Governance
The Salt Standard
Fifteen controls. They are not a compliance appendix — they are the reason a headquarters can sign off on what happened in Iraq.
Most of what makes operating in Iraq difficult for a multinational is not the work itself. It is proving afterwards that the work was done properly: that the supplier was chosen on merit, that the price was tested, that the money went where the invoice says it went, and that nobody paid anyone to make a problem disappear.
These fifteen controls are how we make that provable. They apply to every engagement, from a single purchase to a full Iraq Desk.
They sit inside certified management systems — ISO 9001:2015 for quality, ISO 14001:2015 for environment and ISO 45001:2018 for occupational health and safety. Certificates are available on request. The certification is not the point; being audited against a written system, by somebody outside the company, is.
The controls
- A named account lead.
- Written client instructions.
- Defined scope and approval matrix.
- Client approval before financial commitment.
- Competitive quotations where applicable.
- Supplier and due diligence checks.
- Licensed providers where required.
- No undisclosed commissions, rebates or mark-ups.
- Supplier invoices and official receipts retained.
- Clear separation of Salt fees and third-party costs.
- Complete procurement and transaction files.
- Monthly activity and spend reporting.
- Confidential handling of client information.
- Escalation of legal matters to Salt & Associates.
- No bribery or facilitation payments.
What the monthly report contains
- Requests raised, closed and outstanding, with dates
- Deadlines due in the period and whether they were met
- Procurement activity: orders, values, suppliers, exceptions
- Spend by category, supplier and entity, with third-party costs shown separately
- Documents received, held and released
- Open actions with named owners and target dates
Audit support
Files are built so that somebody who was not there can reconstruct the decision. On request we prepare evidence packs for internal and external auditors, and we hold records for at least five years.
Anti-bribery
No facilitation payments are made in any circumstances. Every government fee is paid against the official schedule and receipted, and fees paid are reconciled monthly. Gifts and hospitality are recorded in a register and stay within your own anti-bribery limits, not ours.
We do not imply government influence, guaranteed approvals, guaranteed processing periods or privileged access. Any provider who offers you those things in Iraq is telling you something about themselves.
Ask to see what a file looks like.
We will walk your compliance or audit lead through the structure of a completed procurement file.