Due to the difficult circumstances arising in connection with the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, most companies are primarily concentrating on maintaining their operations and – due to interruptions in supply chains – on the continuity of production and services. The tasks related to the relaunching of life and the economy have largely occupied the attention of management, which provides a fertile ground for fraud and corruption.
On the one hand, potential perpetrators currently have better opportunities, since controls within organisations have become weaker, certain checks may have been omitted, and – because of limited possibilities – the time available for some processes has become shorter. On the other hand, the motivation has become stronger, as there is also financial pressure on employees and certain suppliers due to their lost incomes. It is worth examining the question of financial motivations in a wider circle, as family members of your employees or suppliers may have lower incomes due to the pandemic situation, which nevertheless exerts the same pressure on your direct partners as well.
Therefore, Grant Thornton recommends that, in addition to the economic and labour-related problems, due attention should also be paid to the operation of controls designed to prevent fraud and corruption. In our experience, it has become more frequent that suppliers, in the interest of securing orders, use not only lawful methods, as a result of which the evaluation of supply contracts or specific invoices is not always carried out in line with the principle of fair competition, but the favourable decision is also “facilitated” by way of bribes.
It may require additional work on your part, but we advise that you should:
- thoroughly read and obtain opinions on every document before countersigning them;
- resist the pressure to buy or order services immediately, but at a higher price;
- examine and, if necessary, check if the accounting of the services used is correct, and do no rely solely on the existence of certificates of performance.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the forensic team of GT.
We do hope that we could be at your service with this information. Should you have any further queries, please feel free, to contact us!
