In July 2024, in response to growing concerns about difficulties NHS bodies are facing to appoint and retain auditors, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) launched a comprehensive market study into the audit market for NHS providers and integrated care boards (ICBs).
The HFMA worked with the FRC to engage with finance directors and non-executive directors through a survey and two roundtables in October 2024. This briefing summarises the findings from the survey and roundtables.
Overall, the audit market would mostly benefit from more choice and competition. There is a lack of choice in the NHS audit market, supported by the survey findings that 47% of respondents only received one bid and 7% received no bids at all in response to recent procurement exercises. A total of 70% of respondents had concerns about their next audit tender, with a further 17% having serious concerns.
Date: 3 March