The problem takes many forms: bribes, kickbacks, collusive bidding, conflicts of interest, exclusion of qualified bidders and the falsification of invoices, to name a few. The cost to companies hasn't been fully quantified, but there's no doubt that it's huge. In one recent case in Australia, the chief executive officer of fleet-management company Orix was accused of making corrupt payments of nearly US$388,000 to Coca-Cola Amatil, to secure vehicle-leasing contracts valued in the tens of millions. With so much at stake, why does the practice continue to plague companies today? On this episode, we speak with Tania Seary, founder of Procurious. She offers her opinion as to why businesses have failed to stamp out procurement fraud, how it can be detected, and what must be done to stop it. In addition, she raises the question of licensing procurement professionals, and talks about the skills and training that are needed to create a corporate culture that doesn’t tolerate procurement fraud. Hosted by Bob Bowman, Managing Editor of SupplyChainBrain.

Look for a new episode of the podcast, which can be downloaded or streamed, every Friday on the SupplyChainBrain website and iTunes.

Show notes:

An article on procurement fraud, from the Journal of the Association of Inspectors General.

An article on the most common procurement fraud schemes, from the International Anti-Corruption Resource Center.

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