Overview

This course contributes to strengthening the effectiveness of the procurement audit and supervision functions in national and IFIs-financed procurement activities. It is designed to familiarize participants with the procurement audit process. It covers the entire process, from setting procurement audit objectives in compliance with the organization’s mandate, up to preparing a procurement audit report with appropriate recommendations and following-up on such recommendations. The course focuses on compliance as well as performance aspects, all with a view to achieving value for money. The course will also touch on procurement fraud prevention and provide an overview of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials.

Format

The seminars are currently offered both in-person and online simultaneously, at the choice of the participant. This choice must be indicated at the time of registration. A small number of courses are scheduled to be delivered exclusively in person or online, and are indicated as such in the 2024 schedule. In-Person Only seminars usually start at 9:30 am Washington D.C. time. Daily sessions usually end at 4:00 pm. Breaks (including the lunch break) are allocated as appropriate. Online Only seminars will be delivered through five (for 1-week course) or ten (for 2-weeks course) live online sessions via videoconferencing platform. Each session will last approximately 3.5 hours and will be scheduled to start within a time window of 7:00 am – 8:30 am Washington D.C. time. Hybrid In-Person/Online seminars will start at a time most convenient to both in-person and online participants, and will generally follow the In-Person seminar format. We expect the classes to be highly interactive and can include presentations, case studies and exercises.

Course Outline

Context

• Introduction to procurement audit
• Analysis of the audited entity’s context
• Understanding the mandate and mission of the entity to be audited, its internal controls system, procurement planning, approval and execution process
• Responsibility matrix for the procurement function, delegation of authority and internal control functions

Risks, audit objectives, scope, and planning

• Assessment of risks including potential fraud and corruption at each step of the procurement process
• Development of the procurement audit objectives and scope
• Development of the procurement audit plan and selection of sample of procurement contracts to be audited

Execution of procurement audit operations and follow-up

• Methods for collecting and analyzing evidence, preparation of the Procurement Audit Report
• Verifying compliance with legal requirements, assessment of performance and achievement of value for money
• Procurement audit findings and discussion with management of the auditing organization and of the audited entity
• Discussion of the Procurement Audit Report and recommendations with management of the auditing organization and of the audited entity
• Follow-up actions on the Procurement Audit Report and its recommendations

Prevention and detection of fraud and corruption

• United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)
• OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials

Course Advisor

Sabine Engelhard is a lawyer specialized in procurement whose career focus has been in international development, capacity building and governance-related issues. She held various senior positions at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). She also worked at the World Bank, with a prominent international law firm, and headed the Washington office of an international consulting firm. Sabine has been involved in high-profile initiatives with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to strengthen country procurement governance. Today Ms. Engelhard consults for different international organizations. She is an independent expert with the United Nations (UN) Award-Review Board, advising on procurement challenges resolution. She is a course advisor and a lecturer at the International Law Institute (ILI) in Washington DC, and lectures in the Procurement Master’s Program of the International Training Center of the International Labour Organization (ITC/ILO) in Turin, Italy. She holds master-level and post-graduate degrees in Law, International Relations, and European Studies.