Statutory & Regulatory Audit

Tender description

Southern Water Services (SWS) under all Applicable Law relating to the financial reporting and audit of company accounts, including the statutory audit of public interest entities (PIEs), SWS is seeking to renew, for itself and on behalf of the Greensands Holdings Group (of which it is principal operating company), its statutory audit services by competitive tender. As part of this process, Southern Water Services SWS is also seeking to renew the audit of its regulatory accounting statements within the annual performance report for each financial year, as required by its Instrument of Appointment (Licence) granted by the Secretary of State for the Environment as a water and sewerage undertaker under the Water Industry Act 1991 and as specified by the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat). Lot 1: TThe audit Services conducted by the successful Auditor must be conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) issued from time to time by the Financial Reporting Council. The role of the external Auditor will be to report on the financial statements of SWS (or any corporate member of the Greensands Holdings Group as applicable); to carry out the necessary assessments of the statements and underlying records and control systems in order to reach a fair and unbiased opinion on the statements. Audits must be able to provide assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement and give a true and fair view. The successful Auditor must obtain an understanding of the accounting and the internal control systems in order to assess their adequacy as a basis for the preparation of the financial statements and to form an opinion whether adequate accounting records have been maintained by the relevant audited company. In addition to the regulatory audit required by Ofwat, SWS is also seeking to renew additional assurance on an “Agreed Upon Procedures” basis for other elements of its annual reporting, for example, but not limited to sections of the Annual Performance Report not covered by the Ofwat requirements and the viability statement The auditor will carry out such investigations as to enable them to form an opinion as to: (a) whether adequate accounting records have been kept by SWS and returns adequate for the audit (b) whether SWS’s individual financial statements are in agreement with the accounting records and returns. (c) whether certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law have been made. (d) whether they have obtained all the information and explanations which, to the best of their knowledge and belief, are necessary for the purpose of our audit; and The Auditor should provide a management report to SWS which highlights any potential issues, or risks within the audit that was conducted. The Auditor should provide reports on the financial statements of SWS income and expenditure, recognised gains and losses and statement of cash flow for the year. They should take into account relevant statutory and other mandatory disclosure and accounting requirements and funding body requirements. The audit services conducted by the successful Auditor must be conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) issued from time to time by the Financial Reporting Council, relevant ethical standards and applicable law.