From audit pressure to structured procurement governance

Client profile

An IT organization of a government-owned company active in rail transport, responsible for delivering mission-critical technology services to Belgium’s national railways. Operating in a highly regulated environment, the Client must meet stringent requirements related to public procurement, auditability, risk control, and stakeholder governance.

The challenge

The Client faced increasing regulatory and operational pressure on its procurement and contract management domain:

• Audit findings across procurement processes lacked consistent follow-up and ownership.
• Documentation and evidence required by internal/external auditors were dispersed, incomplete or inconsistent.
• Procurement teams required stronger support to ensure full compliance with Belgian public procurement legislation.
• Contract and supplier management processes needed clearer structure, documentation and governance.
• Cross-functional collaboration between procurement, legal finance, operations and IT stakeholders needed alignment.

To increase maturity, transparency and audit readiness, the Client engaged PACT Association to provide senior expertise in procurement governance, audit coordination and contract management process design.

PACT's role & approach

PACT deployed a senior consultant (Audit Coordinator Procurement & Contract Management Processes) who acted as the Single Point of Contact for all procurement-related audits and as the driving force behind the transformation of procurement governance.

1. End-to-end Audit Coordination 

• Served as the primary SPOC for internal audit and external audit entities.
• Ensured complete and coherent evidence collection across departments.
• Prepared and aligned stakeholders before, during and after audits.
• Facilitated communication between auditors, procurement leads, legal counsel and executive management.

2. Governance for Audit Recommendations

• Introduced a structured governance framework for all audit recommendations.
• Assigned clear owners, deadlines, accountabilities and reporting cycles.
• Deliverd transparent dashboards and recurring management reporting.
• Ensured sustainable closure of findings and reduction of compliance risks.

3. Procurement Advisory & Public Tender Support

Acting as procurement advisor within the IT domain:

• Supported Procurement and Tender strategies and contract analyses.
• Ensured full compliance with public procurement law (Belgian and EU).
• Steered negotiation preparation and alignment across legal, procurement and business stakeholders.

4. Contract & Supplier Management Processes

• Developed, documented and implemented contract management processes.
• Established structured supplier management frameworks, including performance follow-up.
• Ensured alignment within the group on procurement and legal standards.

5. Cross-Functional Leadership

• Led improvement initiatives involving procurement, finance, legal, compliance and IT operations.
• Acted as trusted advisor for both operational and strategic stakeholders.
• Fostered a culture of transparent communication and compliance awareness. 

Impact & results

By integrating PACT's senior expertise, the Client realised strong improvements in both governancematurity and operational effectiveness:

✔ Clear accountability through structured governance

Full transparancy on audit findings, actions, owners and deadlines, significantly reducing compliance risk.

✔ Professionalisation of local procurement and contract management

New or improved processes covering contract-lifecycle, supplier governance, documentations standards and performance tracking.

✔ Increased alignment between IT, Procurement, Legal & Finance

Fewer escalations, faster decision-making, smoother tender processes.

✔ Knowledge transfer & sustainable capability building

Internal teams became more autonomous, structured and confident in handling procurement, contracts and audits.

Why the Client chose PACT

PACT brought a combination of:

• Deep expertise in public procurement, IT sourcing and contract governance.
• Strong audit coordination capabilities across both internal and regulatory bodies.
• Hands-on process design and implementation experience.
• Stakeholder management excellence in complex public-sector environments.
• A pragmatic, results-oriented approach that matches the Client's operational reality.