Review

A review is an examination or assessment of a procurement, complaint, practice, submission, record, or contract-related matter against applicable requirements. In Canadian federal procurement, "review" is not a single technical term. It is used for formal compliance checks, fairness examinations, internal approvals, complaint handling, and contract-administration work.

What a review involves depends on the object being reviewed and on who carries it out. Departmental procurement authorities, internal review committees, the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman (OPO), and auditors all use the word. Suppliers meet it in bid guidance, solicitation documents, and contract clauses.

Five kinds of review in federal procurement

The word attaches to several distinct activities, each with its own purpose:

• Procurement-practice review: examines whether departmental purchasing practices are fair, open, and transparent.
• Compliance review: checks whether a procurement follows applicable policies, directives, guidelines, and procedures.
• Contract review: examines proposed contracts before award, or checks contract administration after award.
• Supplier-record review: verifies payments and compliance with contractual terms by examining a supplier's books and records.
• Bid review: the check a supplier performs on its own proposal before submitting it.

Mandatory compliance reviews at the Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) offers a clear example of a compliance review built into the procurement cycle. Its Compliance and Program Review Section conducts mandatory reviews at the pre-solicitation, pre-award, and post-award stages. Each review assesses the procurement against applicable policies, directives, guidelines, and procedures. The structure is described in the CRA audit of the contract bidding and awards process.

Reviews by the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman

The OPO reviews federal departmental procurement practices for fairness, openness, and transparency. It can also review eligible supplier complaints about the award of certain contracts, and complaints about contract administration. For contract administration complaints, the contract value does not limit eligibility. The scope of these reviews is summarized in the PSPC summary of the review of procurement practices and supplier complaints.

Contract review committees and boards inside departments

Some departments use standing bodies to review contracts before they are signed. At the National Research Council, a Contract Review Committee reviews or challenges proposed contracts. It checks that policies are followed and that contracting is prudent, proper, open, fair, and competitive, as set out in the NRC audit of procurement and contracting.

At Correctional Service Canada, Contract Review Boards review and approve submissions before contract preparation and award. The board step applies when the proposed contract exceeds a budget manager's contracting delegation. This is described in the Correctional Service Canada procurement and contracting processes audit.

What review means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Suppliers deal with review in two ways. First, federal guidance tells bidders to review their bids and to have someone else review them as well before submission. See how government buys.

Second, a solicitation or contract may state that a review, audit, approval, or examination can occur. Contract audit provisions at the CRA, for example, allow reviews of supplier books and records to validate payments and confirm compliance with contract terms and conditions, as shown in the CRA audit of supplier contracts. The supplier's obligations come from the specific clause or instructions in that procurement, so read each one closely and keep records ready.