Do your client-agency agreements require your agency partners to disclose their use of related parties? To secure your permission prior to engaging affiliates? To document how those affiliates are compensated?
If so, then you are in a better position than many. At a minimum, testing for agency compliance to such contractual requirements is an option that you can pursue. If not, the level of work being channeled to related parties by your agency may surprise you.
In our contract compliance and financial management audit practice, it is not uncommon to see 5 to 7 different related parties engaged by an advertiser’s agency. Examples of services provided by affiliates include items such as barter, programmatic buying, direct response TV, event marketing, principal-based buying and ad serving. Yet, oftentimes these affiliates and the manner in which they are compensated are not known to the advertiser.
Why should an advertiser care? For one, if work is assigned to an agency affiliate without undergoing a competitive bid process, what assurance can the advertiser have they are not being charged above-market rates? Secondly, the added profitability by recommending certain affiliates, such as those engaging in the procurement and resale of media inventory through principal-based buys or barter, could adversely influence an agency’s recommendations to the advertiser. And to compound matters, if said affiliates are also applying non-disclosed mark-ups to the media inventory procured or services provided, can an advertiser fairly assess whether the total fees the agency is generating from its business are commensurate to the services being delivered?
Thus, it is important to revisit contract language to ensure that the following controls are in place:
- Principal-Agent language that requires the agency’s fiduciary responsibility is to the advertiser and that all decisions and actions are undertaken in a manner that maximizes benefits to the advertiser.
- Require the agency to disclose any and all related parties that it intends to deploy on the advertiser’s behalf and to secure the client’s prior written approval. Requiring quarterly updates to this list would provide an added layer of protection.
- For instances where principal-based buys, barter or other non-disclosed transactions are being considered, require a double opt-in process:
- The first step would be a formal letter of notification from the agency to be signed by the advertiser granting permission.
- Secondly, any purchase authorization form presented by the agency to the client for approval should reiterate the agency’s intent in this area.
With these agreement guardrails in place, advertisers can further protect their interests by periodically auditing the agency to validate compliance and verify the accuracy of charges made by and or for related party activities.
Ultimately, this approach will allow an advertiser to leverage the full breadth of its agency partner’s resource offerings in a very transparent manner, providing comfort that its agency’s practices are aligned with its expectations.