How Sterling Does Vendor Screening

Using the following processes, the professionals at John Sterling Associates LLC give you the most thorough vendor compliance screening available.  Accuracy, consistency and the ability to adapt to your data are the keys to our success.

Client prepares a list
While occasionally the client has very precise data from a vendor master file, usually this is not the case.  If the data is available only as an accounts payable listing, the screener can find a way to make this data work.  In this case, there may be 2,500 real vendors, but they are buried within an 8,000 record payables list.  That is a common experience, and we have developed a method to analyze and assess the real vendors without charging for all 8,000 records.

Our screener parses the client list
Using highly specialized computer techniques, the vendor data is divided into those records concerning persons and those records concerning businesses.

Data on persons are analyzed
The persons in this grouping could be bone fide vendors such as consultants, self-employed business persons and per diem workers.  They are analyzed by the screener using techniques very similar to those used for personnel screening. 

Both federal databases are downloaded for comparison
The screener obtains current downloads from the OIG and GSA databases for excluded businesses.  It is important that these be the most recent data available.  The OIG database is reconstituted once a month, usually about the 10th.  The GSA database is modified periodically throughout the month by GSA.

The client and federal lists are prepared for comparison
The screener extracts names of excluded businesses from the two federal databases, along with other pertinent identifying information on these parties.  Client data is also processed to extract names and other pertinent identifying information.

Comparing the client and federal lists for possible excluded businesses
The client list  is compared to the OIG and GSA list through computer analysis to reveal possible name matches.  The process utilizes a sophisticated logic approach to compensate for shortened entries on the client's list.  Thus, the client's "XYZ Med" is tentatively matched to the OIG list's "XYZ Medical Gas of Ohio, Inc".  At this point, this is simply a possible match of names, but it is not yet a positive identification of an excluded vendor.

Researching tentative matches
These tentative matches are then researched to determine whether each match is real or not.  Doing this often involves searching the internet and other sources for detailed information on both the client tentative match and the excluded parties.  Factors such as type of product/service sold, physical location and full legal names of each parties are taken into account.

Reports are prepared for the client
Each entry on the client's list has a line entry on a report showing the final assessment of that party's exclusion status.  Each is labeled as "Not Excluded" or "Excluded".  Reasons for the assessment are listed. A companion executive summary lists all significant findings and includes more detail on persons and businesses assessed to be excluded parties.  The executive summary is signed attesting to its findings and its completeness.

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