During a vendor evaluation, a sales rep offers the analyst two hockey tickets. The analyst declines. What, if anything, remains to be done?

Answer

Disclose the offer to the manager in writing — the perceived conflict remains

Options - A. Disclose the offer to the manager in writing — the perceived conflict remains - B. Nothing, because a refused gift cannot influence a recommendation - C. Nothing, provided the tickets were worth less than about a hundred dollars - D. Exclude that vendor from the evaluation so the process looks clean Why - A. Correct — refusal removes the actual conflict; only disclosure removes the doubt a reasonable outsider would have. Record date, item and words. - B. Refusal is necessary, not sufficient. An undisclosed offer that surfaces later makes the recommendation look bought, however clean it was. - C. Value affects how tempting the offer is, not whether an outsider would doubt your judgement. There is no dollar threshold below which disclosure is waived. - D. Excluding a vendor for having made an offer distorts the evaluation in the other direction. The press stays in on its merits; the offer is disclosed.

OpenStax Business 2.1; Smith 10.2.1; Business Ethics (CNX v3.1) ch 35; CPA Ontario Code rules 208, 210 (numbers only, verified 2026-09-17); Ontario Securities Act s. 76; concept map C06, C07