CPT_23_11 External Audit - Market Engagement event for the National Audit Office

The National Audit Office (NAO) gives notice that it will be seeking an External Auditor who will be able to provide audit services to the NAO for the years ended 31 March 2025, 2026, and 2027. The audit work would be expected to start in summer 2024. Please see scope of audit services below.

The contract for audit services is for three years with the potential for extension.

The appointment is subject to approval of Parliament's Public Accounts Commission at a hearing expected to take place in December 2023 or early Spring 2024.

Background to the NAO

The National Audit Office (NAO) is the UK's independent public spending watchdog. The NAO supports Parliament in holding government to account and helps improve public services through its high-quality audits.

The NAO is independent of government and the Civil Service. The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Gareth Davies, leads the NAO. He is an officer of the House of Commons with statutory authority to:

• audit and report on the financial accounts of all government departments and other public bodies; and
• examine and report on the value for money of how public money has been spent.

The NAO has an ambitious five-year strategy from 2020 to 2025 found at www.nao.org.uk/about-us/our-strategy/.

The aim of the strategy is to improve the NAO's support to Parliament in examining public sector performance, provide more practical recommendations that lead to better outcomes, and share more of the NAO's independent insight. Read more about the NAO's recent impacts in the Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22 found at www.nao.org.uk/corporate-information/nao-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-22/.

The Public Accounts Commission (TPAC), a parliamentary committee of MPs, oversees the NAO's work and its budgets, appoints the NAO's External Auditor and the non-executive members of the NAO Board. TPAC usually meets twice a year.

TPAC also receives the value for money reports from the NAO's External Auditor. For more information about the NAO and its work please see the NAO website www.nao.org.uk

Scope of Services

The selected External Auditor will deliver the following services:

1. The audit of the NAO's financial statements, commencing the financial years ending 31 March 2025, 2026, and 2027 which includes providing an opinion on whether:

o the financial statements give a true and fair view for the year;

o the statements are prepared in accordance with the Government Financial Reporting Manual;

o the NAO's expenditure is within its Parliamentary Control Totals for the year; and

o expenditure and income have been applied correctly for the purposes intended by Parliament.

2. Providing an independent review of the annual statement of financial impacts arising from the NAO's work and providing an opinion on whether the reported impacts are reasonable based on the underlying methodologies on which they are prepared.

3. Delivering a value for money examination of an aspect of the NAO's operations when commissioned by the NAO's Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC). The nature of the topic may change. Examples of recent value for money studies have covered the NAO's Human Resources departmental, and Finance and Procurement.

Examples of prior year studies can be found on the Commission website https://committees.parliament.uk/publications?SearchTerm=value+for+money&DateFrom=&DateTo=&SessionId=

The selected External Auditor will also be expected to attend meetings of the NAO's ARAC Committee and, when requested to do so, meetings of the Public Accounts Commission.