Internal Audit Services

Tender description

The Legal Services Board (LSB) is looking to appoint a suitably qualified third party to undertake internal audit services. As a public body, we are required to have a service as part of our overall governance arrangements and - as a very small organisation - we do not have in-house audit capability. We are looking for a supplier who can work in partnership with LSB managers to deliver the core audit brief to a high standard. The current provider is Crowe LLP. A service provider is expected to be appointed effective from the 1 April 2024. Please contact Ethan Fleming, Corporate Governance Manager, tenders@legalservicesboard.org.uk, if you have any questions or require any clarification. Enquiries received after the deadline for questions may not be answered. A summary of the questions received and LSB's response will be published on Contracts Finder. The Legal Services Board is the independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales. In all our work, we seek to promote the eight regulatory objectives set out in the Legal Services Act 2007. We share our regulatory objectives with the 'approved regulators' of the legal profession, each of which have direct responsibility for the day-to-day regulation of the different types of lawyers. Our strategy for the legal services sector outlines our vision to reshape legal services to better meet society's needs. The LSB is an arm's length body of the Ministry of Justice, funded by a levy on the legal sector. Details on the Board and LSB's governance, including terms of reference for committees and governance policies are available on the LSB website. The LSB has a small office in central London, near Tottenham Court Road. Since the pandemic, the LSB has been operating on a hybrid basis. LSB will require independent assurance about: • corporate governance; • risk management; • performance, operations and delivery; • key financial and operational controls; • IT ; • human resources; • management information and information security; • fraud, error and whistleblowing policies; • project and programme management; and • change management. The provider will draft and agree with the LSB an internal audit strategy for the period of the contract. The strategy will be broken into an annual plan each year. The successful bidder will provide an internal audit service in accordance with the annual internal audit plan for the financial years 2024/25, 2025/26 and 2026/27. At the end of each year the provider will prepare a written annual report and opinion and present it to the LSB's Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC). Additionally, the provider will be required to attend and to present reports at the LSB's ARAC meetings (currently virtual). Full details may be found in the ITT attached to this notice