13. Procurement & Contracting
Quick Read
Procurement and contracting are high-risk areas for corruption. Corrupt employees in the procurement and contracting function may solicit or accept bribes and kickbacks from bidders and contractors. They can manipulate procurement processes to favour particular bidders, disguise the basis of decisions to award contracts and even generate funds to be paid to bidders to pay bribes or to be returned in kickbacks.
The company should ensure that it has effective procedures to counter bribery and corruption in its procurement and contracting processes. This will include tailored training for staff, financial controls over payments to contractors. The company should also communicate the anti-bribery programme to contractors and suppliers, and include anti-bribery provisions in contracts, and conduct rigorous monitoring of transactions and high-value contracts.
Key elements:
- Publicly commit to fair trading and demonstrate your commitment through your procedures to deter corrupt bidders from participating company tenders.
- Conduct due diligence on prospective bidders to identify red flags for bribery and corruption.
- Implement consistent and transparent review processes for major contracts to ensure they have not been awarded based on bribery.
- Monitor contracting processes, decisions and transactions to identify red flags for collusion between bidders and procurement staff.
