£12.5m audit contract adds up for Grant Thornton
GRANT Thornton has landed a £12.5m contract to provide outsourced audit services to local authorities and the NHS in the North West.
The award is part of a new national framework of outsourced audit contracts which will replace the District Audit Service. The contracts will run for five-year terms from September 2012.
It will also mean that 300 staff will transfer from the Audit Commission to Grant Thornton to help deliver audit services in the North West, West Midlands, London (South) Surrey & Kent, and in the South West.
The firm will also expand its public sector graduate recruitment programme and recruit IT and other public sector specialists to support its enlarged practice.
Les Ross, the new regional managing partner for Grant Thornton, said: “This fantastic win for our public sector assurance team confirms our reputation as leaders in the public sector market and demonstrates the strength and quality of Grant Thornton’s services.
“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.”
The Audit Commission has said that the new regional contracts should lead to a 40% cut in the fees that local authorities pay for audit services, as well as offering greater diversity in the marketplace.
Chairman Michael O’Higgins said: “This procurement has been the result of a rigorous assessment of each bidder against published cost and quality criteria, and will mean significant audit fee savings for local councils, NHS trusts and other local bodies.”
