Procurement Fraud Prevention

The broad objectives of scrupulousness in procurement relate to the integrity and honesty in procurement transactions. The accountability; sustenance of integrity; ensuring compliance with processes; maintaining supplier confidence in the organization’s processes; minimizing potential conflicts; all offers being evaluated against the same criteria; ensuring the procurement activity provides the best outcome; and avoiding potential for misconduct, fraud and corruption.

Procurement fraud can be one of the more complex frauds to investigate; there are numerous ways it can be committed and, when investigating it, all options need to be considered.

A simple definition of procurement fraud would be ‘fraud within the procurement lifecycle of a product or service, not forgetting long-term maintenance contracts’.

Many frauds committed fall within the banner of procurement fraud as most companies obtain products or services through some form of procurement exercise.