Purpose

The purpose of this report is to seek approval, in accordance with Contract Procedure Rule 7.7.5, for the award of a contract to Arlingclose Ltd for the provision of one-off additional services in relation to the implementation of new accounting standards.

The reason for the decision is that a compliant procurement exercise has been undertaken in accordance with Contract Procedure Rule 7, and the winning bidder has been identified as providing the most economically advantageous offer to the Council.

Decision

i) That, in accordance with Contract Procedure Rule 7.7.5 a contract be awarded to Arlingclose Ltd for the provision of one-off additional services in relation to the implementation of new accounting standards; and

(ii) That the Procurement / Legal Team be authorised to make the necessary arrangements for the issue of the relevant contract documentation.

Alternative options considered

In order to ensure that the Council accounts reflect the technical accounting requirements with regard to the implementation of IFRS 16, specialist advice is vital.  The only alternative would be to make decisions in-house – but Council officers do not have the appropriate knowledge or resources to do this as effectively.