Grant Thornton in big contract win from local authorities and the NHS

THE Audit Commission has awarded NHS and local authority contracts to Grant Thornton in the West Midlands.

Together with contract wins in other parts of the country, this makes the accountancy firm the largest supplier of audit services to local authorities and the NHS. The contracts covering the West Midlands, North West, London (South), Surrey & Kent and the South West are worth, when combined, around £41.3m a year, it is estimated. The five year contracts begin in September.

Some 300 professionals from the Audit Commission will transfer to Grant Thornton to join its existing team in delivering audit services for local authorities and the NHS. In addition, Grant Thornton will be expanding its public sector graduate recruitment programme and recruiting IT and other public sector specialists to support its enlarged practice.

Jon Roberts, West Midlands regional head of public sector assurance at Grant Thornton, said: “The Audit Commission has recognised the high quality of Grant Thornton’s work, the value for money we offer and our capacity and flexibility in delivering contracts of this size.

“This procurement process was designed to achieve efficiencies while maintaining high quality. We have a positive reputation in the public sector based on our deep understanding of the market, commitment to quality and delivering value-for-money.”

David Munton, managing partner for the West Midlands, said: “That we have been so successful in such a detailed, competitive process, which compared firms of all sizes on a level playing field, demonstrates the strength of our current position in the market and provides evidence that we can achieve the ambitious future growth targets we have set.”