What has the market told you about what is needed to deliver sustainability and how do PSAA encourage small audit firms to enter the market?

In 2020 PSAA commissioned independent research from Touchstone Renard to review the sustainability of the local government audit market.

During the summer of 2021 we considered the feedback provided by the market and confirmed our approach to support the drive towards a more sustainable market for local public audit services. We summarised the outcome of the market engagement in a report that we published in autumn 2021.

Our procurement strategy 2022 supported the drive towards a long term competitive and more sustainable market for local public audit services and recognised the need to encourage new entrants alongside existing suppliers. For example, we created different sized contract lots to reflect the range of capacity available within different firms.