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Audit & Contract​/Procurement​ Oversight​​

“An ounce of preven​tion is worth a pound of cure.”

In order to fulfill its responsibility as an independent watchdog of taxpayer funds, the OIG administers a specialized program focused on the prevention of misspending in public procurement and contract management. The Audit and Contract/Procurement Oversight Program is a natural outgrowth of the OIG’s responsibility to detect gross mismanagement, defined as “material waste or significant mismanagement of public resources.”

The objectives of OIG procurement and contract oversight reviews are:

  • to detect the vulnerabilities that make government entities susceptible to the waste of public resources and
  • to prevent that waste whenever possible.
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Program Objectives

Using the OIG’s collective procurement, investigative, and legal expertise, the program is designed to review recent or ongoing procurements and test the processes of each governmental entity to determine the existence of vulnerabilities.

If a local government can reduce its vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, and abuse in the public procurement process, it can reduce the odds that it will misspend taxpayer dollars.

Preventing gross mismanagement means more taxpayer dollars are available for their intended use.

This program has a focus on working with local governments to improve processes before fraud, waste, and abuse can occur. If a procurement is ongoing, the OIG will work with procurement management and staff to avoid any pitfalls. If a contract has been awarded, the OIG will analyze the process and, when appropriate, recommend improvements that can be made for future procurements.
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OIG staff members also work with vendors and elected officials to address their concerns about public procurements.

Experts from the OIG are available to speak to local government management and staff about red flags and best practices in procurement and contract management. Email requests for such a presentation to Inspectorgeneral@broward.org ​​