Audit of Raffles and Prizes

Regulated in Brazil since 1972, promotional activities aimed at giving prizes for free through raffles, gift certificates or contests have became an increasingly important marketing tool of the majority of large companies operating in Brazil. The objectives of these activities are many, such as advertising new products, increasing the sales of certain product lines, having greater customer loyalty, etc.

With extensive legislation (see history below), introduced by Caixa Econômica Federal and Secretariat for Economic Monitoring (SEAE), it is essential that promotion companies count on qualified professionals and partners to ensure the security and success of each promotional activity or campaign in its entirety, from its conception, the creation of the operational plan and rules, the obtaining of the approval from regulatory bodies (Caixa Econômica Federal or SEAE), to the carry out and management of each process included in the operational plan, the drawing of winners, and the rendering of accounts.

Transparency and credibility are the key factors behind the success of any promotional campaign, and these two objectives will only be totally achieved by hiring an independent audit firm.

The follow-up of the campaign by independent auditors not only provides credibility for participants and controlling bodies, but also significantly reduces the risks of payment to the Federal Government of amounts related to prize not given to participants, and of tarnishing the image of the Promotion company, as a result of suspicions of fraud or lawsuits filed by consumers.

UniQue Consultoria & Auditoria has long experience in the audit of raffles and promotional campaigns, having closely followed up and worked on the development of the promotional campaigns format, which used to be made through letters and coupons sent by mail or deposited in boxes in fixed locations, and now are mainly made using technology through hot sites, exclusively developed to manage these promotional campaigns.

With the development of the promotional campaigns format, the scope of our audit of raffles and promotional campaigns had to be improved and adjusted as well, which made us an independent audit (external audit) firm specialized in the provision of services related to raffles and prizes. However, our main premise of carrying out preventive work has never underwent any change, once it provides the possibility of identifying and correcting occasional process errors or failures before the beginning or even while the campaign is running, essential to avoid any type of contingency.

Responsible for the audit of raffles of major promotional campaigns conducted by companies that have domestic and international reputation, this work resulted in a number of partnerships with professionals and companies specialized in obtaining authorization from Caixa Econômica Federal and SEAE, and many marketing agencies specialized in promotional campaigns.

The raffle audit works are classified into the service group technically known as “Agreed-upon Audit Procedures”, which gives great flexibility to our work. At the discretion of the promotion company, or according to the rules provisions, the audit procedures can include all campaign processes, that is, the evaluation of the controls adopted in the distribution of coupons, the eligibility of participants, etc., the “on site” follow up of raffles and drawings, the verification of the compliance with rules in their entirety, or can be limited to certain campaign phases. Despite the scope of the service, a report shall be issued containing the adopted procedures and the winners/awarded/drawn persons of the promotional campaign.

HISTORY OF THE RELATED LEGISLATION:

Decreto nº 538: de 26 de maio de 1992, que altera os arts. 2, 15, 23 e 35 do Decreto nº 70.951, de 9 de agosto de 1972, no que se refere à distribuição gratuita de prêmios, mediante sorteio, vale-brinde ou concurso, a título de propaganda.

Decreto nº 70.951: de 9 de agosto de 1972, que regulamenta a Lei nº 5.768, de 20 de dezembro de 1971, que dispõe sobre a distribuição gratuita de prêmios, mediante sorteio, vale-brinde ou concurso, a título de propaganda, e estabelece normas de proteção à poupança popular.

Portaria MF nº 41: de 19 de fevereiro de 2008, que regulamenta a distribuição gratuita de prêmios a título de propaganda, quando efetuada mediante sorteio, vale-brinde, concursos ou modalidade assemelhada (revoga a Portaria nº 184).

Portaria MF nº 495: de 29 de novembro de 2004, que dispõe sobre a portaria de prêmios e sorteios.

Portaria MF nº 15: de 12 de janeiro de 2001, que dispõe sobre o recolhimento da taxa de fiscalização, atribuída à SEAE, quando da análise de promoções, prêmios, sorteios e afins.

Portaria SEAE nº 88: de 28 de setembro de 2000, que dispõe sobre a realização de sorteio, por instituições que se dedicam a atividades filantrópicas.

Portaria MF nº 201: de 05 de julho de 2000, atribui à SEAE a competência para analisar e decidir sobre as autorizações sobre distribuição gratuita de prêmios, mediante sorteio, vale-brinde ou concurso, a título de propaganda.

Consulta Pública nº 001/2007: regulamentação de Portaria sobre distribuição gratuita de prêmios a título de propaganda, mediante sorteio, vale-brinde, concurso ou operação assemelhada.

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