Conducting due diligence checks
Complete due diligence on your preferred supplier or provider before negotiating or awarding the contract. You can also do due diligence checks when shortlisting.
You complete due diligence by undertaking activities to independently verify that a supplier or provider:
- is who they claim to be
- has the financial ability to deliver, and
- has the necessary capacity and capability to deliver over the life of the contract.
All due diligence actions should be documented.
Planning your due diligence
- Decide which activities you want to complete and when you want to complete them.
- Specify your decisions in your tender documents.
- Ask suppliers to deliver any information required to complete the planned checks.
How to do due diligence
Check the supplier:
- is who they claim to be by looking at their legal set-up
- is financially sound by checking their financial history
- can be trusted – check corruption indicators
- has good past performance of appropriate health and safety and employment practices
- has the capacity, capability and expertise to deliver, based on past performance
- has the right systems and processes to be able to deliver
- can deliver what you need for the price quoted – test the assumptions in their proposal
- understands the contract deliverables and requirements and their obligations.
Other types of evidence you could ask for include:
- accreditation or audit reports from your own or another government department
- testimonials or references from current or recent customers
- site visits
- client interviews
- staff CVs
- published articles
- case studies
- current service and contract performance reports
- Companies Office and/or Charities Register checks
- analysis of audited accounts
- credit checks
- valid insurance certificate
- compliance certificates/accreditations
- police check or security clearance
- personnel security capability.
It’s best to verify your information from more than one source — through your own research, by asking the supplier for documentation and by seeking confirmation from referees or third parties. Referees should be the supplier's current or recent customers. Third parties could be the supplier's accountant or bank manager.
Guidance to building personnel security capability
Managing contractors - Protective Security Requirements (PSR)
Managing insider risk - Protective Security Requirements (PSR)
Supply chain security - Protective Security Requirements (PSR)
Previous experience with a supplier
You can use previous experience with the supplier as part of your evidence – but you must make sure you're being objective and not biased. For example, documented knowledge of poor performance is a valid reason to rule out a supplier, but personal dislike isn't.
Verification matrix
A verification matrix can help to show if you have all the relevant information to satisfy the panel that the preferred supplier has the capacity and capability to deliver.
Example:
|
Evaluation and due diligence options |
Criteria | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Fit for purpose |
Ability to deliver |
Value for money | |
|
Accreditation check |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Written offer / proposal documents |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Buyer clarifications |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Reference checks |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Interview |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Presentation |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Site visit |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Audited accounts |
Yes |
||
|
Credit check |
Yes |
||
|
Companies office/Charities Register check |
Yes |
||
|
Accepts contract T&Cs |
Yes |
||
|
Police/security check |
Yes |
Yes |
|
What to do if you uncover issues
If you uncover information that might influence the outcome of the evaluation process, provide this information to the evaluation panel so they can update scoring for the applicable supplier.
If the issues identified are serious, you must consider:
- excluding the supplier under Rule 44 of the Government Procurement Rules, or
- not awarding the contract to the supplier.
If you identify issues but you think they aren’t serious, consider:
- what additional information you need to confirm whether or not the issues are serious
- what you can do to avoid or mitigate any issues being realised and impacting your procurement.