In most major procurements, the procurer will need suitably qualified and experienced external financial advisers. The role of such financial and other advisers should be confined to providing commercial expertise that is not available in-house. The key to the successful appointment of such advisers is a thorough investigation of their skills and previous relevant experience.
Although not necessarily all will be required for any given project, a financial adviser should be capable of providing the following services:
• advice on scoping the potential project;
• assistance with preparation of a business case;
• assistance in sounding out the market and raising the profile of the project (in conjunction with the project manager);
• assistance in developing the reference project and any value-for-money benchmark(s);
• advice on carrying out risk analysis, and identification and quantification of risk (although this can often be undertaken by procurers themselves in conjunction with technical advisers);
• structuring and drafting the bid documentation to ensure good quality responses (e.g., clarification of expected risk transfer);
• providing detailed financial evaluation criteria;
• assistance with reviewing bids; and
• providing financial advice and support during negotiations with bidders to contract signing.