Procurement must always guarantee four key principles: fairness, transparency, non-discrimination, and auditability. These principles are not only legal obligations but fundamental building blocks of trust, legitimacy, and efficiency in public spending.
As part of our Digital Procurement course, we hosted on 29 July 2025 an online workshop for 15 professionals working in procurement from various backgrounds—IT specialists, legal experts, economists, and consultants—to explore how digital tools, system design, and AI can support procurement compliance in real-world practice.
The session was led by Marek Matuš, Chief Technology Officer at Apitea, who guided participants through the technical side of how procurement software Promitea can enforce transparency and auditability—with activity logs (audit trace) playing a central role.
Every click, edit, submission, or reassignment within the procurement software generates a log entry which is stored in real time and accessible to auditors. These logs provide an objective trail of procurement process and decision-making, allowing compliance managers, auditors, or even external reviewers to trace back any irregularity or deviation from standard procedure.
Marek illustrated this with compelling real-world examples of "suspicious behaviours" detectable through logs:
These are not necessarily signs of fraud—but they are strong signals that warrant attention, and that systems should be able to flag.
Our discussion naturally progressed toward the use of generative AI to analyse system logs and workflows. AI has the potential to identify patterns of irregularities more efficiently than manual reviews.
Even more interestingly, we explored how AI could detect inefficiencies and cases where users consistently have to override settings, re-enter data, or correct previous steps. These aren’t signs of misbehaviour, but rather signs of poorly designed processes or unclear rules, which in turn cost the company a lot of money.
The panel discussion agreed that prevention is better than investigation. The last section of the workshop focused on how to leverage activity logs to design better systems and processes as well as governance structures that reduce the risk of irregularities occurring in the first place.
Suggestions from the group included:
People are not always tempted by malicious intent. Sometimes, the temptation arises from time pressure, unclear rules, or cumbersome procedures. That’s why systems and policies must be built not just to catch, but to guide.
In conclusion, procurement compliance is not a single feature or a one-time audit—it is a continuous process, supported by smart tools, thoughtful system design, regular analysis, and a proactive culture.
*Funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible.
Let’s face it: writing a textbook on compliance is not for the faint-hearted. Especially if your target group is undergraduate students who (1) don’t love reading long texts, and particularly textbooks, (2) often think compliance is boring or overly bureaucratic, and (3) are constantly tempted by more exciting distractions than the compliance-related topics.
And yet—we’ve taken on the challenge. Together.
Across multiple universities, as a part of the EU-supported project to enhance compliance education in Ukraine, we are now collaborating on a new and highly practical student-friendly compliance textbook. It’s a co-creative journey where different perspectives and expertise domains, such as lawyers, economists, and educators, come together to build a bridge between rigorous professional standards and accessible, real-life and fun learning.
Each participating university contributes at least one chapter that combines academic rigour and practical relevance. And we took a brave decision to prefer practical relevance and “fun factor” to academic depth. From drafting to reviewing, from examples to structure, from case studies to key concepts —every part of the book is shaped by the key considerations: will students find it interesting? will they be captivated and dragged in? Will they learn something useful for their future careers? Will they remember the driving principles after they forget all the details?
We know that compliance is not just one topic—it’s a whole landscape of decisions, dilemmas, responsibilities, and best practices. That’s why each chapter begins with a short, digestible case study that, although only loosely related to the chapter, is highly relevant to the reader's future career. The case study discussion should be the cornerstone of the teaching!
We’re competing with Netflix, social media, part-time jobs, and the latest AI trends. So our book has to do more than inform—it has to attract, engage, and even entertain.
That’s why we designed the book based on following principles:
So, in an ideal world, what will students actually learn?
Each chapter gives students a basic but solid grasp of a key compliance-related topic—enough to hold a discussion, understand what’s at stake, and recognise good practice when they see it. Whether it's conflicts of interest, whistleblowing, AI and compliance, or ethical procurement, each chapter will provide:
Not Just a Book, a Real Teaching Support
This isn’t a stand-alone textbook. It’s meant to complement lectures, spark classroom debates, and give students a practical toolbox they can actually use in future jobs. It saves instructors from having to explain the basics from scratch and gives students something clear to lean on—without feeling overwhelmed.
We’re excited. Not because writing this book is easy—it’s not. But because we believe that compliance matters, and that students deserve to learn about it in a way that makes sense, feels relevant, and maybe even inspires them.
Stay tuned as the chapters come together—and feel free to reach out if you’d like to join us on this journey as a contributor, reviewer, inspiration or just a friend who wants to be there!
*Funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible.
In our EU-financed initiative focused on developing compliance education in Ukraine, we make full use of every opportunity to share lessons, insights, and good practices across fields and borders. Whether through academic cooperation or practical training, our goal is simple: share the know-how and make compliance education meaningful, modern, and applied.
One of our favourite dissemination tools is the Digital Procurement Programme, which continues to attract professionals from a wide range of sectors—public and private, legal and technical, strategic and operational.
On 22 July, two sessions of the online programme’s module on Functional Technical Specification placed compliance at the very centre of the discussion.
Martin Fridrich, technical and commercial expert from Thein, delivered a thought-provoking and highly practical presentation on technical specification compliance, focused specifically on hardware specification and procurement. His insights reflected real-world procurement challenges and explored how both buyers and suppliers can fall short of compliance standards—whether intentionally or by accident.
Martin also illustrated how regulators and courts handle these compliance breaches, and why non-compliance—whether by buyer or supplier—can lead to delays, reputational damage, financial penalties, or even cancelled contracts.
A particularly engaging part of the session focused on commercial and sustainability-related compliance challenges. Key takeaways included:
This sparked an open conversation on what is realistic to demand, and how to balance ambition with enforceability when it comes to green and socially responsible procurement.
The session closed with practical advice on how to follow the most important compliance rules, while avoiding unnecessary or counterproductive requirements. Because not all rules are helpful. Sometimes, well-meaning but rigid templates, outdated internal rules, or misunderstood obligations can trap buyers in overly complex, low-value compliance efforts. That’s why clarity, proportionality, and up-to-date internal procedures matter.
Martin’s advice was clear:
📢 Through workshops like these, we continue to disseminate compliance and project findings —a key mission of our project.
Thank you to Martin Fridrich and all participants who help make these sessions dynamic, relevant, and rich with real-life value. Let’s keep building better compliance, smarter procurement, and more resilient systems—together.
*Funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible.
V příloze tohoto příspěvku naleznete hned pět diagnostických nástrojů pro digitální transformaci nákupu ve formátu excel. Jedná se o velmi jednoduché testy, které se zaměřují na připravenost oddělení na digitální transformaci. Všechny testy jsou inspirovány odbornou literaturou, pokusil jsem se je však vhodně doplnit a adaptovat na situaci v nákupu.
Osobně vnímám tuto sérii jako pět různých pohledů na téma Lidé v průběhu digitální transformace nákupu, které podávají poměrně ucelený obrázek o aktuálním stavu ve společnosti.
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