DEFINITION
Change Order Abuse
Change order abuse is the use of post-award contract variations to increase contract value beyond what competitive tender would have permitted. The award is genuinely competitive; the final settled value is not.
The pattern is a contract awarded at one value and settled substantially higher after variations, often with change orders sized just below the threshold that would trigger re-tender or additional approval.
Detection compares awarded value against final settled value across contracts, tests change order sizes against approval thresholds, and identifies suppliers whose awards routinely grow after award.