Saturday, November 2, 2024

Salesforce wined and dined NDIA officials, now a committee has asked if other agencies are receiving gifts

Must read

After undeclared gifts were uncovered by federal MPs probing the National Disability Insurance Agency’s large contract awarded to a US tech company, a parliamentary committee wants every government department to come under scrutiny.

As revealed by the ABC last week, Salesforce showered NDIA officials with gifts as the agency’s contract with the US firm swelled from an initial $27 million contract over 3 years, to a contract worth more than $100 million over 4 years — first discovered through the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit’s inquiry.

The committee’s final report recommends the Department of Finance and the Digital Transformation Agency investigate if other government agencies have been supplied with gifts or hospitality by large technology firms bidding for lucrative government contracts.

The report also suggests the Australian National Audit Office consider future audits of potential gifts and hospitality issues in the wider public sector to identify concerning practices.

“We do need to establish whether there’s a pattern of inappropriate cultivation,” committee chair Julian Hill said.

He said the committee found there were a number of companies known for what “you might politely term as aggressive sales cultures”.

Latest article