BidSkim
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Service market

External audit contracts

UK public sector · 102 contracts awarded in the 12 months to 6 October 2026

Covering 600+ buyer portals · 5 years of records · Updated 6 October 2026 · How we count

Contracts awarded
102
Last 12 months
Median contract
£186k
Recorded value
Recorded value
£48.4m
86 of 99 main-service contracts have a published value
Buyers
96
Suppliers
42

BidSkim assigns contracts to services from the notice text. How services are assigned

What stands out

  • The five suppliers that won the most external audit contracts took 37% of them (38 of 102).
  • Contracts awarded per quarter fell 35% from the first half of the period to the second.
  • The median contract, £186k, is 2.3 times the median across consulting & accountancy contracts (£80k).
  • London had the most contracts: 19, or 19% of the total.

Who buys external audit

By contracts awarded, the 12 months to 6 October 2026.

  1. 1Tees Valley Combined Authority4 contracts
  2. 2Sanctuary Housing Association2 contracts
  3. 3University of Brighton2 contracts
  4. 4Scottish Enterprise2 contracts
  5. 5MANCHESTER INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY SERVICE LIMITED1 contract
  6. 6National Audit Office1 contract
  7. 7Southern Housing1 contract
  8. 8Sovereign Network Group1 contract
  9. 9National Energy System Operator1 contract
  10. 10Karbon Homes1 contract

Top external audit contractors by contracts won

The 12 months to 6 October 2026.

  1. 1KPMG8 contracts
  2. 2BDO8 contracts
  3. 3Grant Thornton8 contracts
  4. 4Forvis Mazars8 contracts
  5. 5Bishop Fleming8 contracts
  6. 6RSM7 contracts
  7. 7EY6 contracts
  8. 8Crowe UK LLP5 contracts
  9. 9PwC4 contracts
  10. 10Menzies LLP4 contracts

Latest and largest awards

Each links to the official notice.

Latest

Largest

Contracts awarded by quarter

21Q4 2025*34Q1 202625Q2 202622Q3 20260Q4 2026*
* part quarter

Where the contracts were awarded

England 85 · Scotland 11 · Wales 4 · Northern Ireland 2

London19South East11Scotland11Yorkshire and The Humber10North East8North West8West Midlands8South West7East of England6Wales4East Midlands2Northern Ireland2UK-wide or not stated6

What is included

A registered audit firm audits the organisation's annual financial statements (and group or subsidiary accounts) and gives the statutory audit opinion with an audit findings report or management letter.

  • Statutory audit of annual accounts and annual report
  • Group and subsidiary company audits
  • Audit of resource accounts for central government and NHS bodies
  • Pension scheme accounts audited under the same appointment
  • Audit appointments arranged for opted-in bodies

What is not included

  • Internal audit (see Internal audit services)
  • Grant claim and service charge certification, and audits of performance, regulatory or NHS data returns (see Grant certification, compliance and data audits)
  • Auditor's expert valuations of assets (see Property valuation)
  • Auditor's expert actuarial reviews (see Actuarial and pensions consultancy)
  • Corporation tax compliance bought alongside (see Tax and VAT advice)

Often bought by the same buyers