Financial and accounting support

Estimated total value:€265,000,000 ceiling for the framework contracts; maximum contract duration 48 months 1.

Title:Financial and accounting support. Procedure reference: EC-BUDG/2026/OP/0013. Lead contracting authority: European Commission, DG BUDG - Budget (interinstitutional framework contract). Type: Call for tenders (procurement). Nature of contract: services; framework agreement (mixed multiple, partly in cascade, partly with reopening of competition). Main CPV: 79210000 Accounting and auditing services.

Estimated total value:€265,000,000 (framework contract ceiling, estimated overall contract amount). 1

Maximum contract duration:48 months (duration of the framework contract); specific contracts issued under the framework will specify start and end dates.

Procedure type and award method:Open procedure for the framework contract; award by best price-quality ratio (price 30% / quality 70%). The framework will be multiple (maximum 3 contractors), implemented in cascade for Time & Means and Quoted Time & Means and with reopening of competition for Fixed Price specific contracts.

Key dates (published/tender timeline):TED publication date: 24/09/2026. Deadline for receipt of tenders (eSubmission): 16/11/2026 14:00 (Europe/Brussels). Public opening: 17/11/2026 14:30 (Europe/Brussels). Note: EU Login account and Participant Register (PIC) mandatory for electronic submission. Q&A and document updates published via Funding & Tenders Portal F&T Portal.

Eligible applicant types:legal persons and natural persons within the scope of the Treaties and applicable international agreements. Typical eligible applicants: startups, SMEs, large enterprises, consultancies, accounting and auditing firms, universities, research institutes, non-profit organisations, public bodies, agencies, public-private partnerships and consortia. Subcontracting is permitted subject to rules in the tender specifications. Joint tenders (consortia) are allowed; joint tenders must nominate a group leader and provide agreement/power of attorney (Annex AN-03-00).

Beneficiary scope (geographic eligibility):Primary geographic eligibility: EU (Member States and institutions). Participation is open also to entities established in third countries if covered by applicable procurement access agreements (GPA etc.). Services must be performed inside the territory of the EU unless expressly authorised for specific contract tasks. The framework serves EU institutions, agencies and bodies across multiple Member State locations – see list in Tender Specifications Part 1, Section 1.1.

Funding type and mechanism:procurement (service contract) – framework agreement. The contracting authority will award multiple non‑exclusive framework contracts (up to three contractors) and place or award specific contracts (orders) under the framework either directly in cascade (T&M and QTM) or by reopening of competition (FP). The framework ceiling is not a guaranteed payment; actual volume depends on contracting authority needs.

Consortium requirement:not mandatory; single tenderer or consortium allowed. Joint tenders must appoint a group leader who will sign on behalf of the group and be jointly and severally liable. Subcontractors whose share exceeds 20% or those relied upon to meet selection criteria must be identified and provide commitment letters (Annexes AN-04-00, AN-05-01, AN-05-02). Declarations on exclusion and selection (Annex AN-02-00) must be submitted by involved entities.

Target sector:finance and accounting (public sector), public finance management, accounting advisory, IPSAS, financial instruments accounting, consolidation, treasury, audit, financial business analysis, financial IT systems, data analytics and data protection. The tender defines standardised service profiles (Annex AN-08-00) including but not limited to: Consultant in accounting, Consultant in accounting - IPSAS, Consultant in accounting for financial instruments, Program Portfolio Advisor, Business Analyst, Financial Analyst, Project Manager Financial Information Systems, Data and Information Analyst, Treasury Specialist, Auditor in Accounting, Data Protection Expert. Each profile contains detailed knowledge, skills, tasks and minimum experience requirements.

Project stage:operational service delivery. The opportunity requires readily deployable, experienced professionals and teams able to provide immediate operational and advisory support. Typical maturity: delivery, implementation, ongoing operations, maintenance and support, including specialist advisory (IPSAS, financial instruments, consolidation) and IT systems support.

Framework ceiling:€265,000,000 (total estimated value for the framework). Specific contracts will set prices using the Financial Tender model (Annex AN-06-00). Pricing: daily rates per profile (Belgium base) with country cost-of-living index adjustments for near-site work in other Member States. Extended services (on-call, out-of-hours, on-site far-site) carry surcharges and flat travel/return-trip fees as detailed in the technical specifications. Invoicing: quarterly for T&M (based on Monthly registration reports), QTM and FP invoicing per accepted deliverables and Certificate of Conformity/Acceptance; eInvoicing via eSubmission/Funding & Tenders Portal or Peppol where instructed.

Application type:open call for tenders (eSubmission via Funding & Tenders Portal); EU Login account and Participant Register registration (PIC) required. Tender submission is electronic only (eSubmission). Selection and award: initial checks (eligibility, exclusion, selection criteria), technical evaluation (quality essays/scenarios and profile evidence), financial evaluation (Annex AN-06-00 financial model). Award of framework contracts follows best price-quality ratio; specific contracts issued through cascade or reopening of competition as defined in Annex AN-07-00 Roadmap to Order.

Number of stages:1 main electronic submission stage for the framework contract (tender). Post-submission stages include opening, clarification requests, evaluation (exclusion, selection, award), ranking and award of framework contracts (up to 3). After award, specific contracts are requested and awarded either by cascade (T&M, QTM) or reopening of competition (FP). Each specific contract follows ordering, offer (where applicable), signature and delivery phases as set out in the Roadmap to Order.

Typical timeline elements for a specific contract:Request for specific contract → Y/N intention → contractor proposal (CVs and prices) → interview (optional) → acceptance/refusal form → signature of specific contract → delivery (phased execution allowed) → monthly reporting and quarterly invoicing for T&M; certificates and acceptance for QTM/FP. Lead times: Y/N reply and offer deadlines are determined per request (examples: Y/N 2 calendar days for T&M / Offer 7 days; QTM minimum 14 days; FP minimum 21 days) as set in the Roadmap Annex.

Success rates:not published in the tender. The exercise is competitive: multiple framework contractors will be selected (up to 3) from the ranked tenders. Specific contract award via cascade or reopening of competition is competitive and depends on ranking, availability and quality/price proposals. Historical or estimated success rates are not available from the published documents.

Co-funding requirement:none specified. Financial guarantees: pre-financing is not applicable; performance or retention guarantees are not foreseen as standard for the FWC (see Special Conditions). Contractors must provide valid invoicing and may be subject to checks, audits and recoveries. Invoices must comply with VAT and eInvoicing rules; the Union is VAT exempt where applicable. The tender includes foreign subsidy notification obligations under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (Articles I.1.7 and Tender Specifications).

Mandatory templates and annexes published with the tender:Invitation to tender, Part 1 Administrative specifications, Part 2 Technical specifications, Draft Framework Contract (FWC FAST III), Annex AN-01-00 List of documents to be submitted, AN-02-00 Declaration on Honour, AN-03-00 Agreement/Power of attorney, AN-04-00 List of identified subcontractors, AN-05-01/02 Commitment letters, AN-06-00 Financial Tender (Excel model), AN-07-00 Roadmap to Order, AN-07-01 TM request form, AN-07-02 QTM request form, AN-07-03 FP request form, AN-07-04 Offer acceptance/refusal form, AN-07-05 CV Form, AN-08-00 Profiles and Technical Description, AN-09-00 Code of Conduct and AUP, AN-10/12 Contract Reference Forms, AN-11 Contract list template, AN-13/14 Project reference forms and templates, AN-15 scenario essays, AN-16 financial selection template and other administrative templates and draft specific contract.

Key compliance obligations:Exclusion and selection declarations, foreign subsidies notification or declaration (Form FS-PP), data protection (Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and GDPR where applicable), adherence to code of conduct and AUP (Annex AN-09-00), security clearances where required, and observance of environmental, social and labour law obligations.

Important bidder risks and requirements:strict adherence to templates and mandatory evidence, potential requirement for security vetting and personal security clearances for staff, strict rules on subcontracting and entities whose capacities are relied upon, foreign subsidies declaration/notification obligations, risk of checks/audits and contract termination for non‑performance, and obligation to accept Union ownership or licence of results and related IP conditions. The financial model must not be altered except in the coloured input cells and must not produce an abnormally low tender; pricing methodology explanation is requested.

Primary funding type:procurement (tender) — framework agreement for services (service contract). The framework results in specific contracts (T&M, QTM, FP) awarding payable service fees to contractors.

Consortium:allowed but not mandatory. Both single applicants and consortia can apply. Joint tenders require a group leader and a signed Agreement/Power of Attorney (Annex AN-03-00). Joint tender members are jointly and severally liable for the performance of the contract.

Primary scope:EU institutions, agencies and bodies and entities established in the EU. Participation also open to economic operators from countries covered by relevant public procurement agreements (GPA) and to third country entities where permitted by specific rules. Services must be performed from within the EU unless expressly authorised for a specific contract.

Sector focus:finance, accounting, public sector accounting (IPSAS), audit, treasury, financial instruments, consolidation, financial IT systems, data and information analytics, data protection and compliance. The call is Deep Tech adjacently relevant for financial IT systems and data analytics.

Countries explicitly mentioned in the procurement documents:Belgium (place of Commission HQ and base for price index), and a long list of EU Member State locations where participating entities have premises (see Tender Specifications Part 1, Section 1.1. for full list of participating institutions and their locations across EU Member States).

Expected project maturity:operational delivery, advisory and support for accounting and finance processes (service delivery, implementation, validation and ongoing operations). Not a research or idea call.

Submission method:open call (Call for tenders) with electronic submission (eSubmission) through the Funding & Tenders Portal (EU Login and Participant Register PIC mandatory).

Nature of support:monetary (payments for services) under public procurement terms. The FWC is a paid service contract; beneficiaries (contractors) receive monetary payments for delivered services. Non‑financial obligations include reporting, documentation, IP and data protection compliance, and security requirements.

Number of stages:primary framework tender = 1 electronic submission stage. Subsequent stages: evaluation (exclusion/selection/award), signature of framework contract, then multiple orders (specific contracts) which themselves follow an ordering process (Y/N intention → proposal → interview → signature → execution). For categorisation: 1 main tender stage + 1 or more ordering stages for each specific contract.

Co‑funding:not required. This is a procurement (contract for services) where the contracting authority pays for deliverables; there is no beneficiary co‑financing requirement stated.

Templates:the procurement includes a comprehensive set of templates and forms which must be used unchanged: Declaration on Honour (AN-02-00), Agreement/Power of Attorney (AN-03-00) for consortia, List of identified subcontractors (AN-04-00), Commitment letters (AN-05-01, AN-05-02), Financial Tender Excel (AN-06-00) with Price BELGIUM and Price OTHER EU tabs, Roadmap to Order (AN-07-00) with TM/QTM/FP request forms, CV form (AN-07-05), Profiles and Technical Description (AN-08-00), Code of Conduct and AUP (AN-09-00), Contract Reference Forms (AN-10/AN-12), Project Reference Forms (AN-13), Project list template (AN-14), Scenario essays (AN-15 series), Financial selection template (AN-16-00), Draft FWC (FWC FAST III). Use these templates exactly as published.