Auditing the Procurement Process

When establishing a management system, organizations have to put in place processes to control the purchasing of products (or services) and their verification. However, the way organizations consider such requirements are fulfilled may not necessarily be the most appropriate one. Similarly, auditors may consider it sufficient to confirm compliance by just checking that an approved supplier list is up-to-date, that orders have been placed only with approved suppliers and activities necessary for ensuring conformity with the specified purchase requirements have been carried out.

Course Objectives

• Procurement should start during the design and development of a product when a specification is prepared
• Inter-departmental discussions should take place to ensure that potential suppliers can provide a product that meets the design specification at the required cost;
• The organization should ensure that the specified purchase requirements are correct prior to their communication to the supplier;
• Statutory & regulatory requirements should have been included in the purchase requirements, as applicable;
• The degree of risk associated with a component or product and the controls required to ensure that it meets the design specification should have been assessed

Course Outline

• Procurement Audit Procedure
• Criteria for the Selection of Suppliers
• Limitations of traditional approach
• Reliance on tendering
• Vulnerability to contract fraud
• Initial selection and supplier partnerships
• Annual review tools e.g. rolling audits, supplier 'MOTs'
• Benchmarking
• Improvement plans

*Course fee is not inclusive of VAT