What You Will Learn

1. Introduction to Procurement Fraud
 - Strategic importance of the procurement function and purchasing activities
 - Types of purchasing activities
 - Advantages and potential problems of different procurement strategies
 - Techniques to improve the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of purchasing activities

2. Entity Level Controls and Performance
 - Definition, types, characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses
 - Organizational structure, strategic objectives, people, processes, risks, and controls
 - How to assess the presence, condition, and quality of procurement entity-level controls and the process overall
 - Balancing the procurement audit from a strategic and operational perspective

3. Bidding
 - Examination of the most commonly used and effective techniques to evaluate the bidding process
 - Pros and cons of different techniques
 - Competitive and sole-provider mechanisms

4. Data Analytics
 - The benefits of using data to assess risks and the quality of internal controls
 - Obtaining relevant data and using it to assess the performance of the procurement function
 - Using data to identify questionable practices

5. Procurement Cards
 - Key risks and controls
 - Cardholder setup, purchasing limits, and MCC controls
 - Reconciliations and variance analysis
 - Common abuses and how to prevent and detect them

6. Contracting
 - Ensuring the transparency and fairness of the process
 - Vendor selection and management
 - Vendor list maintenance
 - Assessing the controls of third parties: the right to audit and SOC reports
 - Managing purchase orders, work orders, contracts, and service level agreements

7. Vendor Performance
 - Assessing the viability and competence of suppliers
 - Vendor and contract performance monitoring
 - Criteria for effective key performance indicators

8. The Purchasing Cycle
 - Risks and controls related to budgeting, purchase orders, and requisitions
 - Examining RFI, RFP, and RFQ
 - Using EDI, barcoding, and RFID technologies

9. Purchasing Fraud
 - Common purchasing and contract fraud schemes by employees and suppliers
 - Preventing abuse and detecting anomalies
 - Data analytics and helpful monitoring procedures
 - Techniques to prevent corruption, asset misappropriation, purchasing, and contract fraud

10. Audit Programs
 - Creating a risk assessment, risk matrix, and audit program
 - Key considerations during the planning, fieldwork, and reporting phases
 - Examination of the most commonly used and effective tools to evaluate the procurement function
 - Pros and cons of different tools and techniques