Scope
Reference
ID 5934601
Description
South Eastern Regional College (SERC) on behalf of the six Regional Colleges in Northern Ireland ("NI Colleges") wishes to appoint a single Supplier for the provision of Internal Audit Services.
In accordance with the Partnership Agreements between the Colleges and the Department of Finance's (DoF) Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Handbook (NI), all Further Education Colleges in Northern Ireland are required to have an internal audit service. The prime responsibility of the internal audit service is to provide the Governing Bodies, Accounting Officers and College management with assurance on the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control system of each College.
Each College is required to ensure that it has sound systems of financial and other management controls. The principal objective of the internal audit service should be to review, appraise and report on the adequacy, reliability and effectiveness of the systems and controls established by management to ensure
• the financial business of the College must be conducted in accordance with the arrangements and conditions set out in the Financial Memorandum;
• every effort must be made to ensure that the College operates within its available funding;
• due attention must be paid to the efficient and effective management of all the College's resources and expenditure, capital assets, equipment and staff so that public funds are not put at risk and that value for money and other financial considerations are taken into account in reaching decisions and in their execution;
• the College must comply with such other relevant guidance/instructions on financial control as are issued by the Department from time to time; and
• the College should formulate and implement a policy to ensure that its accounting and other procedures contain all reasonable safeguards against fraud and theft.
Suppliers should refer to the Specification Schedule within eTendersNI for full detail on the deliverables of this contract.
Total value (estimated)
- £525,000 excluding VAT
- £630,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2028
- Possible extension to 31 August 2030
- 5 years
Description of possible extension:
There is the option to extend for a further two periods of up to twelve months each.
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
- 79200000 - Accounting, auditing and fiscal services
- 79210000 - Accounting and auditing services
- 79212000 - Auditing services
- 79212200 - Internal audit services
Participation
Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation
As per the tender documents.
Technical ability conditions of participation
As per the tender documents.
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Enquiry deadline
1 August 2025, 3:00pm
Tender submission deadline
11 August 2025, 3:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Tenders must be submitted electronically via the relevant Call for Tender (CfT) opportunity on eTendersNI, website details immediately below.
Paper submissions will not be accepted or considered and will be rejected by the Contracting Authority / Buyer.
The tender documents are available with unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: URL https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
1 September 2025
Recurring procurement
Publication date of next tender notice (estimated): 27 May 2030
Award criteria
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative Criteria | AC1 - Experience of Audit Team AC2 - Methodology - Audit Delivery AC3 - Methodology - Audit Strategy Plan AC4 - Contract Management/Continuous Improvement AC5 - Social Value The Contracting Authority... |
Quality | 70% |
| Quantitative Criteria | AC6 - Total Contract Price |
Price | 30% |
Other information
Payment terms
Contract Value
The estimated value figure indicated in the Scope Section represents an overall estimated contract value. This value reflects the potential scale of the contract and takes into account potential optional extension periods and the uptake of potential optional services as detailed in the tender documents. This figure does not however take into account the application of indexation or increases to charges due to increases in the Real Living Wage. Neither CPD nor the contracting Authority can provide any guarantee as to the level of business under this contract. The Contracting Authority does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender. Suppliers remain responsible for all costs and expenses incurred by them or by any third party acting under instructions from the Supplier in connection with taking part in this procurement process regardless of whether such costs arise as a consequence, directly or indirectly of any amendments made to the procurement documents by the Contracting Authority at any time. No legally binding contract shall arise (and a Supplier shall have no legitimate expectation that a contract will be entered into) until such time as entry into the Contract has been confirmed by the Contracting Authority.
Description of risks to contract performance
Exclusions
If at any time during the procurement, or post award, it comes to the attention of the Contracting Authority (CA) or CPD, by whatever means, that a Supplier has become 'excluded' or 'excludable' as per Sec 57 of the PA 2023, the CA, after compliance with its obligations under the PA 23, reserves the right to exclude said Supplier from the procurement procedure or terminate any contract they have been awarded.
The Contracting Authority expressly reserves the rights:
(I) not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice;
(II) to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering Competition;
(III) to award (a) contract(s) in respect of any part(s) of the services covered by this notice; and
(IV) to award contract(s) in stages.
Applicable trade agreements
- Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Open procedure
Contracting authority
South Eastern Regional College
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PYHR-1413-WQYX
Victoria Avenue
Newtownards
BT23 7EH
United Kingdom
Email: SSDAdmin.CPD@finance-ni.gov.uk
Website: https://www.serc.ac.uk/
Region: UKN09 - Ards and North Down
Organisation type: Public authority - central government
Devolved regulations that apply: Northern Ireland
Other organisation
These organisations are carrying out the procurement, or part of it, on behalf of the contracting authorities.
CPD - Supplies & Services Division
Summary of their role in this procurement: Construction and Procurement Delivery - Supplies and Services Division, is a Centre of Procurement Expertise and provides a central procurement function for central government in Northern Ireland.
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PVWG-8426-YWXV
303 Airport Road West
Belfast
BT3 9ED
United Kingdom
Region: UKN06 - Belfast