ETHICS for the PURCHASING PROFESSIONAL

ETHICS for the

PURCHASING PROFESSIONALRutgers – NIGP Conference

May 1, 2014Atlantic City, NJ

Susan Jacobucci, Esq., CMFO

“The character that takes command in moments of crucial choices has already been determined. It has been determined by a thousand other choices made earlier in seemingly unimportant moments. It has been determined by all the little choices of years past — by all those times when the voice of conscience was at war with the voice of temptation — whispering the lie that it really doesn't matter. It has been determined by all the day-to-day decisions made when life seemed easy and crises seemed far away — the decisions that, piece by piece, bit by bit, developed habits of discipline – or of laziness, habits of self-sacrifice — or of self-indulgence, habits of duty and honor and integrity — or dishonor and shame.”

Ronald Reagan, The Citadel, May 15, 1993

Moral CompassDoing the “Right Thing”Following the RulesC.I.G.A.R.

Ethics

ConflictsInformationGiftsAbuse of Office/PowerRepresentation

C.I.G.A.R.

Pay to Play StatutesNepotismForm of Government?Certifications?Limits of Authority

Other considerations

Am I entering the process as an independent, objective individual?

Am I am solely in the public interest? (not my own, a vendor, my superior, my friend)

Am I acting within the statutes, ordinances, rules…am I coloring within the lines?

Has anything influenced my decisions along the procurement process?

Have I maintained confidentiality.

Questions

Play fair Don’t take something that isn’t yours Don’t take anything from strangers Don’t tell secrets or “talk out of school”

Don’t play favorites

Everything I Needed to Know…

Bid riggingBid List SharingProcurement manipulationSpecs specific to one vendorEstimate manipulationManipulating lowest, responsive, responsible bidder definition

NO NO NO

Where can things go wrong?

Procurement Process

I need a Widget

Who is coming to you with the request?

Do you work with your “money”/budget person?

What is your procurement authority?

I Need a Widget


A vendor, superior, “friend” convinces you that the government agency needs a widget.[Outside influence]

You have a part of an outside company whose product you are convinced will help the agency/or save money… [Conflict/personal interest]

I Need a Widget

What is it?How many? Is it within my realm of knowledge

Research (not only the product/service) but the trends and present climate

What are my options for procurement?

What is it and where do I get it?


Bad descriptionNarrow description – only a certain company manufactures itOnly Timbuktu carries itMaybe its time to rethink the product

What is it and where do I get it?

Who is writing the description/specs? Who is estimating the cost? What are the pitfalls of cost estimation?

The boilerplate Change Orders Options in the bidding process Too specific or two broad Pre-bid meetings - communications

Specs, RFP, Quotes or Bid?


Procurement officer knew nothing about the item (a fire engine). Allowed a helpful vendor to write the specs. Unsurprisingly, the vendor’s company was the only one to meet the specs.

Purchasing agent let a friendly bidder know the engineer’s estimate. Vendor underbid and “made up” the difference with change orders.

Specs, RFP, Quotes or Bid?

Lowest, responsive, responsible bidder

Getting quotesWeighting the bidDisclosure of “choice” criteriaPublic OpeningSharing of documents

Choosing

Procurement Officer in a “police agency” pled guilty to sharing confidential information with a contractor about ongoing criminal probes into the a competing contractor’s billing practices in exchange for prostitutes, cash, and luxury travel.

Choosing

The Contract Being clearMeeting of the mindsPayments and timingMaking sure the bid and placement of order match

Placing the Order


Make sure everything you agreed to in RFP is in the order requestInclude installation parametersInclude maintenance concernsBe Specific

Placing the Order

Is it what was ordered Internal controls Who checks If installing – what are criteria Warranties –how are they followed/voided

Maintenance (only widget in the world)

Widget Arrives

Where can it go wrong?

Consultant conveniently orders extra computers for his own private side sale.

Purchasing Officer slips a few extra cartridges of toner in the order.

Widget Arrives

It doesn’t workInstallation delayedMultiple vendorsPlatforms are different

Doing the Work / Getting the Item

Where can it go Wrong?

Didn’t order it Voiding the Warranty

Doing the Work / Getting the Item

Engineer or other sign-offPerformance guaranteeMaintenance guaranteeFails to performFails to….Planned obsolescence

Paying, Performance and Maintenance

Where can it go wrong?

Payment dates changedUnforeseen delaysOut of stock, business (better deal comes along)

Paying, Performance and Maintenance

Where are maintenance agreements filed Spreadsheet or other performance tracking Fixed Asset No longer useful – what to do with it?

Widget in Place and Working

You are a Procurement Specialist who works in the State of Greenacre Purchase and Property Office. Your neighbor of 17 years, who works for a State lobbying firm, offers you a ticket to join him for a John Mayer concert at the Greenacre Center. You are not sure if the ticket came from your friend’s lobbying firm or from him personally. The face value of the ticket is $375.

Other considerations…

A Procurement abused her authority and improperly used a government vehicle when she employed a government vehicle and three employees under her supervision to move personal property in a government rental vehicle. The employees helped her for 3 hours.


A government purchasing agent used his official position to obtain contracts for private sector companies with which he had an affiliation. In addition, the PA accepted a “finder’s fee” (i.e., kickbacks) from one company for his efforts in helping the company obtain government contract work.


A Purchasing Agent whose responsibilities included fleet management and authorization of repairs of municipal vehicles had attempted to obtain free repair services for his personal vehicles from two vendors. The PA also insinuated to the vendors that the cost of repairing his personal vehicles could be recouped as part of the charges for repairs to municipal vehicles.


The purchasing office employees were part of a scheme in which they used government funds to purchase laptops and recycled computer components from the contractor’s sales manager at inflated prices, and split the overcharged amounts among themselves.


In 2005 and 2006, while serving as a contracting specialist at Camp Arijan, Murray received approximately $225,000 in bribes from DOD contractors. In return, he recommended the award of contracts for various goods and services. Murray also admitted that he received an additional $20,000 in bribes from a DOD contractor in exchange for the award of a construction contract



The employee put in an order at the department print shop, certifying that a series of posters were for official business. The posters were actually for the employee’s side business. Additionally, the employee purchased a conference table, for which his own business got a $400 credit toward a conference table of its own.

In another bribery case at Camp Arifjan, another Army Major, James Momon, Jr., accepted cash bribes from five DOD contracting firms that supplied bottled water and other goods and services to bases in Kuwait. Momon, a contracting officer at the camp, awarded contracts and Blanket Purchase Agreement calls to those contractors, receiving $5.8 million as payment for his actions. Momon pled guilty to bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery.


ETHICS for the PURCHASING PROFESSIONAL

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