> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.ipswich.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Grant Thornton awarded £10,000 Council housing audit contract
- URL: https://www.ipswich.co.uk/grant-thornton-awarded-10k-council-housing-audit-contract/
- Published: 2024-12-10T10:44:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-16T15:28:03.000Z
- Description: Ipswich Borough Council has reappointed Grant Thornton to conduct its annual housing capital receipts audit for 2023/24, with the £10,000 contract approved under special provisions.
- Author: Oliver Rouane-Williams
- Tags: News, Business, #article, Ipswich Borough Council, Grant Thornton, #Import 2026-03-16 14:45

**Why it matters:** The audit, which reviews how the council manages income from its housing stock, is a mandatory requirement that must be completed by December 2024.

**The big picture:** The decision to appoint Grant Thornton was made through an officer decision on 20 November.

**Key details:**

- The contract is worth £10,000.
- Grant Thornton will review the council's housing pooled capital receipts return for 2023/24.
- The firm has previously provided this service to the council.
- The work must be submitted to DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities).
- The council has exempted the contract from its usual market testing requirements.

**Council's position:** In its decision notice, the council cited several reasons for directly appointing Grant Thornton:

- The firm's existing familiarity with council processes.
- What it describes as a "very limited supply" of available audit firms, as most audit firms are currently focused on clearing backlogs of other local authority work.
- Concerns about missing mandatory deadlines if a new auditor needed to be appointed.

**The bottom line:** The council reports that the £10,000 cost is similar to previous years and that funding is already allocated within its external audit budget.

### Independent local journalism is expensive to produce

It's free for you to read thanks to the generous support of our partners.