Home / Opportunities / Opportunity
PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

External Audit Services

University of the Highlands and Islands · award, contract

Tender information last checkedLast checked 26 Sept 2026, 21:01.

Opportunity overview

University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) has a requirement for External Audit Services. The University has three (3) wholly owned subsidiary companies, UHI Research and Enterprise Ltd (UHIRE), MPI (Dornoch) Limited and MPI (Elgin) Limited whose accounts are consolidated with the University’s.  It is expected that these services will be required from June 2026 for an initial period of 4 years, unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of the Contract, with UHI having the option to extend for a further 2 x 12 months periods following the Initial Term. The 4 year budget currently available to deliver this service is between GBP180,000 to GBP240,000 (excluding VAT). The value provided in section II.1.5 and II.2.6. is the estimated maximum value for the full contract term (initial term plus optional extensions).

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Armstrong Watson

Match pending…
Contract value
£360k
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
30 Jun 2026
Award ID
068850-2026-UHI-FIN-38367-1
Status
active
Location
Glasgow, UKM82, G2 4BG, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV79212100 — Financial auditing services
  • CPV79210000 — Accounting and auditing services

Lots

  • The first Audit required will be for the period 1st August 2025 to 31st July 2026.  UHI’s Financial year runs from 1st August to 31st July each year and will do annually until the end of the contract period including any optional extension(s). The annual audit plan to be agreed between the Contractor and client will ensure effective delivery of services to ensure that statutory and regulatory reporting deadlines are met with accounts approved by UHI Court prior to 31st December annually for the preceding financial year. The University seeks a Supplier to issue an annual report on its consolidated financial statements which provides an opinion as to their compliance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting for Further and Higher Education (SORP 2019) and any subsequent revisions applicable during the contract period, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, regulation 14 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 12.Value not stated

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
UHI-FIN-38367
Status
complete
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method
open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure

Legal basis

Id
32014L0024
Scheme
CELEX

Classification

Scheme
CPV
Id
79212100
Description
Financial auditing services

Covered By

GPA

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Description
The first Audit required will be for the period 1st August 2025 to 31st July 2026.  UHI’s Financial year runs from 1st August to 31st July each year and will do annually until the end of the contract period including any optional extension(s). The annual audit plan to be agreed between the Contractor and client will ensure effective delivery of services to ensure that statutory and regulatory reporting deadlines are met with accounts approved by UHI Court prior to 31st December annually for the preceding financial year. The University seeks a Supplier to issue an annual report on its consolidated financial statements which provides an opinion as to their compliance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting for Further and Higher Education (SORP 2019) and any subsequent revisions applicable during the contract period, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, regulation 14 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 12.
Has Options
Yes
Status
cancelled

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Understanding of the Requirement
Type
quality
Description
10%
Criterion 2
Name
Service Delivery Management
Type
quality
Description
15%
Criterion 3
Name
Management & Delivery Team
Type
quality
Description
20%
Criterion 4
Name
Complaints and Dispute Resolution
Type
quality
Description
5%
Criterion 5
Name
Culture of Organisation
Type
quality
Description
8%
Criterion 6
Name
Fair Work Practices
Type
quality
Description
2%
Criterion 7
Type
price
Description
40%

Options

Description
UHI reserves the right, on giving reasonable written notice from time to time, to require changes to the Services (whether by way of the removal of Services, the addition of new Services, or increasing or decreasing the Services or specifying the order in which the Services are to be performed or the locations where the Services are to be provided). UHI shall not require any such change other than where it is permitted by Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
79210000
Description
Accounting and auditing services

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKM6

Delivery Location

Description
Inverness

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
University of the Highlands and Islands
Id
GB-FTS-100437

Identifier

Legal Name
University of the Highlands and Islands

Address

Street Address
UHI House, Old Perth Road
Locality
Inverness
Region
UK
Postal Code
IV2 3JH
Country Name
United Kingdom

Contact

Name
Katrina McEwan
Telephone
+44 1463279000

Roles

buyer
centralPurchasingBody

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Id
BODY_PUBLIC
Description
Body governed by public law
Entry 2
Scheme
COFOG
Id
09
Description
Education
Organisation 2
Name
Armstrong Watson
Id
GB-FTS-119263

Identifier

Legal Name
Armstrong Watson

Address

Street Address
24 Blythswood Square, Glasgow
Locality
Glasgow
Region
UKM82
Postal Code
G2 4BG
Country Name
United Kingdom

Contact

Telephone
+44 1412330710

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Organisation 3
Name
Inverness Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court
Id
GB-FTS-52850

Identifier

Legal Name
Inverness Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court

Address

Street Address
Longman Road
Locality
Inverness
Postal Code
IV1 1AH
Country Name
United Kingdom

Roles

reviewBody

Details

Award information

Award 1
Id
068850-2026-UHI-FIN-38367-1
Status
active

Related lots

1

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-119263
Name
Armstrong Watson

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
068850-2026-UHI-FIN-38367-1
Award ID
068850-2026-UHI-FIN-38367-1
Status
active
Date Signed
1 Jul 2026, 00:00

Value

Amount
360,000
Currency
GBP

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Inverness · UK · IV2 3JH · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKM6

Notice and amendment history

2 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

2 VERSIONS
  1. 029717-2026tender ·
  2. 068850-2026award, contract ·