National Audit Office: Audit Substantive Testing Data Automation Tool

UK-Victoria: Financial auditing services.
Section I: Contracting Authority
      I.1) Name and addresses
             National Audit Office
             157-197 Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, SW1W 9SP, United Kingdom
             Tel. +44 2077987372, Email: NAO.Procurement@nao.org.uk
             Main Address: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/
             NUTS Code: UK
      I.2) Joint procurement
      The contract involves joint procurement: No.
      In the case of joint procurement involving different countries, state applicable national procurement law: Not provided       
      The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body: No.
      I.3) Communication
      The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Victoria:-Financial-auditing-services./9679NVEF47
      Additional information can be obtained from: the abovementioned address
      Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically via https://www.delta-esourcing.com to the abovementioned address       
      Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at: Not provided
      I.4) Type of the contracting authority
            Body governed by public law
      I.5) Main activity
            General public services

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
      II.1.1) Title: Audit Substantive Testing Data Automation Tool       
      Reference Number: CPT_23_65
      II.1.2) Main CPV Code:
      79212100 - Financial auditing services.

      II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES
      II.1.4) Short description: The National Audit Office (NAO) requires an off the shelf software solution to assist with automating our audit testing and documentation process, covering two use-cases within financial audit:

1.Substantive testing - Test of detail/Test of control automation
Auditors spend a significant amount of time and manual effort conducting tests of detail (ToD) and tests of controls, comparing documents (such as invoices) to samples from the general ledger or other structured records for consistency. We are interested in document automation software to parse images/pdfs of audit evidence and automatically match to tabular data and output this in a manner which is easy to follow and document for the purposes of our audit testing within an excel document.

2.Financial Statement procedures
Auditors are required to check the financial statements. Ensuring that (for example) the sums within the statements are internally consistent/correct. Similar to the use case above we are looking for document automation software that can automate some of this by extracting 'sums' from the document and automatically reconciling them, as well as some other processes detailed in the procurement documents.

The software needs to be ready for use by 1 October 2024. The estimated total value in this notice excludes VAT and is for the duration of the maximum contract term (1+1+1).       
      II.1.5) Estimated total value:
      Value excluding VAT: 690,000       
      Currency: GBP
      II.1.6) Information about lots:
      This contract is divided into lots: No       
   
II.2) Description
      
      II.2.2) Additional CPV codes:
      48000000 - Software package and information systems.
      79212000 - Auditing services.
      79212100 - Financial auditing services.
      79200000 - Accounting, auditing and fiscal services.
      
      II.2.3) Place of performance:
      UK UNITED KINGDOM
      
      II.2.4) Description of procurement: The initial contract term will be a period of 1 year, with the NAO having the option to extend the contract period by two further periods of 12 months, with a maximum term of 3 years. Please refer to the invitation to tender documentation for further information. The estimated contract value in this notice is for the duration of the maximum term.
      II.2.5) Award criteria:
            Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents            
      II.2.6) Estimated value:
      Value excluding VAT: 690,000       
      Currency: GBP       
      II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system:
      Duration in months: 36       
      This contract is subject to renewal: No       
      Description of renewals: Not provided
      
      II.2.10) Information about variants:
      Variants will be accepted: No
      II.2.11) Information about options:
      Options:       No             
      Description of options: Not provided
      II.2.12) Information about electronic catalogues:
      Tenders must be presented in the form of electronic catalogues or include an electronic catalogue: No
      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds:
      The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No       
      Identification of the project: Not provided             
      II.2.14) Additional information: To respond to this opportunity please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/9679NVEF47       


Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial And Technical Information
   III.1) Conditions for participation
      III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
      List and brief description of conditions:          
      Not Provided       
      III.1.2) Economic and financial standing       
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided    
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :       
      Not Provided    
      III.1.3) Technical and professional ability
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided      
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :          
      Not Provided   
      III.1.5) Information about reserved contracts (if applicable)   
      The contract is reserved to sheltered workshops and economic operators aiming at the social and professional integration of disabled or disadvantaged persons: No       
      The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes: No    
      
   III.2) Conditions related to the contract
      III.2.1) Information about a particular profession    
      Reference to the relevant law, regulation or administrative provision:          
      Not Provided    
      III.2.2) Contract performance conditions          
      Not Provided          
      III.2.3) Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract
      Obligation to indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff assigned to performing the contract: No

Section IV: Procedure
   IV.1) Description OPEN
      IV.1.1) Type of procedure: Open   
   
   IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system    
         The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement - NO    
         In the case of framework agreements justification for any duration exceeding 4 years: Not Provided    
   
   
   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction:
      An electronic auction will be used: No
      Additional information about electronic auction: Not provided
   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
      The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No       
   IV.2) Administrative information
      IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure:
         Notice number in the OJ S: 2024/S 000 - 000000       
      IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
       Date: 28/08/2024 Time: 11:00
            
      IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: English,       
      IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender:
         Duration in month(s): 3
      
      IV.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders:
         Date: 28/08/2024
         Time: 11:00
      

Section VI: Complementary Information
   VI.1) Information about recurrence
   This is a recurrent procurement: No    
   Estimated timing for further notices to be published: Not provided
   VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
   Electronic ordering will be used No       
   Electronic invoicing will be accepted No       
   Electronic payment will be used No       
   VI.3) Additional Information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Victoria:-Financial-auditing-services./9679NVEF47

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/9679NVEF47
   VI.4) Procedures for review
   VI.4.1) Review body:
             National Audit Office
       157-197 Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, SW1W 9SP, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 02077987372
   VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures:
Not provided
   VI.4.3) Review procedure
   Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:    
    Not Provided    
   VI.4.4) Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained:
Not provided
   VI.5) Date Of Dispatch Of This Notice: 25/07/2024

Annex A