ITT for Audit Review

Lot 1 Ofgem require a review of our current approach to audit activity across the schemes that we administer to gain a clear understanding of current audit activity in each scheme area. This review would identify and describe the current audit strategy and audit plan for each scheme area.

It would include an appraisal of the current methods for selecting sites/participants for audit in each scheme area and the level of confidence that our current approach can give us in rates of non-compliance in the general population for each scheme. This will require engagement with our scheme audit teams who are based in our London and Glasgow offices.

Lot 2 Ofgem require the identification of a new model for audit activity across all of our schemes. This will involve the identification of recognised best practice for audit activity across government and industry, including consideration our own internal Assurance Review and recent recommendations we received from the National Audit Office.

The new audit model should recognise the varying needs across our schemes whilst ensuring that our schemes are aligned in respect of basic audit principles and with recognised best practice. There is now a requirement to identify and procure a new software product for planning, managing, executing, and reporting findings from audits.

We expect that this will include the live submission of audit findings via online forms while the auditor on site. We expect that this software would provide benefits in the areas of: -Planning of audit activity. -Communication of audit plan to auditors. -Provision of information to auditors in advance of audits, e.g. relevant case information and documentation. -Specification of audit questions. -Collection and submission of audit results. -Presentation of data from individual audit reports. -Automated analysis and reporting of all audit results.

Lot 3 Ofgem will also require that a short, sharp trial of the newly identified approach for executing audits is carried out utilising new audit software product. We expect that the trial would include the following: -Create an audit plan, identifying a representative sample of sites/participants for audit for the Domestic and Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, the Renewable Obligation and the Feed in Tariff schemes. -Instruct suitably qualified auditors to visit the selected sites, providing them with the information required for completing the audits via new software products. -Collect audit findings from the site audits via the new software. -Demonstrate the reporting functionality of the new software. -Test ability of the software output data that can interact with our existing scheme data for deeper analysis of trends. -The trial would seek to determine a reasonable cost for audits of this type audit activity once properly established.