Consultant Agreements and Audit Concerns: Could Separate Contracts Cause Audit Issues?

Dear all,

I would like to present the following case for your consideration:

Consultant Agreements and Audit Concerns

One of our consultants also operates another company, and a portion of the payments we make to this consultant are directed to their company's account. As a proactive measure, we are planning to formalize an agreement with the consultant's company. The question at hand is whether having two agreements in place could potentially lead to issues during audits. The two agreements mentioned here are one with him and the other with the company. Specifically, we want to ensure that having separate agreements will not cause any complications or overlap concerns.

Your insights on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, The question is not clear.

1) Is the Consultant executing the work as a Freelancer Consultant independently, or is the Company represented by that Consultant executing the work for your Company?

2) "A portion of the payments we make to this consultant is directed to their company's account." Does your company make the payment to both the Consultant and the Company?

If the services rendered by both the Consultant and the Company are the same, it is better to have one single agreement in the name of the Company. The agreement should be between XYZ represented by that Consultant and the authorized signatory of your Company.

Yes, the second one is the case.

Is one agreement enough for both?

Hi, Yes, as the services are the same and also since the Consultant owns the Company, it would be better to make it a single agreement in the name of the Company.