External Audits

Notice of Appointment of External Auditors for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

For the financial years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 financial years commencing 1 April, Mazars LLP have been appointed as external auditors for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, with options to extend the appointment for up to two further 12 months periods covering the 2023-24 and 2024-25 financial years.

The Trust’s Auditor Panel approved the use of the NHS Shared Business Services framework agreement to undertake a mini-competition among eligible suppliers, as well as the evaluation of responses based on price (40%) and quality (60%). While only Mazars LLP submitted a response to the invitation to quote, at its meeting on 21 October 2020, the Auditor Panel was satisfied that the response demonstrated the ability of Mazars LLP to provide external audit services to the Trust to requisite quality levels and so recommended to the Trust Board to appoint Mazars LLP as external auditors to the Trust.

The Trust Board subsequently accepted the recommendation of the Auditor Panel and agreed the appointment on 11 November 2020.

Summary of regulatory framework

The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 requires NHS trusts to select and appoint their own auditors and directly manage their contracts for the audits. To fulfil these requirements, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is obliged to appoint an external auditor, eligible for appointment in line with the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) requirements, to audit the annual accounts by 31 December of the preceding year. The appointment can be for longer than a year but there must be a new appointment at least once every 5 years and an auditor can be re-appointed for further terms. The Trust has also appointed an auditor panel to advice on the appointments, in accordance with the Act.

Within 28 days of an appointment being made, the Act also required NHS trusts to publish a notice to name the external auditor, the length of the appointment, the advice, or a summary of the advice to the Board or Governing Body, received from the auditor panel and, where it has not accepted that advice, the reasons why not.

Our external auditors' latest annual report can be viewed below:

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