OECD Recommendation
Apply oversight and control mechanisms to support accountability throughout the public procurement cycle, including appropriate complaint and sanction processes.
- Establish clear lines for oversight of the public procurement cycle
- Develop a system of effective and enforceable sanctions for government and private-sector procurement participants
- Handle complaints on a fair, timely and transparent way
- Ensure that internal controls (including financial controls, internal audit and management controls), and external controls and audits are coordinated, sufficiently resourced and integrated
Related Principles
Risks to public procurement related to accountability include:
- Chain of responsibilities (including the type and level of responsibilities, assignment of roles and segregation of duties, the required knowledge and experience, the corresponding financial limits, and obligation of recording) are not always clearly defined by internal guidelines related to public procurement processes;
- Public procurement processes can be the subject of complaints by potential suppliers; complaints need to be resolved in an efficient, timely and fair manner and final remedies have to be enforced;
- Internal control functions (management controls, financial controls and independent internal audit assurance), external controls and audits are not always well coordinated or resourced, and may not have the necessary skills or criteria for effective oversight, which can create gaps or loopholes;
- Control objectives are not always clearly defined and control reviews not always test periodically;
- Expenditure controls are not always undertaken, even though they create a significant opportunity for procurement to stretch beyond cost savings and to deliver more strategic value to the organization and;
- A system that creates “fear of consequences or risk aversion” can be less results-oriented.
Related Tools
Country Cases
Clear lines for oversight of the public procurement cycle
- Efforts to enhance integrity for the Brazil's 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games
- Electronic workflow: Processing and tracking information on public procurement in Germany
- Remedies Directives of the European Union
- The EXPO MILANO ex ante control mechanism in Italy
- The National Review Commission in Slovenia
- Publication of procurement plans – New-Zealand
- Canada’s public procurement control framework
- The Committee for Control and Institutional Performance (COCODI) in ISSSTESON
- The Government of Canada’s Integrity Regime
System of effective and enforceable sanctions
- Remedies Directives of the European Union
- The Office for Government Procurement Challenge System in Japan
- The Results of the Swedish Competition Authority's Public Procurement Law Enforcement
- Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms during contract execution in Mexico
- Accountability of stakeholders for combating fraud and bribery in the National Health Service in Great Britain
- Actions taken against suppliers for RBC infringements in Canada
- CPB methods to follow up RBC objectives in Denmark and Sweden
- Debarment from public procurement procedures for violations of integrity in Mexico
- Malta – Monitoring of non-compliance in public procurement
Handling of complaints in a fair, timely and transparent way
- Committee of advisors for the resolution of complaints in Saudi Arabia
- Online complaint form, New York State, Office of the Inspector General (US)
- Procurement Ombudsman in Canada
- Specialised public procurement tribunals in Germany
- The Office for Government Procurement Challenge System in Japan
- Whistleblower hotline in Austria
- Arbitration in public procurement in Peru
- The Business Integrity Registry of the Ministry of Public Administration (SFP)
- Citizen participation mechanisms in public procurement processes in Latin America
- Greece - Handling the Corruption Complaints
- New Zealand’s Guide to supplier feedback and complaints
Coordinated, sufficiently resourced and integrated internal controls, external controls and audits
- Public Spending Observatory in Brazil
- Pilot projects to support the internal control system of public procurement in Peru
- The investigative role of the Danish NCP
- Increasing accountability for intra-government contracting in Mexico
Other
- The Ethics, probity and accountability in procurement manual in Australia
- Applying a gender lens to impact assessment of procurement operations
- Gender-responsive procurement legislation in Switzerland
- Methodological assistance for public procurement for innovation provided by the Public Procurement Office of Poland
- The reform on social witnesses being prepared by the State of Mexico
- Parallel or the concurrent control in Peru and Colombia
- Infractions in public procurement in the State of Sonora
- Monitoring compliance with social criteria in contracts in the United States, Denmark and Sweden
- The obligation to incorporate in CompraNet information regarding the planning and contract management phases
- The use of open data practices to normalise public procurement data and enhance accountability in Mexico
Reviews
- IMSS' review and remedy system: A tool to improve procurement activities (extract of Public Procurement Review – IMSS, Mexico)
- Fostering accountability through transparency and civil society scrutiny (extract of Public Procurement Review – IMSS, Mexico)
- Fostering effective internal control and risk management in IMSS’ procurement activities (extract of Public Procurement Review – IMSS, Mexico)
- Fostering effective risk-based internal control in ISSSTE’s procurement activities (extract of Public Procurement Review – ISSSTE, Mexico)
- Harnessing public procurement data in Colombia (extract of Public Procurement Review, Colombia)
- Accountable public procurement in Colombia (extract from the Public Procurement Review, Colombia)