Monthly Archives: November 2012

The invoice payment process in any organisation carries potential risk. A topical story is the former Labour minister, Denis MacShane who wrongly claimed at least £7,500 in expenses. A Parliamentary committee observed after work by the Parliamentary Commission for Standards concluded that between 2004 and 2008 MacShane submitted 19 invoices totalling £12,900 for ‘research and […]

  Architects of their own demise. In a recent case (European Commission V Federal Republic of Germany), Germany was found to have infringed the European Procurement Directives. When I say Germany, I don’t mean the entire population but the actions of the municipality of Niedernhausen has caused the State to be in the dock. In […]

‘Without an adequate workforce to manage and oversee the contracted projects, there is an increased risk of poor project outcomes and vulnerability to fraud, waste and abuse.’ This extract, from an audit report, could lead to an examination question. ‘Define an adequate workforce within the context of procurement and contracted projects.’ The word adequate could […]

Why is contracts placed on a time and materials (T&M)  basis? There is no profit incentive for a contractor to effectively manage  either the time expended or the amount of materials used.  Overwhelming risk is with the buying  organisation. The risk can be somewhat mitigated if stringent measures are  taken throughout the procurement process to […]

One of my first assignments for Brian Farrington Ltd was to review an IT project that had got out of control. It was late, incomplete and seriously over budget. During the research phase we asked what was known about the prime contractor and the subcontractor and what due diligence had been undertaken. The silence was […]

In the Channel Islands, the Guernsey Government have been subjected to fraudulent activity which resulted in them in paying £2.6m to a fraudster. The Treasury and Resources department received a letter purporting to be from a Bona Fide Contractor who was undertaking a major redevelopment of the islands airport. The letter advised them of ta […]

Elite Athletes! What about the elite criminals in our midst! There are elite criminals in our midst. That is a fact, but are there any in procurement? There have been some well publicised cases, including the recent ‘potato’ scandal. It is a reasonable question to ask “How does an elite criminal operate in procurement?” Even […]