The internal audit team at Wbg, one of Scotland’s leading independent specialist full-service accountancy firms, has added seven new clients in the first quarter of the year whilst retaining a further five following a re-tender process, yielding a recurring fee income of more than £285,000.

The team’s expanded public sector client portfolio includes contract wins for National Museums Scotland, National Library of Scotland, and National Trust for Scotland.

To these, its seven new clients are: Heart of Worcestershire College; Cairn Housing Association; Newcastle & Staffordshire Colleges Group; Kendal College; Glasgow Kelvin College; Learning in Harmony Trust and Cairngorms National Park Authority.

It has also successfully retained the following clients following a re-tender: Lanarkshire Housing Association; Godalming College; Rosehill Housing Association; Abbeyfield & Wesley Housing Association and the Department for Education.

The addition of new clients has meant that the firm’s internal audit fee income has doubled over the last three years from £900k to £1.8m and is forecast to be in excess of £2m within the current financial year.

Graham Gillespie (pictured above), partner at Wbg, said: “Recent years have seen us earn a reputation for excellence across various public sector bodies, resulting in a high conversion rate at tender stage.

Our specialist internal audit service has enabled us to exploit a market niche. Indeed, we remain the only Scottish independent accountancy practice with audit activity throughout all four parts of the UK.

And the growth of the internal audit team means that Wbg is on target to realise its aim to grow its turnover from £13m to £30m over the next five years.”

Wbg provides a comprehensive range of internal audit services, focussing on risk and compliance across a range of process areas as well as added value reviews.