Authors: Svetlana Ragimova, Pavel Moroz
It is not customary to talk about kickbacks out loud, but everyone knows about them. The vast majority of businessmen regularly encounter this form of veiled bribe. Some entrepreneurs have long come to terms with reality and believe that business without kickbacks in Russia is unthinkable. Others see the practice as harmful to their companies and are looking for ways to eradicate it.
If you ask directly whether you paid kickbacks, you will almost always hear a firm "no". Only a few admit that they shared with the customer. The general meaning of the answers of the interviewed top managers boils down to the fact that "I don't give, but others pay." But in reality, this practice is flourishing: last year a sad record was set - the percentage of kickbacks in the IT market reached a record 40% of the contract amount. The business community is divided into those who consider kickbacks to be a necessary evil, which is easier to accept than to fight, and those who observe incorruptibility, at least in words.
Pain Remedy
“In some areas – this also applies to IT – there are standards and traditional procedures that imply rollback as the norm. an illusion that one day Russia will stop stealing. You can only minimize the damage." He is sure that the “wrong equipment” bought honestly for the business will do more harm than the right one, but bought through a rollback.
An anonymous "voice from the community" also notes that "they are paying, and they will pay. A rollback is like a byte equal to 8 bits. If the project is checked by "kickback protection" experts, it means only one thing - they also have a share." He is convinced that checking any purchased computer and printer will show that the bill is "drawn as it should." "Yes, the price of hardware will be average, and everyone will be happy. But they will make money on software. If soft is not Windows, but "self-written", then you can "roll back" 50% of the official price in the price list. Only would have bought. It is impossible to check the cost, the product is original," our interlocutor explains.
Anatoly Stepansky, commercial director of Impact-Soft, does not consider kickbacks to be the norm in the IT market. He claims that in the 14 years of the existence of the business, he has encountered such a practice only once. When concluding the contract, the representative of the state customer put the company before the fact that he should receive part of the amount to another account. "Of all the 200 projects we have implemented, this was the only case. We work mainly with private companies and prefer to communicate directly with their owners, so there is no question of kickbacks. The owner can ask for a discount, which of course we give" Stepansky says. According to his deep conviction, the practice of kickbacks is vicious: "If you do it once, you will depend on it all your life." In addition, in his opinion, this will create additional problems, since business owners may face petty extortion from their own employees who promote the kickback project.
Evgeny Sizov, head of the IT department of the Svyaznoy group of companies, believes that the most important thing is to remove the main customer from the procurement process. Then conduct research on equipment markets and determine average market prices. And in the end, announce an absolutely open tender, choosing participants from the list, which was formed by independent experts. Sizov clarifies that the study of transactions for price deviations from the average market is most revealing: "Where there are such deviations, as a rule, there is a rollback. And we are talking about the established relationship between the seller and the buyer." At the same time, in his opinion, one should not try to convict a particular employee of uncleanliness. Since it is almost impossible to prove the fact of collusion between the seller and the buyer. “You can only talk about distrust. I knew for sure that a particular employee received a kickback, but there was no evidence in this regard. However, from personal practice I can say that one meeting recently took place at which they tried to offer me a kickback. But I preferred to get a discount on the services provided," Sizov explained. He adds that in the face of falling profitability of the IT equipment and services market, as well as increasing salaries, it is worth seriously considering whether to risk your future by getting involved in kickback schemes for the sake of momentary profit.
SPb CIO Club President Maxim Belousov, in turn, believes that it is impossible to protect yourself from kickbacks, since the work of almost all commercial departments of IT companies is based on this. “I note that bribery in Russia is a pain for the nation as a whole,” Belousov states not without sadness. But, in his opinion, it is possible to make sure that companies do not lose either money or the quality of the resulting product. A top manager should not set himself the goal of catching someone in fraud: transaction schemes are becoming more intricate, and it is becoming more and more difficult to catch a corrupt subordinate red-handed. It is much more important to adequately fulfill the task of the business to provide an IT service. Belousov’s kickback code is very concise, it consists of only three points: “Firstly, I don’t care if an employee takes a kickback or not, the main thing is that my company receives a product or service with necessary quality and acceptable cost. For me, this is at the level of market prices. Secondly, the cost of a product or service may be more, but at the same time, I must understand that the company receives something additional or exclusive. For example, a deferred payment, a reduction in delivery times, or a message that "gray" equipment is being delivered under the contract. And thirdly, each employee must be warned when hiring that if he is convicted of violating financial discipline, he will be fired within one day.
In the contract with the head of the IT service or the employee responsible for procurement, Belousov believes, there should be a record of financial discipline and measures that can be taken for its violation, up to and including dismissal. "Unfortunately, now kickback schemes are so veiled that even special government bodies they cannot “unwind” them, let alone prove their existence,” he summed up. You don't want to risk your job for extra income.
"I personally caught kickback lovers several times by the hand. If a person does this carefully, then it is almost impossible to catch him. It turns out to be done when the employee is already relaxing and begins to" burrow ". As a rule, companies do not start legal cases, do not advertise such cases, but prefer to deal with it themselves with the help of the internal security service," notes Mechel's Vice President for IT. According to Alexander Moskvin, one of the methods to reduce losses on kickbacks in companies with a geographically distributed structure can be centralized purchases of equipment: "As experience shows, this reduces costs by 5-10%." It can be assumed that the savings are achieved due to the increased volume of purchases. But, in Moskvin's view, this is largely due to the reduction in kickbacks. This method does not eliminate theft, but reduces the risks for the enterprise.
Maxim Belousov believes that continuous monitoring of the IT market can reduce rollback risks. The frequency of this study, in his opinion, should be at least once a year if there is a permanent supplier, or more often if there are several. Monitoring is also required when making high-value purchases (in many companies, these include purchases worth $5,000 - $10,000). The monitoring results should be compared with the last issued invoice, which will allow drawing conclusions about the correctness of the supplier's work. "I note that it is the supplier, and not the IT service! In most cases, the problem is not the amount of rollback, which raises the purchase price above the market price, but the pricing of the supplier itself and / or poor design this issue from the side of the IT service," sums up the president of the SPb CIO Club.
Don't trust blindly
Formal procedures for conducting tenders are quite clearly regulated by the norms of federal legislation that are mandatory for government customers, and corporate codes that apply to all major companies. Therefore, the first and most important way to protect against kickbacks, according to Vladislav Sorokin, a leading specialist in the department management consulting CJSC "IKT-Consult" is a clear and detailed statement of the problem in the tender documentation. "I recommend ordering the development of tender documentation, at least its technical part, from an experienced consultant. In principle, it would be logical to exclude the situation in which the developer of the technical specifications then becomes the system designer. However, I do not think that this recommendation should be taken as an absolute - if the customer I liked how and what the terms of reference were developed, why not allow this developer to participate in the design competition," says Vladislav Sorokin. A well-thought-out methodology for evaluating received bids - the second important point. A representative of IKT-Consulting notes that at the stage of selling a service, IT consultants are usually much more active than during the implementation of a project. Therefore, when preparing a decision to conclude a contract for the design and implementation of IS, special attention should be paid to those aspects of the contestant's activities that are not related to the sales process, but will "come to the fore" after the start of work. “Other things being equal, I recommend giving preference to IT consultants who have been in the industry for a long time and about whom you can get feedback from their previous clients. If you can’t get a clear positive feedback about the consultant in the business environment, it’s better not to deal with him,” – says Sorokin.
"The success of any tender," Andrey Aranovich, Head of Integrated Integration at ISG, agrees with his colleagues, "is in the quality of the development of technical requirements and specifications. The better these documents are worked out, the more understandable the proposals of the participants will be." Blurred and general questions will receive vague and general answers. Currently, an increasing number of enterprises and organizations resort to the services of outsourcing companies that, on the instructions of the customer, prepare the necessary package of documents for tender, form preliminary lists of participants, develop a system for evaluating proposals and, if necessary, hold a tender. The more detailed the evaluation system and the set of criteria are, the easier it is to evaluate the results of the tender and make the right decision,” says Andrei Aranovich. In his opinion, it is important to get an idea of the capabilities and experience of tender participants. thinks pilot projects, allowing to assess the ability of the participants in the competition to solve specific problems of the customer, as well as to objectively compare the results.
"Do not blindly trust the holding of a tender to professional" independent consultants ", - objected Anatoly Stepansky from Impact-Soft. - Very often they simply promote a supplier friendly to them. In my practice, there have been cases when "independent consultants" tried to agree on commissions in advance immediately with multiple bidders. Don't trust, he says, comparing offers against very long checklists. He recalls that one such company of "independent consultants" sent out questionnaires with more than 500 questions. "Answers to them - "yes" or "no" - practically do not provide information, but they allow you to simulate violent activity and promote any solution that is beneficial to the "independent consultant," Stepansky is convinced. When considering offers, take the time to go on a tour of those companies where the supplier has already carried out projects similar to yours. A reputable supplier will always help you arrange such meetings and provide contact information.
Be careful with the analysis of the price offer. A number of suppliers build contracts this way, Stepansky warns, giving the impression of a low price. But after the start of work, it may turn out that the project budget should be doubled. It is worth talking about such moments with other customers of the supplier. And also pay attention to the reputation and duration of the supplier in the market. For a serious firm, the failure of your project will result in much greater reputational problems than penalties. She will seek the successful completion of the project, and this is beneficial in the first place to you. It is desirable, advises Maxim Belousov, that the company has a narrow circle of suppliers who have passed the tender and concluded a strategic contract for the supply of goods and services. Moreover, the decision should be made at the level of the company's management with the assistance (audit) of the financial service and the security service, if any. At the same time, any price change in subsequent deliveries, the president of the SPb CIO Club points out, must be recorded in writing and personally agreed with the management.
Once every six months, given the rapid development of the IT market, it is necessary to hold mini-competitions for the supply of goods and services. Thus, existing suppliers can give discounts and other bonuses in order to retain a customer. Thus, Belousov is convinced, companies are put in a position where they have no money left for kickbacks.
Transparency of the entire buying process is the most important condition for combating kickbacks, Alexander Moskvin agrees. There should be precise procedures that clearly spell out who, when and what decisions were made. Moreover, according to him, the history of the entire process must be preserved. Only then will people be stopped by the fear of being caught. There are a lot of technical tools for this, but this, in his opinion, is not a panacea. “It is important that one responsible person signs the decision. Competition commissions are, as a rule, a way to spread responsibility. If there are 12 signatures on paper, then no one is to blame individually. But Russian companies are always “monarchist”, with a strict hierarchy, therefore, only one person makes the final decision," Moskvin sums up.
Non-traditional methods of treatment
The experience of Western companies in the fight against kickbacks is different. There, the purchase of IT equipment is often carried out by specially created corporate supply departments, which are controlled by the company's security service. As a rule, people who enjoy the trust of the leadership are selected there. But even with such strict control, the IT service can only place an order, in other words, recommend this or that vendor, since it is deprived of the right to choose the equipment supplier.
But Alexander Moskvin does not believe in the effectiveness of such rules in Russia, wondering: “For some reason, in some companies, everyone has a machine gunner behind their back, and they still steal. And in others, there is a weak security system, but no one is talking about kickbacks there.” thinks." This, no matter how trite, he answers, depends on the atmosphere in the company. "It happens that people do not see the point in their actions for the good of the company. For example, a person can talk for a long time that a certain solution is good for the whole business, but no one needs it. This attitude of people is very demotivating. There were cases when for such deafness of management, the employee began to take kickbacks. And if the company really has a team rooting for a common cause, then they won’t even have such thoughts.” When employees are given to understand their importance and usefulness, Moskvin is sure, then another motivation arises, not entirely material.
According to Businessman magazine -
For many CEOs, fighting kickbacks comes down to periodically looking for employees who are abusing their position. However, carrying out one-time actions is ineffective: having waited out the storm, bribe-takers begin to catch up. Therefore, practitioners recommend building a system in which the very possibility of getting kickbacks would be excluded. This article talks about methods for identifying violators, as well as indirect signs that allow you to recognize those who take kickbacks.
Practitioners experience
There are three main ways to test suspect employees
Maxim Gorbachev Trainer-Sales Consultant, Moscow; candidate of psychological sciences
Dmitry Tkachenko Sales Trainer, Moscow
Reference
Maxim Gorbachev- lawyer; worked in the "rollback-intensive" industries of distribution of pharmaceuticals and supplies of technical oils.
Dmitry Tkachenko managed sales departments in such a "rollback-intensive" sales area as the supply of workwear industrial enterprises. Co-organize trainings on active sales and the fight against kickbacks, conduct consulting projects for the creation and development of sales departments. Among the clients are Baltika, Gazprom, Donskoy Tabak, Rostelecom, R-Style, Siemens Russia, enterprises of the New Commonwealth holding, Olma-Press publishing house. Authors of the bestseller "Kickback: Special Technique of Client Attraction" (M.: Vershina, 2008).
Of course, you will have to allocate additional funds to combat kickbacks. And it is quite possible that the costs incurred by the enterprise will exceed the possible damage from kickbacks. Therefore, before starting the fight against bribery, calculate the costs of the planned campaign. To approximate the loss from overpriced purchases, compare the total volume of purchases for a certain period with how much, according to random checks, the average market prices were exceeded. Based on this assessment, as well as your goals, the market situation and the specifics of the procurement procedures in your company, determine the budget for measures to combat kickbacks.
Typically, kickbacks in enterprises are identified in one of the following ways.
1. Checking the compliance of the employee's standard of living with his salary. If, for example, an employee receives 1,000 conventional units per month, but at the same time changes imported cars every six months, it is worth considering where he gets the money from. For example, in one trading company, a buyer incurred due diligence after washing his hands before lunch while standing next to the head of security. Both found that they had the same watch. At the same time, the head of security received a watch from the company as a gift for the anniversary (and it cost $ 1,900), and the buyer was presented with a watch by his student wife for his birthday. As a result, the manager was checked for two whole months. Suppliers regularly informed him that some people were calling, asking questions and trying to purchase goods for cash on his behalf. Of course, such checks slow down the procurement process, but managers are afraid to commit violations. After a while, everyone gets used to the fact that managing large financial resources associated with periodic security checks.
If the company does not have a security service, its functions have to be taken over by the General Director. You should follow not only the growth of the well-being of employees (purchasing a new car, buying expensive clothes and accessories), but also the nuances of their behavior.
2. Test purchases. Such checks of employees are somewhat reminiscent of the “mystery shopper” technology. Let's take an example. The security service of one company came up with a legend about the supplier to check their suppliers. Compiled price lists for products, published a simple website on the Internet. Then the controller, under the guise of an employee of the supplier firm, turned to the purchasing department and offered a rollback. One of the managers, after several conversations, agreed. He was fired with a big scandal. After that, the purchasing staff was informed that management intended to use this method in the future. The events that followed are significant. Within two months, more than half of the suppliers quit of their own accord, and the employees who came in their place increased the average mark-up by 7% only by reducing purchase prices.
But this method is applicable only to a presumptuous bribe taker who has lost all caution and demands a rollback from any supplier. Meanwhile, there are buyers who take kickbacks only from trusted partners. It is difficult to catch such violators using test purchases, since they cooperate with new suppliers without kickbacks and, only when they work together, start talking about bribes.
3. Lie detector testing. In this way, it is best to check long-term employees. If this method is just beginning to be used at the enterprise, we recommend testing all purchasing managers every three to four months. For example, when applying for a job at the Kalina concern, candidates for the position of a supplier are warned that they will periodically undergo a polygraph test. The questions are standard: did you provide benefits to any supplier, did you receive remuneration. The reliability of these checks is very high.
In most cases, an employee found to be kickbacking is fired. Whether to notify subordinates of the reason for the dismissal of their colleague or not is up to you. We, however, believe that it is more useful to notify: this way you will demonstrate to employees how risky it is to give yourself such salary increases. In addition, to prevent rollbacks, you can:
- transfer to the suppliers only the function of collecting information about the proposals of suppliers, and make the final decision independently (or introduce a collegial procedure for making such decisions);
- use data from price monitoring conducted by the marketing department to control information that comes from buyers;
- to reward suppliers for savings on purchases or profitability received from commodity group taking into account entry prices and margins;
- personally negotiate with key suppliers of your company;
- formalize procurement procedures and attract suppliers through tenders.
CEO speaking
Kirill Kuznetsov General Director of Tenders.ru, Moscow
Reference
"Tenders.ru"
Field of activity: organization and audit of procurement activities of companies, state and municipal authorities.
Form of organization: OOO.
Location: Moscow.
Number of staff: 15.
Main clients: non-departmental security of the Ministry of Finance of Russia, Federal State Institution “Combine “Signal” federal agency for state reserves, Rosatom state corporation, Alcor Bio, Eldorado companies.
Length of time as General Manager: since 2006.
Participation of the CEO in business: co-owner (share - 50%).
Symbolic payments for small "services" over time often develop into large bribes (we will call a spade a spade, and not talk about some kind of "kickbacks" or "client rewards"). The company in which the bribe-taker works becomes seriously vulnerable. Compromising evidence is accumulating that can force this employee to commit the most serious violations. Direct damage is also obvious: the company receives not the best products at inflated prices. Therefore, managers who are accustomed to be lenient with bribe-takers are putting their business in serious danger.
I am skeptical about the use of lie detectors and provoking a bribe; Our company does not use these methods. In my opinion more effective method, which also avoids unnecessary publicity, is when the security service analyzes the standard of living of suspected employees and their relatives (after all, often bribes are given not in money and not to the employee himself, but to his proxies). So, for example, we identified one violator - he himself lived relatively modestly, but he spent big money on the maintenance of his mistress. In addition, an audit of their activities helps to identify unscrupulous (or incompetent) employees - it is necessary to correlate the results of the work of suspects with the market average.
However, it is not enough to identify bribe-takers – in principle, it is necessary to minimize the possibility of situations that provoke bribes. To do this, in particular, you need to clearly formulate the rules for choosing counterparties with whom you cooperate. These rules should eliminate the risk that an employee of the company will agree to receive remuneration from outside. In addition, it is necessary to build a system of control, training, encouragement and, of course, punishment of personnel.
Practice experience
How to prevent employees from getting kickbacks
Vladimir Filonov Expert of the Control and Audit Department of the Magnezit Group, Moscow
Reference
"Magnezite"
Field of activity: production and sale of refractory products ( full cycle from extraction of raw materials to engineering and operational services).
Form of organization: COMPANY; company group.
Territory: head office - in Moscow; representative offices - in Germany, Kazakhstan, China, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine.
Who in the organization can take kickbacks? Of course, most will answer that they are employees of the purchasing department. However, in reality, employees of other enterprise services also have the opportunity to receive kickbacks (see. table). For example, department information technologies, referring to the low speed of data transfer over the Internet, may convince you to enter into an agreement with another provider offering similar services, albeit at an inflated price.
Every organization has its own ways of dealing with kickbacks. For example, one of the big Russian manufacturers Coal once issued a desk calendar in which there was an appeal to all employees with a request to report various kinds of theft by the indicated phones, fax and e-mail. Some companies test a suspected employee with a lie detector. Especially often this method is used in Russian chain electronics stores. If an employee refuses to be tested, management considers this an indirect confirmation of a kickback. It is not easy to fire an employee who refuses to take a lie detector test, but it is quite possible to create unbearable working conditions for him, so that he himself will write a letter of resignation.
Let's look at other ways you can detect and prevent kickbacks.
Request for proposals from multiple suppliers. Supply of a wide range of goods material values(Inventory), whether it is water for the office or computers, one unknown company should alert a service employee internal audit(in small companies this function can be performed by one person - the main thing is that he obeys you). It is important to compare the indicated prices with the market prices before paying the supplier's invoice. In my practice, it happened more than once that they brought me an invoice or contract for a large sum to agree on, and, comparing prices with the average market prices, I found a significant overstatement. Then the question arose whether the employee was pursuing personal gain or simply neglected his duties, choosing the first available, albeit expensive, offer. It is not superfluous to explain this question in such cases.
Supplier price list request. Sometimes the supplier explains the high prices in the supplier's invoice by the monopolistic position of this company in the market (for example, by the fact that it is the only dealer in the region). Check it. If you suspect that an employee is receiving a kickback from a certain supplier, have the controller contact this company and, posing as an employee of a non-existent company, ask him offer for purchased products. It is advisable to call from a mobile phone, as the landline number of your company may be reflected in the supplier identifier. In order not to arouse suspicion, you need to request prices for a slightly different assortment and quantity of goods than those ordered by your supplier. Choose a few items that have the largest share in the total amount of your account. If a non-existent firm is billed for a product that costs less than the purchasing department's bill, you'll have a serious conversation with the supplier.
Purchasing approval. In one company, the acquisition of goods and materials occurs as follows. An employee of the purchasing department brings an invoice for payment for products from suppliers to the internal audit department. The controller finds out in the accounting program what is the size of the balance of these goods, and also studies the price offers of other potential suppliers. He calls them himself and, if the offers are lower, he asks for an invoice. At the end of the work of the controller, the financial director who makes the decision on payment receives the following papers: an invoice from the purchasing department, a certificate of the volume of inventory balances in the warehouse, price offers from potential suppliers and invoices from them. Based on all this, the CFO makes one of the following decisions:
- approves the invoice submitted by the purchasing department;
- recommends that suppliers request an invoice for a smaller quantity of goods and materials due to the significant balances available in the warehouse;
- refuses to pay the invoice of the purchasing department, explaining his decision by the fact that the invoice presented by the controller contains a lower amount (see How the bank suffered losses due to the fact that it did not control purchases).
How the bank suffered losses due to the fact that it did not control purchases
Employees of companies that distribute electronic legal databases receive a percentage of sales. One manager responsible for updating the databases had a bank among its clients that already used several similar systems in its work. At each meeting with a bank employee who makes decisions on this issue, the manager talked about the merits of his electronic databases, but persuasion did not work. Realizing that he would not be able to sell the goods, he offered the bank employee his entire percentage of the cost of the systems purchased by the institution. No sooner had the manager returned to the office than a bank employee had already contacted the sales department and ordered several bases for a large amount. Suppliers offered a discount for such a purchase volume. However, the bank worker played a grudge, saying that his institution is very solid and does not need discounts. If the bank had controlled purchases and studied market offers, overpricing (at least by the size of the discount) could have been detected. In the absence of control, the institution suffered losses in the acquisition of bases, incurs losses in their constant updating; moreover, it is possible that the bank had no need to buy these systems at all. Number of staff: over 25,000.
Main clients: companies from 20 countries, including Gazprom, Lukoil, Russian Railways, Rosneft, Surgutneftegaz, TNK-BP, Transneft, ExxonMobil Corporation, General Electric, Royal Dutch Shell, Samsung.
If the company's activities are clearly regulated, the likelihood of kickbacks by employees is close to zero. Here are some basic rules of such a system. To select a supplier and conclude a contract, you need:
- Competently organized competition, openness of procurement procedures. If there is no way to organize competition, price control methods should be used.
- Collegial and competent consideration of proposals by a group of specialists of different profiles. The group, in addition to buyers, should include representatives of the customer (engineers), specialists providing economic security companies, financiers, lawyers. If necessary, experts may be involved to evaluate proposals and develop recommendations for choosing a supplier.
- Comparison of the objective characteristics of proposals with pre-established criteria. For ease of comparison, sentences must be reduced to a single basis.
- Creation equal opportunities for all companies. So, any supplier can apply for cooperation with our company, he only needs to go through the online registration procedure and submit certain documents. At the same time, the system is built in such a way that none of our employees can independently exclude a supplier from the list of participants in the procurement procedures. If it turns out that one of the supplier's employees is acting dishonestly, then we can exclude this company from the list of partners. If the supplier encounters obstacles from our buyer, he has the opportunity to address the company's management with this problem, bypassing the manager. The supplier and the buyer can conclude an anti-corruption agreement by agreeing to refrain from any bribery of each other's employees, including by paying money, giving gifts, etc. The agreement provides for the appointment by the supplier and the buyer of authorized persons who will resolve relevant issues between the parties.
Building such a procurement system is not an easy task. It requires the will of the management of the enterprise, significant material and time s x costs. However, the result is worth it: instead of suppressing the symptoms of the disease, you will get a radical recovery of the business as a result.
large corporations
nitrous difficulties can
be created due to the presence of prices
procedures, etc., but, as shown by
initial experience, they only make it difficult
rollbacks, but do not completely exclude them.
In 2011, a survey was conducted among Russian
leaders of 120 trading companies.
To the question “Do you pay
ku customer cash bonus? 78%
respondents answered in the affirmative-
but. Anyone who has worked in sales
B2B, sooner or later faced with
a situation where the condition of working with
an important customer turned out to be
the ability to give a rollback from the amount of the transaction.
In large corporations, additional difficulties can be created due to the presence of centralized procurement, competitive procedures, etc., but, as bad experience, they only make rollbacks more difficult, but do not completely exclude them.
In 2011, a survey was conducted among the heads of 120 trading companies. To the question "Do you pay the customer's buyer a bonus in cash?" 78% of the respondents answered in the affirmative. Everyone who has worked in B2B sales, sooner or later, faced a situation where the condition of working with an important client was the ability to kickback the amount of the transaction.
Kickbacks are beneficial to both parties, and, paradoxically, they increase efficiency. My foreign colleagues were even surprised: “Yulia, why are you so worried about these kickbacks? It's even good. Look, the manager has signed a contract, and we don't have to pay a bonus. He'll get it from the other side!" This is the position of a foreign partner. And here I am explaining to him a case from my past practice: “A contractor came to me with a recording of a conversation on the phone, where our engineer offers him:“ You gave us a commercial offer for the supply of metal doors for 3,000,000 rubles, and I propose to make it for 5,000,000 rubles. We'll share the difference." So from whose pocket will the bonus come from???
The temptation to use the kickback mechanism appears primarily among employees responsible for the organization's supply: from the purchase of raw materials to the supply of office supplies. The risk increases if the decision is not made collectively, but, for example, through a chain of approvals. A significant number of managers believe that a rollback is not unacceptable. For example, former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, the father of hundreds of catchphrases, once gave an interesting remark: “Let better man steal 10%, but 90% do the right thing. A thief, but brings benefits.
The research results showed:
About 10% of employees will not dare to cheat and steal under any circumstances;
Another 10% will go to such a crime under any conditions.
The remaining 80% are not scammers in principle, but if external circumstances push them to take such a step, they will be able to cross the line.
An indicator of a potential threat on the part of an employee is the so-called “fraud triangle”: for an malfeasance to take place, a combination of three circumstances is required (Fig. 1) . 
How to qualify kickbacks
The Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in its Decree of February 10, 2000 No. 6 "On judicial practice in cases of bribery and commercial bribery" indicates:
"…twenty. Obtaining by an official or a person performing managerial functions in a commercial or other organization, money, valuable papers and other material assets allegedly for committing an action (inaction) that he cannot carry out due to the lack of official authority or the inability to use his official position, should be qualified, if there is intent to acquire these valuables, as fraud under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
This crime also falls under Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - “taking a bribe”. However, such cases are still rarely disclosed, because both sides are interested in each other and, accordingly, are silent.
Schemes of criminal actions
Scenario 1. Imagine a situation where a decision is made at the company level to select a supplier. Naturally, the final decision will often be made by top management, and the organizational part will be entrusted to functional managers: selection of a supplier of materials, components and goods - to the supply department, selection of a supplier software and services for its implementation - IT service, etc.
The functional manager seeks a personal interest. In this case, his behavioral line will be something like this:
The final decision maker will slowly but surely move towards choosing the supplier that offered the most "interest". At the same time, other conditions of suppliers can either be equal or differ - it depends on the circumstances and personal qualities of the functional manager.
Scenario 2. Let's assume that a cell/udnik working for us (in company #2) knows how to make a payment and get a kickback - for example, his friend in company #1 sends an invoice. Our employee runs to his manager and, due to emergency, lack of spare parts, urgent delivery, etc., asks to urgently sign an invoice, he is paid, the amount received by company No. 1 is divided among “friends”. In this case, the documents confirming the transaction/delivery/service are usually forged (Fig. 2) . 
Scenario 3. Perfect crime. Have you read detective stories? Here is an example of the perfect crime: the money is stolen, and no one can be held accountable! When I investigated this case a few years ago, I simply admired the ingenuity of our employees, their arrogance and their indifference.
So: during the next inventory new accountant(note: new person in the company!) discovered that there were no spare parts in stock. I suppose that it was like this (Fig. 3): 
the manager of the company receives the bill by fax. Knowing that the general director is on vacation, and the person replacing him is ill, he rushes to the third manager with a request to sign an invoice for 2,000,000 rubles. (although the company's internal policies require a contract to be signed for more than 800,000 rubles), he explains that the line is standing still, spare parts are urgently needed. So, the account is signed. Next is the chief accountant. When I later asked her why she paid the bill without a contract, do you know what she answered? “And I got used to people to believe!”. Is she to blame? No. She did not appropriate the money, she did not violate the laws. Yes, she violated the internal instructions, but, alas, it will not work to attract for this. The account is then submitted for verification to the Treasure Department. When I later found out who checked the account there, it turned out that Manya fell ill, Vanya replaced, but the politician did not know, etc. In general, the account goes to pay, and the money goes to the bank. From there, to the contractor.
Do you think that's it? 2,000,000 rubles shared by lucky friends from different companies? No. You know you need supporting documents! I think it was like this: our manager approached a warehouse worker who had a salary of, say, 15,000 rubles, and gave him the same amount. He signed the invoice. When I later asked him where the spare parts were, under what circumstances he signed the invoice, I heard a naively simple answer: “I don’t remember ... Six months have already passed.” Curtain!
Foreign colleagues tell me: "Go to the police, to the court." Can not. The contractors have an invoice that we have received the spare parts. Foreign colleagues tell me: "Contact the tax office." What about taxes? They were paid, there is no doubt about it. Fire a warehouse worker? But the videos from the past six months have not been preserved. No evidence to establish the truth will fail. Well, and most importantly, the manager who “scrolled” all this has already quit. Foreign colleagues tell me: "Find him and interrogate him." Alas, the HR department has preserved his registration address, but he does not live there. Mobile phone, which belongs to our company, he also passed it to us.
So, the conclusion: for this, instructions are written so that all employees follow them - from the general director to the warehouse worker. You can not retreat from them, even if there are no spare parts or a war has begun.
Another conclusion: the HR department should have information about employees who have already left. Relatives, friends. Addresses and telephones of rented apartments. Under any pretext.
Scenario 4. A senior executive creates a shell company for the first person who comes across who will not arouse suspicion and links as a founder with the current management of the company. Often, homeless people, nervous patients, and, in the end, people living in another part of Russia are used for this purpose.
The created company receives all the preferences - payment deferrals, unthinkably low prices, and, of course, all the resources of the parent company, which in this case acts as a donor.
Products are unsubscribed to a front company, and then two options are possible. Option one - the products are unsubscribed to the end customer at market prices, and then the profit is transferred to the account into cash, distributed among interested parties.
Option two, no less common - products are unsubscribed at a low price, and then the client company returns part of the margin to the market price level to the management of the supplier company. There is a phenomenon of "reverse" rollback.
Fighting kickbacks
It is possible and necessary to deal with kickbacks.
Never take as a basis the proposed version of the contract of the counterparty. Lawyers often sin with this when it is easier for them to take a ready-made version proposed by the counterparty than to develop something themselves. Moreover, it is necessary not only to check the text of the contract, but also to think about the possible risks inherent in each line of the contract.
Check the prices indicated in commercial offers
Conduct competitor checks.
If a company was created in March, and now it's May, then with a high degree of probability it can be argued that it was specially created for your project
You can use the services independent company monitoring the market according to the agreed list of the range of goods or services with specified quality characteristics (including suppliers)
You can also save the results of such monitoring to a file (generalized price list)
A very good option is when the decision on the tender is taken collectively, it is much more difficult for the supplier to agree with several people than with one. If possible, organize collegiate negotiations, involve not only the manager, but also the immediate supervisor, lawyer, security guard, etc. in communication with the contractor. Try to have the negotiations take place in your company's office
Try to increase the level of contact with the client. As a general rule, the lower the level of communication (clerks, purchasing managers, purchasing staff, etc.), the more likely you are to encounter a kickback request. The higher the level, the less likely this situation is. I have not seen business owners taking kickbacks, although I have heard of co-owners involved in this.
Employee checks. There is such a practice in some organizations: all employees one way or another capable of harming the organization are regularly tested on a lie detector. Moreover, large companies start their own printers. People understand that from a polygraph to dismissal, the period is short, and they are already afraid to take kickbacks. Do not believe articles and broadcasts that this violates the rights of employees. Seek advice from companies that already use the polygraph.
Punishment
The punishment for an employee found to have received kickbacks can be quite severe: he faces Article 201 "Abuse of Power" and Article 204 "Commercial Bribery" of the Criminal Code. At the same time, only a person who manages the property and money of the organization, accepts other management decisions. If an employee does not have these powers, it is extremely difficult to hold him accountable.
Unfortunately, labor law does not consider receiving kickbacks as a basis for dismissing an employee.
There are no external signs of such a crime: money and goods do not directly disappear, financial statements in openwork.
Often, such an employee can simply be asked to leave the company. Although in my practice there were cases when such employees were also paid “extra” salaries, just to leave. And, unfortunately, I do not know of a single case, neither from my practice, nor from the practice of my colleagues, that such "haulers" could be fired under the article.
In the work it is necessary to place the main emphasis on the fight against kickbacks. After all, everyone knows that kickbacks, called in legal language "bribe" or commercial bribery, are a brake on the development of any business. In addition, those involved in these “dirty dealings” expose themselves and others to criminal prosecution.
Bribes are taken for everything, from the organization of work to simply the conscientious performance of one's duties. Almost every clerk in the chain of approvals and permits is trying to profit at your expense.
Kickbacks, if we talk about enterprises and the service sector, can be both one-time and regular:
- - entry fee to the market;
- - payment for improving the conditions for the supply of goods and services;
- - fee for including your company in tenders, filing applications for tenders, etc.;
- - payment for organizing meetings with the right people;
- - payment for the purchase of illiquid assets;
- - payment for timely observance of obligations and contracts.
Developed different ways rollback offers:
- "Discount" - this rollback is given in the form of a discount from the total amount of the transaction.
- “Supercharge” - in addition to the price price, the buyer asks to add a surcharge, and then receive it in the form of a kickback.
"Professional" buyers, first manage to throw off the purchase prices, and then throw a surcharge on top of the price, while getting "two in one". With this action, the entire resulting difference falls into the pocket of the purchaser. To move the deal forward, everything is discussed further actions. This is the calculation of the amount of a rollback or the percentage received on hand, the timing of the receipt of money, transfer schemes.
The company's own security service is not always able to identify fraudsters, it is very difficult to track down and catch thieves red-handed. An experienced manager in such a case will immediately suspect a “trick”. Hearing a hint or an “interesting” offer, he will try to divert the conversation from the workplace, guided by several motives:
- the office and workplace can be equipped with cameras and "wiretapping";
- the conversation may have witnesses or be interrupted by working moments;
- the psychological impact of the workplace.
The employee tries to turn the conversation into an informal setting, to take the interlocutor, for example, to a “smoking room” or outside the enterprise (cafe, restaurant), where this issue will be resolved based on the “interests” of the manager himself.
The task of our organization, participating in such transactions, is to identify interested parties, employees of the enterprise, whose interests pursue personal benefit when concluding an agreement, and transfer the recorded information to the management of your enterprise.
Our advantage lies in the fact that all stages of negotiations from start to finish will be held in the presence of our employees. In this case, our negotiators do not pursue any benefits for themselves personally, but carry out a deal within the framework of contractual obligations, while simultaneously receiving information about the "good faith" of the future partner. The results of the negotiations are provided to the customer in the form of an audio recording.
Probably, this article is no longer for professionals in the field of Procurement, but in general about Procurement and issues that are of interest to everyone, but it is not customary to talk about them openly.
I've brought up the subject of kickbacks several times recently in discussions with corporate or homeland security executives. Of course, in the first place is the position: “We don’t have this, and if we find out, we’ll fire you.” And the second position: "The security service exists in order to identify and investigate such cases." But, friends, the main and primary question - doesn't it seem strange to you that everyone is talking about the fact of "rollback" as about working with an already accomplished fact? Why do we engage in detection or investigation when we should PREVENTION? And by the way, I think that instead of writing “The ability to negotiate” in the basic requirements for employees of procurement departments, it would be better to indicate “The ability to build and follow a transparent and understandable process for the procurement of goods or services.”
Mostly, a kickback refers to some form of incentive for an employee of the customer's company by the supplier in order to conclude a profitable contract, continue cooperation or obtain better conditions. Suppliers form such loyalty fees through inflated prices and very rarely from a share of their profits. Of course, the concept of “kickback” does not include cute little gifts and tokens for holidays or special occasions. There are a large number of methods that can be implemented in conjunction with Procurement or under their control in order to prevent or drastically minimize not only the kickbacks themselves, but even the preliminary thoughts of employees that it is generally possible to implement such a scheme without leaving a trace. Remember, as with SOX: the goal is not to punish and work with a fait accompli. The goal is to make it impossible to do this today or tomorrow. Let's face it: Purchases and kickbacks in Russia are like two wings. I hear phrases several times a month that since I am connected with purchases, it means that I live on kickbacks. Of course, it is impossible to change the very attitude towards Procurement in a short period of time.
I want to share a few actionable practices that you can implement and manage to keep your company at a low level of risk from employee and supplier fraud.
Procedures! As strange as it sounds, you need to start with them. It is precisely the clearly described processes of interaction between different departments in the process of procurement of goods or services that will allow you to have a standardized attitude throughout the Procurement work chain. Check how clear your company is now in the procedures for conducting tenders, the procedure for paying suppliers, the procedure for closing and prolonging contracts, or, for example, the procedure for paying invoices without a contract. By the way, from personal experience: the more pages in the Procurement procedure, the less effective it is. The goal is not to get a description of each step - the goal is to get standardization, transparency and openness common processes interactions. Please note that the procedure does not necessarily have to prohibit and control everything. Conduct a risk assessment and strike a balance between "bureaucratic transparency" for large contracts and a looser, faster process for smaller purchases.
Archival records/documents storage system– “every step” should be recorded. At any stage of work, interested employees should have access to archived data of all processes that led to a particular event in the relationship with the supplier. For a tender, this must be a scorecard or saved confirmation letters from bidders, bids received from suppliers, or letters of discussion price offers. Based on the results of face-to-face meetings or telephone conversations, brief summaries should be written. Such information should be stored in a separate location with systems to monitor its integrity and integrity.
4 eyes rule. Although this method cannot fit in one small paragraph, the principle should be such that at each stage of interaction with the supplier (selection, negotiation of conditions, signing of the contract, payment, etc.) there should be control of at least two different departments to minimize likelihood of collusion. For example, Purchasing cannot have its own suppliers, and a business cannot select a new supplier without Purchasing approval. Or payment to the supplier must be agreed not only by the customer's employees, but also verified additionally by finances.
Post payment– suppliers with whom prepayment agreements are concluded should immediately fall into the zone of risk and additional control, both from the Procurement side and from the business side, because increases the likelihood of fraudulent activities on the terms of undelivered goods or services. I'm not sure that this item should be singled out at all, because. any Procurement professional must pay in advance in an exclusivity format. Standard payment terms for suppliers are currently within 15-30 days from the date of signing the act. Large market players can dictate even longer terms. Returning to the point about procedures: nothing prevents you from prescribing in the procedure that in general all suppliers should be transferred to post-payment, and any exception must be agreed upon at the very high level and constantly monitor
Purchasing department employees must go on vacation and promote in the company. Strange as it may sound, a person who does not go on vacation may fall under suspicion. An employee who is engaged in daily routine and who does not express a desire to grow may be suspicious. To reduce this risk, it is necessary to adopt a rule that employees of the Purchasing department are required to take a 2-week vacation once a year without the possibility of remote access to internal systems. Also, at least once a year, discuss with employees their plans for career growth. Because Purchasing in most cases works with many different projects and internal customers, it is quite clear that the development plan will cover both growth within the department and matrix development among internal customers.
Audit for Procurement without prior agreement on the plan and time. The current trend is towards standardization and pre-planning of audits. However, if your company conducts ongoing audits of internal departments, discuss the rule when working with internal customers will also consider the processes of interaction of the department with suppliers, where Purchasing will be part of this process. In this case, the Purchasing department is always under control, both from the side of the general plan and from the side of a cross-functional relationship.
Identification and verification of Suppliers. Verification of suppliers is necessary, both before signing the contract, and in a selective mode. By verification, I don't mean evaluating the supplier's ability to perform. contractual relations, but a check of financial stability, the current state of reporting, owners, beneficiaries and possible restrictions. Currently, there are a large number of solutions on the market that will show the complete picture of your future partner by the TIN number. It is very important that the verification process includes maintaining the integrity of the received information for archival records. This check does not have to be transferred to the Security Service. It is enough that an audit is carried out and a responsible person is identified. For suppliers with big expenses or vendors that provide agency services, you can add a process for random quarterly review of changes. For contracts where it is planned to use subcontractors, such verification should also apply to them, with the obligatory storage of data with the Customer. From my own experience, I want to add a couple of points that I always pay attention to: the number of employees at the supplier and the bank in which the account is opened. Most likely, I will not be embarrassed if the supplier provided details with an account opened with a Bank that is in the TOP-100. But if the supplier is not regionally specific, and the account is opened in some unknown bank from the second or third hundred, this will be a sign for additional follow-up.
Price offers and negotiations only through electronic systems. I have repeatedly touched on this topic in previous notes, focusing on the fact that the introduction electronic systems negotiations (auctions or trading platforms) is an important step not only to get the best price, but also to prevent collusion.
The tender must have the possibility of equal participation. Suppliers need to prescribe the exact procedure and procedures before tendering. Very often the tendering process is described in detail in the internal procedures of companies for employees, but very poorly described in the part that is outside the company. Suppliers must understand not only the time frame, but also the basic terms of the tender, as well as the selection criteria. Suppliers must be sure that all information that comes to them is equivalent for all bidders. In large tenders, suppliers who did not win should be given general information about the reasons for such a decision. The results of work in this direction will be increased confidence in the absence of possible manipulations by internal customers and purchasing departments at the supplier selection stage.
Any agreement must have a detailed description of the nature of the purchase.. A simple rule: the more detailed the description of the purchase, the more difficult it is to hide. The supplier agreement must have a detailed specification and cost breakdown for each part of the project. Applications this rule It will also provide an opportunity to compare the basic services of different providers. For example, logistics, support, IT part, etc.
Monthly cost analysis and tender plan. If you look at the company's standard operating model, sales plans are usually discussed on an almost daily basis in minute detail, and expenses usually come in the form of "large strokes". A more detailed analysis of expenses in terms of the number of suppliers, the number of invoices paid, the analytics of the specific ratio of the number of suppliers, which account for more than 70% of all expenses, will provide you with a clear understanding of what is happening. It must be taken into account that as with sales. This method works effectively in conditions of constant reporting, because any potential risk area is immediately apparent. In accordance with this analysis, it is necessary to agree and approve a plan for conducting tenders and revising the terms of work with suppliers for future periods. Otherwise, I often came across a situation where a company annually makes excellent and successful tenders for stationery and paper purchase, but, figuratively speaking, does not notice a security service provider, the costs of which differ by dozens of times.
Hear feedback from the supplier. Last year, I spoke with one of the co-owners on the topic of preventing possible kickbacks. big company in Russia. In addition to implementing some of the methods that are described in this note, I suggested that all documents (acts, invoices, contracts) that are transferred to suppliers be additionally stamped with the inscription: “Dear partner, if you know of any case of fraud or excess of authority, which may affect the interaction of our companies, please report. Anonymously…". Also include a special telephone number or address Email. If you are sure that all your suppliers are major market players, then, most likely, fraud cannot be ubiquitous inside big company. It's one thing when salespeople discuss possible fraud. And it’s a completely different matter when it’s all processed by employees who do not agree with this approach. Closing documents pass through a large number of ordinary employees, and the presence of such a system encourages to avoid even a hint of kickbacks. While writing this note, I called the company I am writing about and asked about the results. They were very successful: a year later, one report was received, as a result of which an investigation was carried out and administrative actions were taken, both on the part of the customer and the supplier. To some extent, this investigation even contributed to an increase in the level of partnership with the supplier and the transfer of additional volume of the order. Three comments and requests on the order of work were also received. I'm not sure that such drastic measures are necessary in all cases, but planning and holding annual meetings with large suppliers at the company's management level is a necessary minimum.
In my opinion, the described methods can effectively prevent the risk of fraud in the company's procurement. After re-reading the list, I realized that their correct implementation does not require any huge investments, which usually occur in the investigation of already accomplished facts. If Purchasing helps to save and optimize, then leaders should help Purchasing feel safe when the topic of kickbacks comes up.
P.S. I thought for a long time in which part of the article to insert another control method, but in the end I came to the conclusion that this is no longer even a method, but a statement, the violation of which can also be regarded as a signal. I'm talking about publicity. To what extent are your employees active participants in professional conferences, forums, speeches? After all, Procurement professionals are at the forefront of the company every day in their relationships with third parties. At the same time, there is a high risk of temptation to violate the procedure. Authority and reputation should be in the first place for everyone who is ready to deceive. Discuss this topic with employees more often.
We will live, we will choose the best suppliers. 🙂
