Procurement

Effective procurement management is essential for local governments to ensure public funds are spent appropriately, transparently, and aligned with community priorities. Procurement processes impact everything from acquiring goods and services to managing vendor relationships and maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements.

Procurement Management aims to streamline the acquisition process to achieve cost savings, improve efficiency, and reduce administrative overhead. UHY’s GEARS services can assist local governments in evaluating current procurement practices, identifying inefficiencies, and implementing process improvements that align with best practices and compliance standards.

What You Need to Start:

• Procurement policies and procedures
• Recent purchase orders and contracts
• Procurement card (P-Card) usage reports
• Request for Proposal (RFP) documentation
• Vendor lists and payment history

Assessing and Streamlining Procurement Activities

We review current procurement policies, including approval hierarchies, bidding thresholds, and vendor selection procedures. We examine purchasing activity across departments, identifying patterns, common vendors, and opportunities for bundling or cost-sharing through cooperative agreements. This also includes assessing the effectiveness/efficiency of current procurement and purchasing approval levels.

We can evaluate the effectiveness and control of the current P-Card program by analyzing transaction reports for frequency, dollar amount, and compliance with policy. We also review recent RFPs and cooperative purchases to assess whether the selected acquisition method was the most effective and efficient manner possible.

Once this data is gathered, we conduct a gap analysis to identify where procurement practices may be causing delays, contributing to cost overruns, or resulting in non-compliance with purchasing regulations. We then develop an action plan to standardize procedures, increase automation, and enhance internal controls.

Local governments can increase transparency, reduce costs, and use taxpayer dollars effectively by modernizing procurement processes and adopting strategic sourcing practices. Let UHY’s GEARS services help your organization create a more accountable and efficient procurement environment.