University of Lincoln internal audit services contract awarded to FORVIS MAZARS LLP

Tender information last checkedLast checked 15 Oct 2026, 11:41.

Opportunity overview

This is a Contract Details Notice for the University of Lincoln's Internal Audit Services contract. A contract has been awarded for an initial 3 year period, with a further 2 years of optional extensions (at the University's discretion). The core services required under the University's Internal Audit service in summary include the development and delivery of an internal audit strategy and plan, advice on governance, risk management and internal controls, incorporating proactive knowledge and best practice, providing recommendations on optimising value for money outcomes and a year end audit report and audit opinion to senior management, the Board of Governors and the Office for Students. The University operates within a rapidly evolving Higher Education landscape, facing sector wide pressures including financial sustainability challenges, cyber security threats, volatility in student recruitment, increasing regulatory expectations from the Office for Students, and rising demands around data quality, governance, and organisational resilience. Hence, interested suppliers will need to demonstrate that they have the breadth of specialisms to provide an effective internal audit provision across this range of risk areas. Demonstrating capabilities and added value across the breadth of audit provision will be a key area of assessment in the procurement exercise.

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.

Forvis Mazars LLP

Matched by number

Published award value: Value not stated
Awarded: 17 Sept 2026
Award ID: 1
Status: active
Identifier: GB-COH OC308299
Location: London, UKI31, EC4M 7AU, United Kingdom

Classification

No classification was supplied.

Lots

Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Contract details notice on Find a TenderOpen source ↗

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: 491
Status: complete
Procurement Method: open
Procurement Method Details: Open procedure

Legal basis

Id: 2023/54
Scheme: UKPGA
Uri: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents ↗

Lots and requirements

Entry 1

Id: 1
Status: complete

Published documents

Entry 1

Id: conflictOfInterest
Document Type: conflictOfInterest
Description: Not published

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1

Name: University of Lincoln
Id: GB-PPON-PGYJ-5468-QTPJ

Identifier

Scheme: GB-PPON
Id: PGYJ-5468-QTPJ

Address

Street Address: Brayford Pool
Locality: Lincoln
Postal Code: LN6 7TS
Country: GB
Country Name: United Kingdom
Region: UKF30

Contact

Name: Jena Arnold
Email: jarnold@lincoln.ac.uk

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1

Scheme: UK_CA_TYPE
Id: publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Description: Public authority - sub-central government

Organisation 2

Name: Forvis Mazars LLP
Id: GB-COH-OC308299

Identifier

Scheme: GB-COH
Id: OC308299

Address

Street Address: 30 Old Bailey
Locality: London
Postal Code: EC4M 7AU
Country: GB
Country Name: United Kingdom
Region: UKI31

Contact

Email: elizabeth.young@mazars.co.uk

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale: large
Vcse: No
Public Service Mission Organization: No
Sheltered Workshop: No

Award information

Award 1

Id: 1
Status: active
Main Procurement Category: services

Items

Item 1

Id: 1
Related Lot: 1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1

Scheme: CPV
Id: 79212000
Description: Auditing services

Delivery locations

Entry 1

Region: UKF3
Country: GB
Country Name: United Kingdom

Suppliers

Supplier 1

Id: GB-COH-OC308299
Name: Forvis Mazars LLP

Related lots

Contracts and changes

Entry 1

Id: 1
Award ID: 1
Status: active
Has Renewal: Yes
Above Threshold: Yes
Date Signed: 9 Oct 2026, 00:00

Period

Starts: 12 Oct 2026, 00:00
Ends: 11 Oct 2029, 23:59
Max Extent Date: 11 Oct 2031, 23:59

Renewal

Description: There are 2 x 12 month extension options available resulting in a 5 year potential contract length in total.

Value

Including VAT: 500,000
Currency: GBP

Documents

Entry 1

Id: 097323-2026
Document Type: contractNotice
Notice Type: UK7
Description: Contract details notice on Find a Tender
Url: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/097323-2026 ↗
Published: 15 Oct 2026, 10:32
Format: text/html

Recorded locations

Buyer location · Lincoln · UKF30 · LN6 7TS · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

3 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

3 VERSIONS

050665-2026Tender notice on Find a Tender · 29 May 2026, 10:29
088794-2026Contract award notice on Find a Tender · 18 Sept 2026, 15:20
097323-2026Contract details notice on Find a Tender · 15 Oct 2026, 10:32

PROCURAAXIS AWARD ANALYSIS

Award outcome intelligence

Evidence-bound analysis of the published award appears below the official tender and award information.

ANALYSIS PREVIEW

Award intelligence at a glance

University of Lincoln awarded its internal audit services requirement to FORVIS MAZARS LLP following an open procedure. The published contract record states that it was signed on 9 October 2026 and began on 12 October 2026. It has a three-year initial term and two optional 12-month extensions.

Published outcome signals

Award noticeContract award notice published 18 September 2026Evidence: Release history records notice 088794-2026 as a Contract award notice, released 2026-09-18.
Contract signature9 October 2026Evidence: Contract 1 records dateSigned as 2026-10-09.
Contract start12 October 2026Evidence: Contract 1 period startDate is 2026-10-12.

98% approved-analysis confidence1 supplier record analysed5 source limitations

SOURCE AND FRESHNESS

Traceable procurement data

Source: Find a Tender
Notice reference: 097323-2026
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06a86f
First published: 18 Sept 2026
Last checked: 15 Oct 2026, 11:41
Notice versions reviewed: 3

View Find a Tender notice ↗

HOW THIS WAS PREPARED

Approved, evidence-bound analysis

ProcuraAxis structures information found in published procurement records, checks the result for consistency and publishes only approved analysis. Confidence describes the completeness and consistency of the available source information; it is not a guarantee of eligibility or contract award.

Analysis status: Approved for publication
Analysed: 15 Oct 2026

Read the analysis methodology →

AWARD OUTCOME

What happened

Published outcome

One active award and one active contract are recorded for FORVIS MAZARS LLP, covering lot 1.

Market significance

This is a higher-education internal audit requirement covering audit strategy and delivery, governance, risk and controls advice, value-for-money recommendations, and reporting to senior management, governors and the Office for Students.

AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS

1 supplier record analysed

FORVIS MAZARS LLP

99% confidence

Award 1 · Lots 1 · Shared contract value: £500,000 gross; no supplier-specific allocation is published because this is the sole named supplier. GBP · verified; active award and contract

View supporting evidence

Supplier verification identifies company number OC308299 and verified company name FORVIS MAZARS LLP. Award 1 names the supplier and contract 1 records £500,000 gross.

LIFECYCLE

Award or contract stage

Award notice

98% confidence

Contract award notice published 18 September 2026

View supporting evidence

Release history records notice 088794-2026 as a Contract award notice, released 2026-09-18.

Contract signature

99% confidence

9 October 2026

View supporting evidence

Contract 1 records dateSigned as 2026-10-09.

Contract start

99% confidence

12 October 2026

View supporting evidence

Contract 1 period startDate is 2026-10-12.

Contract status

99% confidence

Active

View supporting evidence

Award 1 and contract 1 are both marked active.

Contract details publication

99% confidence

15 October 2026

View supporting evidence

Contract details notice 097323-2026 has datePublished 2026-10-15.

VALUES

Published values explained

Published contract value

99% confidence

£500,000 gross

View supporting evidence

Contract 1 value.amountGross is 500000 GBP.

Value basis

95% confidence

The notice does not state whether the £500,000 gross amount covers only the initial term or the maximum term including extensions.

View supporting evidence

Contract value is published, but no value basis or term allocation is provided.

TIMELINE

Procurement timeline

Tender notice published

98% confidence

29 May 2026

View supporting evidence

Release history records tender notice 050665-2026 released 2026-05-29.

Award notice published

98% confidence

18 September 2026

View supporting evidence

Release history records contract award notice 088794-2026 released 2026-09-18.

Contract signed

99% confidence

9 October 2026

View supporting evidence

Contract 1 dateSigned is 2026-10-09.

Initial term end

99% confidence

11 October 2029

View supporting evidence

Contract 1 endDate is 2029-10-11.

Maximum possible end date

99% confidence

11 October 2031

View supporting evidence

Contract 1 maxExtentDate is 2031-10-11.

SCOPE

What was awarded

Requirement

99% confidence

Internal audit services

View supporting evidence

Tender title is '491 Internal Audit Services'; award item is classified as CPV 79212000, Auditing services.

Core services

98% confidence

Development and delivery of an internal audit strategy and plan; governance, risk-management and internal-control advice; value-for-money recommendations; and year-end audit reporting and opinion.

View supporting evidence

Published tender description.

Operating context

97% confidence

The service is intended to address higher-education risks including financial sustainability, cyber security, student recruitment volatility, Office for Students regulation, data quality, governance and organisational resilience.

View supporting evidence

Published tender description.

Delivery area

95% confidence

UKF3 region, United Kingdom

View supporting evidence

Award item delivery address is UKF3, GB.

PROCEDURE

Procedure and competition

Procedure

99% confidence

Open procedure

View supporting evidence

Tender procurementMethodDetails is 'Open procedure'.

Lots

99% confidence

One published lot (lot 1), awarded to the named supplier

View supporting evidence

Tender lists lot 1; award 1 relates to lot 1.

Competition information

99% confidence

Number of bids, bidder identities, evaluation scores and award rationale are unknown.

View supporting evidence

Information not supplied in the published notice data.

CONTRACT TERMS

Published contract terms

Initial term

99% confidence

3 years, from 12 October 2026 to 11 October 2029

View supporting evidence

Tender description states an initial three-year period; contract period supplies the corresponding start and end dates.

Extension options

99% confidence

Two optional 12-month extensions at the University’s discretion

View supporting evidence

Contract renewal description states there are 2 x 12-month extension options.

Maximum term

99% confidence

Up to 5 years, ending no later than 11 October 2031 if both options are used

View supporting evidence

Contract maxExtentDate is 2031-10-11 and renewal description states a five-year potential length.

Above threshold

99% confidence

Yes

View supporting evidence

Contract 1 aboveThreshold is true.

COMMERCIAL VIEW

Commercial observations

Demand signal

96% confidence

The buyer sought broad internal-audit capability across financial, cyber, regulatory, data, governance and resilience risks.

View supporting evidence

Published tender description says breadth of specialisms and added value across audit provision were key assessment areas.

Commercial structure

98% confidence

The published record provides one gross contract value and no pricing schedule, rate card or lot-level value breakdown.

View supporting evidence

Contract 1 contains a single amountGross value; no pricing breakdown is supplied.

ANALYSIS QUALITY

98%overall confidence

Confidence reflects the completeness and consistency of the published award data.

Reference: ocds-h6vhtk-06a86f
Analysed: 15 Oct 2026

APPROVED AWARD ANALYSIS

BUYER CONTEXT

Buyer context

Buyer

99% confidence

University of Lincoln

View supporting evidence

Buyer party is named University of Lincoln.

Buyer type

99% confidence

Public authority — sub-central government

View supporting evidence

Buyer party classification is publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment.

Buyer location

99% confidence

Lincoln, United Kingdom

View supporting evidence

Buyer address lists Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS.

SUPPLIER CONTEXT

Supplier context

Legal supplier identity

99% confidence

FORVIS MAZARS LLP (company number OC308299)

View supporting evidence

Supplier verification matched GB-COH identifier OC308299 to verified company name FORVIS MAZARS LLP.

Supplier status

99% confidence

Verified active company

View supporting evidence

Supplier verification status is verified and verified company status is Active.

Supplier classification

98% confidence

Large organisation; not a VCSE

View supporting evidence

Supplier party details list scale as large and vcse as false.

RENEWAL OUTLOOK

Renewal outlook

Extension decision window

90% confidence

Estimated around the initial-term end date of 11 October 2029; this is not a procurement forecast.

View supporting evidence

The contract has extension options and an explicit initial end date of 2029-10-11.

Maximum-end horizon

99% confidence

11 October 2031 if both optional extensions are exercised

View supporting evidence

Contract maxExtentDate is 2031-10-11.

DATA QUALITY

Gaps and source limitations

Published contract record supports conclusion

99% confidence

The record explicitly states a signed date, active contract status, start and end dates, extension structure, and gross value.

View supporting evidence

Contract 1 fields dateSigned, status, period, renewal and value.

Award and signature chronology

99% confidence

The award notice was published before the recorded signature date; both dates are reported without inferring an error.

View supporting evidence

Award notice release date is 2026-09-18; contract dateSigned is 2026-10-09.

Supplier identity quality

99% confidence

Supplier identity is verified by company number OC308299; the source supplier name matches the verified legal name apart from capitalisation.

View supporting evidence

Supplier verification status is verified, match method is company_number, and supplier_name_mismatch is false.

Unpublished information

99% confidence

Information not supplied in the published notice includes bid count, evaluation results, pricing detail, lot title and description, and the value basis across the initial and optional terms.

View supporting evidence

These fields are absent or null in the supplied notice data.

SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS

Information not supplied in the published notice

The published notice does not provide bid counts, unsuccessful bidders, evaluation scores, award rationale or savings.
The published £500,000 gross value has no stated allocation between the initial three-year term and optional extensions.
Lot 1 has no published title, description or individual lot value.
No pricing schedule, service-level measures, performance information or detailed payment terms are supplied.
The award notice date precedes the recorded contract signature date; the supplied data does not explain this chronology.

MARKET THEMES

Relevant award themes

COMMON QUESTIONS

About this award

Who won the University of Lincoln internal audit services contract?

FORVIS MAZARS LLP, verified against company number OC308299.

What is the published value of the contract?

The published contract value is £500,000 gross. The notice does not state whether this covers the initial term only or includes extension options.

How long is the contract?

It has an initial term from 12 October 2026 to 11 October 2029, with two optional 12-month extensions that could take it to 11 October 2031.

ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.

491 Internal Audit Services

Opportunity overview

Awarded to

Forvis Mazars LLP

Classification

Lots

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Scope, procedure and submissions

Legal basis

Lots and requirements

Published documents

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Identifier

Address

Contact

Roles

Details

Classifications

Identifier

Address

Contact

Roles

Details

Award information

Items

Additional Classifications

Delivery locations

Suppliers

Related lots

Contracts and changes

Period

Renewal

Value

Documents

Recorded locations

Notice and amendment history

Award intelligence at a glance

Published outcome signals

Traceable procurement data

Approved, evidence-bound analysis

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