I also believe that the impact goes beyond the industry to effect the creditability of the government procurement process overall and, ultimately the taxpayer.
Look at Missouri as an example.
If the NIGP taxonomy can be used to influence decision-making at the state level, thereby giving one vendor an advantage over every other vendor, what happens the next time? Rather than stopping the unfair leveraging of a non arms length relationship between the NIGP and Periscope, all the Missouri story likely did was derail it for a short time. What happens in the future if or when a similar scenario arises and it doesn’t get the unwanted exposure of media coverage? How many states and municipalities will simply buckle under – choosing the route of least resistance?
The above was my response to the question, how does the NIGP’s refusal to release the findings from the forensic audit regarding their strategic relationships, impact people beyond the procurement world?
If organizations such as NASPO continue to remain silent regarding the existence of the audit, and the need for a full disclosure of its findings, one might conclude that the procurement world is incapable of policing itself.
The fact is that in the public sector, all activities that ultimately ripple down to the taxpayer are everyone’s business.
If for example, the NIGP audit reveals that there were or still are, potential conflicts that can have an impact on the buying decisions at any level of government – be it a state or municipality, then it affects the taxpayer. After all, a state is spending hard earned taxpayer dollars.
My point is that procurement – especially in the public sector, does not operate in a vacuum.
While they may like to think it, organizations such as the NIGP and NASPO are not islands unto themselves. Not only do they operate within the public sector, they wield a great deal of influence. This means that the public has the right to know anything it deems necessary to protect the interests of the average taxpayer.
One can only wonder what the members of the National Governors Association, as well as taxpayer advocacy groups would have to say about this.
You can use the following link to access the complete NIGP #CodeGate Post Archive; http://ift.tt/1D4xMYc
You can also follow my coverage of this story on Twitter using the hashtags #missbid and #CodeGate
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