Accountants and business advisers Grant Thornton have won the contract to perform work for the public sector across the South West now carried out by the Audit Commission.
The five-year contract, awarded on the basis of audit quality and value, will begin in September. The Government is dismantling the Audit Commission – the body set up in 1983 to check the financial performance of councils, the NHS, police authorities and other local public services. It has awarded 10 contracts worth a total of just under £100m to private companies under the controversial move.
Grant Thornton, a second-tier firm with a large office in Bristol, won four contracts worth £41m a year, including the South West.
Around 300 Audit Commission staff will transfer to Grant Thornton across the UK to join its existing public sector team.
The firm will expand its public sector graduate recruitment programme and recruit IT and other public sector specialists to support its enlarged practice.
The move makes Grant Thornton the largest supplier of audit services to local authorities and the NHS in England. The other areas regions where it has been provisionally awarded contracts are the West Midlands, the North West and London (South), Surrey and Kent.
The firm’s South West managing partner said: “The Audit Commission has recognised the high quality of Grant Thornton’s work, the value for money we offer and our capacity and flexibility in delivering contracts of this size.
“This procurement process was designed to achieve efficiencies while maintaining high quality. We have a positive reputation in the public sector based on our deep understanding of the market, commitment to quality and delivering value-for-money. That we have been awarded such a high proportion of the audits is recognition of our success in working in partnership with clients to deliver the best results.
“We look forward to welcoming new colleagues on board and are confident that Grant Thornton will offer them an exciting environment in which to thrive, and a great opportunity to influence the future shape of local public audit.”
Grant Thornton’s success in winning more Audit Commission contracts than its rivals could allay fears among some commentators that the so-called Big Four accountancy firms – PwC, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Deloitte – would win all the work.
KPMG won three contracts worth £23m, Ernst & Young two worth £20m and Audit Commission staff gaining one contract worth £5m. PwC and Deloitte failed to win any.
