. You’ll also get a year’s subscription to our Finance Tenders portal.

Tender Improvement

If you have already been applying for tenders but aren’t seeing success our Tender Improvement package can help. Our Bid Writers will go over your previous submissions and provide feedback and guidance.

Tender Writing

Have you found the perfect courier delivery contract for your business but are struggling to start? Send it over to our Bid Writing team and they can write the whole response for you. If you use our Tender Writing service, they’ll even submit it on your behalf!

Tender Mentor  

Our Bid Writers can look over a bid response you’ve already written, checking it for errors before you submit. Sometimes you just need another pair of eyes to go over your response and our Tender Mentor service can help.

A subscription to Finance Tender could increase your chances of securing a tender for external audit services. With the time saved and numerous opportunities found, Finance Tenders can feed seamlessly into your business development strategy. With a subscription to the portal, you receive:

  • Unlimited access.
  • A dedicated Account Manager.
  • A free 20-minute phone consultation.
  • A daily email bulletin.

This way, you can save your precious time and focus on the more pressing matters on your plate.

We’ve Rebranded!

Our parent company, Hudsonis going through a complete rebrand and so here at Finance Tenders, we have a new look, too!

You can check out our new logos and colour palette below:

   

   

We hope you like it, we know we do!

You can subscribe to our weekly business leads bulletin to receive all the following:

ADVERTISE AND MANAGE PRIVATE TENDERS

Private Sector Tenders are considered as such when a self-funded company advertises for a contractor to complete works for them by way of a contractual agreement.

Did you know that you can advertise a private opportunity such as this via our Finance Tenders portal? Whats more, you can manage, respond and receive submissions 100% free of charge regardless of whether you are an existing customer of the portal.

Too busy to manage the project? Let us take over! We will advertise and manage the tender opportunity on your behalf. This service includes uploading the opportunity, answering clarification questions and managing the submissions, all you need to do is choose a supplier!

Sound good? Here’s the best part. You can advertise your private sector tenders on any of our ten sector specific portals under Hudson Procurement Group!

For example, if you are a Marketing agency and you require a new piece of hardware, we would advise you to advertise this opportunity via our Technology Tenders portal. We already have Hardware-sector customers who are actively searching for opportunities on our site, put your opportunity in front of them and instantly access engaged suppliers.

One of our main goals across all of our group’s eighteen platforms is to encourage inter-trading to simplify the tender process from beginning to end.

This is where our Hudson Discover platform comes in for phase two of our overarching business plan. This platform is built with the sole purpose of inter-trading and creating a go-to environment where both buyers and suppliers will benefit.

If you’re unsure about the stages of tendering mentioned in this blog, worry not! Our newest project, Tender VLE is here to help you understand the process. See our Clarification Questions and Breaking Down the Question videos.

Remember you can subscribe to our weekly business leads bulletin to receive all the following:

We’re here to help you discover, succeed, procure and invest!

INSURANCE WHEN TENDERING

Contractors insurance when tendering – what you need to know!

Insurance is a big thing, required in many aspects of your life.

Home Insurance. Car Insurance. Mortgage Protection. The list goes on.

Business Insurance is, of course, a part of this list and if you are a business owner, you’ll know some of the complexities attached with Insurance – unless you are an Insurance Business Owner, we take it this will be quite easy for you guys to grasp.

When tendering, information regarding your contractors insurance is heavily sought as part of the pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) process, ensuring you have the basic levels of insurance to deliver the contract at hand.

The types of insurance you require are usually defined as:

  • Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance – this is the insurance which will enable you to meet the cost of compensation for your employees’ injuries or illness whether they are caused on or off-site. You automatically need £5M minimum here.
  • Public Liability Insurance – this is the insurance that protects you if a member of the public sues your business.
  • Professional Indemnity Insurance – this insurance covers legal costs/expenses if you are alleged to have provided inadequate advice, services or designs that cause your client to lose money.
  • Product Liability Insurance – this insurance protects you against claims of personal injury or property damage caused by products sold or supplied through your business.

As per a typical pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) or invitation to tender (ITT), buyers are encouraged with the following, as per Public Contract Regulations:

“You should allow potential suppliers to self-certify that they have, or will have in place, any required insurance in the event that they are awarded the contract. It is not appropriate at this point to insist on evidence that cover already exists. You should specify the level of cover required on a case by case basis. This should be proportionate and reflective of the nature of the work and the risk involved. Any reason for requiring insurance above that required by law should be justifiable.”

Insurance is one of the key things that you can either pass or fail on as part of the exclusion grounds within a PQQ. This assesses you economically and financially, which assures you have the necessary financial means to commit to the contract specification.

It is normally laid out as follows:

Even if you don’t have the correct insurance currently, the buyer tends to ask if you or your organisation is in a position to easily obtain this prior to the commencement of the contract through self-certification (as above). The buyer will usually allow suppliers to ‘commit to obtaining this’, as many suppliers may not have the exact level of insurances needed.

However, in specific industry sectors, suppliers may already need the insurance before applying, with evidence needed. For example, a lot of tenders/PQQs in Technology & Digital tenders, we’ve noticed that suppliers need to attach copies of their insurance policies in order to make it to the next stage.

You’ll find your market-sector wields specific levels of insurance which is heavily recommended for you to maintain and some buyers may require proof of this initially. Make sure you understand the recommended amounts of contractors insurance you need to operate competitively in your market sector, so this doesn’t pose an issue when tendering for works.

A lot of suppliers will undoubtedly give this section minimal thought and just tick YES to whatever insurance is being requested. Remember to read this – you may find insurance may be way too excessive – which could possibly pose further clarification questions to why.

You can subscribe to our weekly business leads bulletin to receive Insurance Tenders along with some of the other financial sectors which include:

For further information or if you have any questions regarding Insurance when tendering, join the discussion on our LinkedIn forum by CLICKING HERE.

We’re here to help you understand and succeed.

ECONOMIC FINANCIAL STANDING – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Economic financial standing is primarily established through annual turnover, financial ratios and their level of insurances.

This is typically assessed on a PQQ but can easily translate to more formal tender procedures.

This is one of the two ways to assess the suitability of the supplier and to pursue a specific activity/contract – the other being the technical and professional capability.

Your economic financial standing reflects multiple financial aspects of your business. Thee being:

  • Your annual turnover – you need to usually attach your most recent audited/unaudited accounts
  • Your financial ratios – this is usually found in your full financial accounts and can include the ratio of your assets to liabilities (acid-tests / quick ratios)
  • Your insurance[s] – you usually need to attach your Insurance documents and commit to potentially increasing your amounts before contract commencement.

One of the key things a lot of our clients assume when they start tendering is their ambitions will become reality almost immediately, especially in terms of finance. You cannot have your turnover increase within the first year to that 7-figure amount we all desire. This is as rare as blood diamonds on a blue moon.

As per a new requirement introduced in the 2014 Public Procurement Directive, “the minimum yearly turnover that economic operators are required to have may not exceed twice the estimated contract value unless there are specific circumstances which justify a higher level.” This means if you’re turning over £100,000 per year, the most you can typically bid for, based on your economic financial standing, will be £50,000, unless there are specific circumstances which may justify this – going over this amount, we’ve found, is extremely rare and will only increase slightly – not massively. We encourage you to aim for opportunities that are half your turnover or lower.

In a nutshell, make sure your finance is in order, so the above attachments maximise your chances to passing to the subsequent stage, not hinder your overall efforts!

Need further advice in filling out PQQs. Get in touch with our Tender Consultants.

You can subscribe to our weekly business leads bulletin to receive all the following:

We’re here to help you succeed!

TENDER OPPORTUNITIES – Tax Year 2018

NEW FINANCIAL YEAR – NEW TENDER OPPORTUNITIES

For those of us living and working in the UK, the new tax year is impending.

Friday 6th April will see the beginning of the financial year and the operative time to take measures in order to further grow your business.

The idea of a fresh start is appealing to us all at one time or another, especially if you are finding yourself in a cycle of repetitive idea generation and lacklustre results.

‘The start of the tax year is the perfect time to re-evaluate and set new goals for your business.’ – Rebecca Morland, Account Manager.

As experts in the tendering field, we expect to see an influx of tender opportunities as buyers and suppliers alike look to harvest higher returns on investment than the previous year.

‘Seeking and delivering on new opportunities will not only achieve financial business growth but also keep your employees motivated’ – Jill Hudson, Growth Director.

Maybe you already maintain a tendering strategy, perhaps you have only ever considered the idea, or maybe the very thought of completing the process yourself induces a ‘nails on a chalkboard’ type of reaction.

We know one thing is for sure – we can help!

Our platforms provide you with a range of bespoke opportunities that are sourced from procurement experts on a daily basis, meaning you don’t have to go out and find your contract opportunities – just receive them daily via your inbox!

We see a lot of people join our platforms this time of year, with the hopes of impending succession from the outset. It’s important to remember that although you have all the opportunities at your grasp, delivering on these opportunities can be quite a hard task!

This is where Tender Consultants steps in.

From simply editing and finalising your already accomplished bid to completely alleviating the potentially stressful road to bidding, our Tender Consultants platform is a useful resource when it comes to developing your business in 2018.

June 2018 will see the launch of the highly anticipated Tender VLE. For the budding bid writers amongst us, Tender VLE will act as your personal mentor throughout the tendering process – and it’s completely free!

We know that you are busy within your respected sectors, that’s why this platform will be entirely video-led, with no bidding-related stone unturned.

Finance Tenders offers daily notifications of the most up-to-date business/tender opportunities across the UK. This is filtered and broken down into the following sub-sectors:

WHY CHOOSE FINANCE TENDERS?

Finance Tenders is an online platform which ensures all UK-wide contract and tender opportunities (both private and public) are captured from the excessive number of national portals, categorised through specific sub-sectors, and uploaded on a user-friendly website – daily!

That’s ‘what’ it is – now let’s go to the ‘why’ you should be using it. 

Are you registered to platforms where you receive opportunities regularly?

If so – surely, you’ll have noticed that you receive opportunities that are not relevant to you, OR sometimes receive the opportunity one week after it is posted, OR do not receive any opportunities at all.

These are a few of the many key issues we have recognised in our procurement/tendering experiences – where electronic algorithms based purely on CPV codes hinder any efforts of receiving tender opportunities. We don’t mean to confuse you – but for a lot of SMEs that’s exactly what this is – confusing!

Please see our What are CPV Codes? The Pains of Procurement’ blog to understand what CPV Codes are all about.

Basically – we are the only company in the UK that has sector-specific RESOURCE who scours thousands of internet portals MANUALLY and sends sub-sector opportunities to customers DAILY! Meaning, when our team members come across either a public AND/OR private opportunity for let’s say ‘Insurance services’ – this will be immediately published to our customers who identify as an ‘Insurance Agency’ (for example).

Finance Tenders offers daily notifications of the most up-to-date business/tender opportunities across the UK. This is filtered and broken down into the following sub-sectors:

This is one of the 10 platforms we offer, with others including:

Phase 1 of our growth plans is happening now, where you can discover business opportunities that are bespoke to your service offering.

Phase 2 is coming later in the year with the launch of our Hudson Discover Service, where we will not only help suppliers over business opportunities but also discover various companies they can purchase from. This will be where customers from our alternative platforms (above) can post private opportunities across another specific platform, i.e. if a Financial firm on Finance Tenders wants an update to their website – they will publish the opportunity to the Creative Tenders platform, directly to our digital customers.

Intertrading at its finest!

We offer a FREE demo to anyone who is interested. Get in touch now to join the hundreds of customers who are receiving bespoke opportunities daily!

Let us help you DISCOVER!

Finance Tenders Opens New Office in Manchester

Finance Tenders Opens New Office in Manchester

Youthful, diverse, energetic and bursting with character; Manchester is one of the most exciting places to visit in the UK right now with a progressive vision to be a city that delivers surprise and delight in equal measures – so where better to execute our expansion plans?

As we continue to grow at an exceptional rate, our prospects and opportunities are endless. With plans to expand overseas into Australia and America, the team are bursting with pride as their efforts and hard work are ensuring our vision appears fully into focus.

“The expansion into Manchester was pretty inevitable for us. We have established such a big client base there and we need to ensure they are serviced efficiently and to full potential” said Growth Director, Jill Hudson. “Manchester is a prime central hub for business, innovation and technology so where better to decide to make our second of many future office developments”

The opening comes on the cusp of the launch of seven brand new platforms for our firm and, as we enjoy our successes, we know there is a sizeable amount of continued hard work to follow. Our business model is not showing any signs of slowing down in terms of development as we adapt and advance in terms of client wants and needs from our services and offerings.

CEO John Hudson added, “With the success of our current platforms, we couldn’t be more confident that our offerings are fundamental for growth and business prospects for the sectors we are currently working within. Our movement into Manchester reflects this as we move into further markets and continue to naturally progress forward with our exceptional team and consistent pioneering hard work”.

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