external auditor procurement

Summary

A request was made for external auditor procurement papers and the contract awarded to Grant Thornton, including specific details on the Audit Act 2006 and whistleblowing policies. The Treasury responded with 84 pages of documents, primarily the 2019 Invitation to Tender, but withheld some information citing commercial confidentiality.

Key Facts

• The request was received by the Treasury on 2022-04-22 and the outcome was issued on 2022-06-01.
• The response included 84 pages across 2 documents, featuring the April 2019 Invitation to Tender for auditing services.
• The procurement exercise covered three lots: Central Government, Local Government Bodies, and Public Sector Pension Schemes.
• The contract was awarded to Grant Thornton, though specific contract clauses were partially exempt.
• The documents provided are marked as 'Commercial in Confidence' and copyrighted by the Attorney General's Chambers.

Data Disclosed

• 2022-04-22
• 2022-06-01
• 84
• 2
• April 2019
• TREA.2646/2808
• Audit Act 2006
• section 3(1)
• 1st June 2022
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016_17
• 1992
• 2004
• 1991
• 2010
• 2011

Exemptions Cited

• Commercial in Confidence

Original Request

Please supply -  (1)  A copy of (i) the external auditor procurement papers relating to the most recent procurement exercise relating to Government's provision of these services, and (ii)  a copy of the contract that was subsequently awarded to Grant Thornton, to include all references to the Audit Act 2006.  By 'procurement papers' you mean any expressions of interest, indicative quotes, full procurement - scope, context, statistics, contractor requirements etc. in relevant papers made available and disclosed to all potential bidders. (2)  Within those papers, you in particular seek the disclosure of the following (i) any information to confirm that the contract is with Treasury and in line with section 3(1) of the Audit Act 2006 and the scope includes the Department of Home Affairs, (ii) any information to confirm that it is either Treasury responsibility to explain the importance of the whistleblowing policy with the minimum expectations and implications of a designated reporting point or the contractor responsibility to properly understand, operate and comply with whistleblowing policy requirements, (iii) any information to clarify the process to object to contract renewal if reported concerns are not properly processed and if identified process issues are not properly resolved by 1st June 2022? (3)  Any information to clarify if the present contract has been extended due to Covid etc. and if so what date.

Data Tables (36)

Full Response Text

Commercial in Confidence Reference: TREA.2646/2808

Date: April 2019
Page 1 of 15

Invitation to Tender for Provision of Auditing Services

Lot 1 – Central Government Lot 2 – Local Government Bodies Lot 3 – Public Sector Pension Schemes

Ref: TREA.2646

COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

©2019 The Attorney General's Chambers (an Office of the Isle of Man Government)

The copyright to these documents belongs to the Attorney General's Chambers (an Office of the Isle of Man Government) and they may not be copied, reproduced, transmitted or stored on any electronic device or medium in any form in part or whole without the written permission of the Attorney General's Chambers

Commercial in Confidence Reference: TREA.2646/2808

Date: April 2019
Page 2 of 15

Table of Contents

It is the responsibility of the Tenderer to ensure that they are in receipt of all information detailed within this table of contents. Should a Tenderer find that this is not the case, they should contact Procurement Services immediately via the contact details outlined in Section 2.3 of this ITT.

Documents Comprising This Tender

Section 1 – General Instructions to Tenderers Section 2 – Specific Instructions to Tenderers Section 3 – Tender Response: • Document 1 – Form of Tender • Document 2A – Tender Evaluation – Generic Criteria • Document 2B – Tender Evaluation – Central Government Core Services • Document 2C – Tender Evaluation – Local Government Bodies • Document 2D – Tender Evaluation – Public Sector Pension Schemes • Document 3 – Certificate of Non-Collusion • Document 4 – Financial Regulations Declaration • Document 5 – Schedule of Confidential Information

Enclosures

Enclosure 1 – Form of Agreement for Lot 1 – Audit of Central Government Accounts Enclosure 2 – Form of Agreement for Lot 2 – Audit of Local Government Bodies Enclosure 3 – Form of Agreement for Lot 3 - Audit of the Public Sector Pension Schemes Enclosure 4 – Data Processing Agreement The following information is provided by way of further information to provide bidders with an indication of the scale of the accounts Enclosure 5 – Public Auditor Independence Policy Enclosure 6 – Lot 1 Accounts Information Enclosure 7 – IOMSPG 2018 Accounts Enclosure 8 – IOMSPC 2018 Accounts Enclosure 9 – Radio Manx Limited 2018 Accounts Enclosure 10 – Laxey Glen Mills 2018 Final Accounts Enclosure 11 – Manx Museum and National Trust Accounts 2017_18 Enclosure 12 – IoM Film Limited Report and Financial Statements 2017 Enclosure 13 – IoM Film (DoI) Limited Report and Financial Statements 2017 Enclosure 14 – High School Funds Scope Enclosure 15 – Link to Local Government Body Accounts: http://www.tynwald.org.im/business/opqp/sittings/20182021/2019-GD-0004.pdf Enclosure 16 – 2016_17 Judicial Pension Scheme 1992 Final Accounts Enclosure 17 – 2016_17 Judicial Pension Scheme 2004 Final Accounts

Commercial in Confidence Reference: TREA.2646/2808

Date: April 2019
Page 3 of 15

Enclosure 18 – 2016_17 Manual Workers Scheme No1 Final Accounts Enclosure 19 – 2016_17 Police Pension Scheme 1991 Final Accounts Enclosure 20 - 2016_17 Police Pension Scheme 2010 Final Accounts Enclosure 21 - IoM Unified Scheme Accounts Final Enclosure 22 - Teachers Superannuation Order 2011 Final Accounts

Commercial in Confidence Reference: TREA.2646/2808

Date: April 2019
Page 4 of 15

Section 1- General Instructions to Tenderers

1.1 Procurement Specification Conventions (Information) Within this ITT the following convention is used to differentiate between requirements which are mandatory, desirable and those for information.

Mandatory items are indicated by (Mandatory) These requirements must be met. Any Tender Response not meeting these requirements will be penalised in the evaluation procedure.

Desirable items are indicated by (Desirable) These requirements are considered important but are not essential in order to meet the needs of the Department and/or the Authority (as applicable). The ability of Tenderers to meet the desirable requirements will be considered during the tender evaluation.

Areas which are marked as 'Information' are provided to assist the Tenderer in the preparation of their Tender Response and will not form part of the evaluation.

1.2 Definitions (Information) This ITT has been prepared to define the Department’s and the Authority’s (as applicable) requirements and the following phrases shall have the following meanings:

‘the Act’ Shall mean (unless otherwise stated) the Audit Act 2006 and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2018.

'the Agreement' Shall mean: (1) the contracts to be entered into between the Department and the Contractor for the delivery of the Services more particularly described in Clause 2.1.1 and 2.1.2 of Section 2 to this ITT , which shall be in the form set out in Form of Agreement at Enclosures 1 and 2;
(2) the contracts to be entered into between the Authority and the Contractor for the delivery of the Services more particularly described in Clause 2.1.3 of Section 2 to this ITT , which shall be in the form set out in Form of Agreement at Enclosure 3.

'Alternative Tenders' Shall mean a Tender Response submitted in addition to a full Tender Response (where the full Tender Response is submitted in accordance with the requirements of this ITT) and which sets out proposals for the modification of the Specification (in whole or in part).

'the Attorney General's Chambers' Shall mean the Attorney General's Chambers, an Office of the Government.

‘the Authority’ Shall mean the Public Sector Pensions Authority (a Statutory Board of the Government).

'Closing Date' Shall mean the date set out as the Due Date/time for submission of Tender Response in Section 2.7 of this ITT.

'Contractor' Shall mean the body chosen as the successful Tenderer (if any) and who enters into the Agreement.

Commercial in Confidence Reference: TREA.2646/2808

Date: April 2019
Page 5 of 15

'the Department' Shall mean the Treasury (a Department of the Government).

'Form of Tender' Shall mean the document contained at Section 3 of this ITT.

'the Government' Shall mean the Department and the Authority and/or any of the other Departments and/or Statutory Boards and other bodies (whether the Departments and/or Statutory Boards and other bodies are acting jointly or separately) which collectively form the Isle of Man Government.

'Intellectual Property Rights' Shall mean patents, trademarks, service marks, design rights (whether registerable or otherwise), applications for any of the foregoing, copyright, know-how, trade or business names and other similar rights or obligations whether registerable or not in any country (including but not limited to the British Isles).

'ITT' Shall mean this Invitation to Tender document to include all sections and enclosures hereto.

'Portal' Shall mean the Government's internet based Procurement Portal.

'Procurement Officer' Shall mean the person named in Section 2.3 of this ITT or such other person as is nominated in writing by the person named in Section 2.3 of this ITT.

'Procurement Services' Shall mean the Procurement Services section of the Attorney General's Chambers.

'Qualified Tenders' Shall mean a Tender Response whereby the Tenderer is seeking to modify the design, Specification or conditions of contract and which is not an Alternative Tender.

'Services' Shall mean the provision of those goods and/or services as are set out in the Specification.

'Specification' Shall mean the specification detailed in Schedule 1 (SPECIFICATION) to the relevant Agreement.

'Tenderer' Shall mean a body who submits a Tender Response or who could reasonably be expected to submit a Tender Response.

'Tender Period' Shall mean the period from the date of issue of this ITT until the Closing Date.

'Tender Price' Shall mean the fixed price quoted by the Tenderer in their Tender Response for the fully inclusive provision by them of the Services and any defined hourly rate for additional services/goods.

'Tender Response' Shall mean a tender submitted by a Tenderer in response to this ITT.

'The Treasury'

Commercial in Confidence Reference: TREA.2646/2808

Date: April 2019
Page 6 of 15

Shall mean the Treasury, a Department of the Government.

'Working Days' Shall mean Monday to Friday in each week but excluding bank holidays recognised in the Isle of Man.

1.3 Procurement Process (Mandatory) The procurement process is to be run by Procurement Services for and on behalf of the Department and the Authority (as applicable). Procurement Services, the Department and the Authority (as applicable) will be involved in the selection of the Contractor and the Department or the Authority (as applicable) will ultimately enter into the Agreement with the Contractor (should a Contractor be chosen).

1.4 Confidentiality (Mandatory) Tenderers are reminded that until the tender process has been concluded, normally by contract award or cancellation, the ITT and the procurement process are confidential. The information, details and documents provided by Tenderers responding to this ITT will not be published or disclosed by Procurement Services to any other party other than to the Department and/or the Authority (as applicable)_ and the professional advisors of both the Attorney General's Chambers and the Department and/or the Authority (as applicable) whilst the process is still ongoing. Once the process is concluded the provision of Section 1.5 below will apply.

If the Attorney General's Chambers has reasonable grounds for suspecting that collusion has occurred between Tenderers, then those Tenderers shall be excluded from the remainder of the procurement process and possibly future tenders. Tenderers must complete and return with their Tender Response the Certificate of Non-Collusion (Document 3 of Section 3 of this ITT).

1.5 Freedom of Information (Mandatory) Tenderers are reminded that the Government is committed to meeting their legal responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (the Act). Accordingly, all information submitted in responding to this ITT may need to be disclosed by the Government in response to a request under the Act. We may also decide to include certain information in the publication scheme that we maintain. The scope of the scheme is referred to in the Form of Acknowledgement, a copy of which will have been provided to you. If you consider that any of the information included in your tender is commercially sensitive, please identify it and explain (in broad terms) what harm may result from disclosure if a request is received, and the time period applicable to that sensitivity. If applicable, Tenderers must complete and return with their Tender Response the Schedule of Confidential Information (included as Document 5 of Section 3 of this ITT).

Please be aware that, even where you have indicated that information is commercially sensitive, we might be required to disclose it under the Act if a request is received. Please also note that the receipt of any material marked 'confidential' or equivalent in response to this ITT should not be taken to mean that the Government accepts any duty of confidence by virtue of that marking. If a request is received, we may also be required to disclose details of unsuccessful tenders.

If we receive a request for information that you have supplied to us we will, as far as possible, seek your views about the sensitivity of the information in question. The final decision on the release or withholding of information rests with the authority that holds the information. Your views will inform our decision making but they cannot bind us under the Act and even if you object we may have to release the information requested.

1.6 Authority (Mandatory) The Department and the Authority (as applicable) are seeking bona fide and competitive bids for the Services. The supply of the Services should be undertaken in full compliance with the standards laid down within this ITT.

Commercial in Confidence Reference: TREA.2646/2808

Date: April 2019
Page 7 of 15

1.7 Tender Documents and Confirmation of Receipt (Mandatory) Tenderers will receive the complete ITT as listed in the table of contents on page 2 of this ITT.

Should a Tenderer decide that he is unable to submit a Tender Response he shall immediately select 'Opt Out' on the project within the Portal. The Tenderer shall then be provided with an option to state the reasons for withdrawal. 1.8 Formal Tender Procedure (Mandatory) The Form of Tender must be fully completed in all respects, otherwise the Tender Response may not be considered.

The documents which make up Section 3 of this ITT, titled Tender Response, must be submitted through the portal leaving the documents in this entire Section intact as the Tender Response.

Your submission may be uploaded to the Portal and amended several times ahead of the submission deadline. However, following the deadline the portal will 'Lock Out' and no further amendments can be made to your submission.

The Tenderer must submit a Tender Response that complies with the ITT.

1.9 Incomplete Tender Responses (Mandatory) Tender Responses must be complete at the time of submission. It may not be possible to consider a Tender Response if any particulars and/or data requested in the ITT are not provided in full.

1.10 Qualified Tenders (Mandatory) Tenderers should submit unqualified Tender Responses. Under no circumstances must any amendment be made to the ITT, except when so instructed by Procurement Services.

Tenderers wishing to submit a non-compliant Tender Response, by way of qualification of ITT, must do so separately using the format of this ITT as far as is practicable. Only in very exceptional circumstances will Tender Responses qualified in any way be considered.

1.11 Alternative Tender (Mandatory) The Tenderer may submit an Alternative Tender(s). If the Tenderer wishes to offer an Alternative Tender, this must be in addition to a conforming Tender Response. If a conforming Tender Response is not submitted, the Alternative Tender will not be considered.

The requirements for an Alternative Tender are as follows:

Proposals involving modifications to the Specification in whole or in part should be notified, in confidence, to the Procurement Officer as early as possible during the Tender Period. An Alternative Tender will not be considered unless this prior notification has been given not less than a full five (5) Working Days (Monday-Friday 9.00 am - 5.00 pm) before the Closing Date.
Following receipt

[Response truncated — full text is 163,978 characters]