The mere mention of the word “audit” can cause the collective palms of public procurement to sweat. The reality is, audits are stressful and it’s not a question of if you’ll get audited, but when. Since there’s so much money that flows through public procurement, it’s high on the auditor’s list of risky activities. With a lot of hands in the pot, external pressures, and an increased chance of mistakes and fraud, it’s no wonder public procurement is under such tight scrutiny. So, when the auditor inevitably comes knocking, are you prepared? Mark Funkhouser, President of Funkhouser and Associates and Former Mayor of Kansas City, works with public agencies to improve many aspects of their operations. With an auditing background, Mark has unique insight into what triggers a procurement audit and how to prepare for and prevent a lot of common mistakes or oversights that can land you in hot water. In this episode of Inside Public Procurement, Mark talks to Bonfire’s Director of Client Experience Rachel Friesen about the importance of creating a system of checks and balances for your procurement processes, red flags auditors look for when conducting a procurement audit, why thorough staff training is a vital part of audit-proofing your procurement, and how to plan ahead and mitigate risks before they become a problem. You can find this interview, and many more, by subscribing to Inside Public Procurement on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or gobonfire.com/podcast. Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for Inside Public Procurement in your favorite podcast player.