Effective procurement requires the ability to foster productive relationships and to secure the best possible terms within a contract or project. However, there can be a fine line between savvy negotiation and a gradual descent into corrupt and/or fraudulent behaviour.
Despite robust legal and policy requirements relating to procurement activity, fraud is nevertheless an ever-present problem within the supply chain sector. We examine some of the danger signs of corruption to consider within any procurement arrangement.
procurement fraud
Corruption and fraud go hand in hand. In procurement work, tender processes can be circumvented or omitted altogether, documents altered subtly to benefit internal operatives, and bids and contracts massaged to create mutually beneficial gains. Fraud can begin with lazy practices or commercial white lies, growing to a tipping point where procurement officers enable a status quo of daily corruption. By favouring existing contractors or accepting inducements to deal with others, procurement divisions can become riddled with fraudulent and self-serving behaviour.
red flags of corruption
So what are some of the conditions that enable procurement fraud? Time and money lie at the heart of procurement activities, and both can usefully serve as red flags for possible corruption. Shorter-than-usual timeframes for tender processes can be a tell-tale sign of a strategy to reduce competitive bids and give favour to a particular supplier.
Similarly, the acceptance of a higher bid with no meritorious justification can and should ring alarm bells. Other red flags include: poor communication protocols regarding procurement management; a lack of well-documented processes and outcomes concerning payment agreements and project costings.
a complex framework
In NSW, the procurement policy framework provides an extremely complex set of legal, governance and administrative requirements around procurement activities.
While this has brought various authoritative sources of information into one structure, the framework does place considerable administrative demands on staff at the coalface.
Management should understand and champion the framework, providing effective training and support to staff around ongoing issues of transparency and integrity.
Solutions to fraud and corruption
Establishing the right culture is the number one weapon against corruption. This includes fostering a work environment where transparency and integrity are at the core of business-as-usual. Staff training should be in depth and ongoing, with refreshers provided at regular intervals. Organisations need to audit and assess current internal controls, taking nothing for granted when designing mechanisms for combatting fraud.
Anti-corruption controls already in place must be monitored for strength and efficacy at regular intervals. When red flags go up, a fraud response plan should be accessible, relevant and understood by the entire procurement division. Further, a thorough knowledge of current and potential suppliers should be developed and maintained, including detailed information on supplier capacity and sub-contracting.
Perhaps most importantly – yet often overlooked – the procurement process itself must be monitored each step of the way, both for individual contracts and in terms of ongoing operations within the procurement division. A further enhancement possibility exists within business analysis programs; harnessing the power of data can provide an incredible means of monitoring procurement processes, picking up any suspicious activities through detailed analytics.
hear it on the grapevine
Grapevine is owned and operated by WISE Workplace. In 2016, we launched Grapevine to enhance the way our clients manage their businesses. The Grapevine Confidential Whistleblower Hotline provides employees with a safe and secure environment to report misconduct, enabling insightful management of complaints and the ability to bring about real cultural change and reduce risk.
The Grapevine call centre is located in Queensland and staffed by trusted and experienced operators. The call centre is manned 24/7 and receives over 1,000 calls per week. For a free quote, call WISE today. And should you wish to learn more about methods for assessing potential fraud within your current procurement practices, we will be happy to assist.
