CIPS Updated L4M4 Exam Questions and Answers by lilith

For urgent, low-value local services, targeted sourcing (e.g., RFQs to pre-vetted suppliers) is more efficient than open advertising that can create excess, low-quality responses and slow down delivery. Responsible practice also considers proportionality and timely risk control.

Financial stability is a critical risk factor in high-value contracts. If a supplier collapses financially during contract performance, the buying organisation faces supply disruption, increased costs, and reputational risk. Financial assessments help identify vulnerabilities such as high debt, poor liquidity, or over-reliance on limited customers. While profitability, credit scores, and broader capability assessments are useful, the most pressing concern is ensuring continuity of supply. Ethical and responsible sourcing requires buyers to consider the long-term viability of suppliers, not just short-term savings. This aligns with responsible practice, protecting stakeholders, end customers, and the organisation’s own obligations.

Explanation

The correct answers are; suspiciously low labour costs, workers living on site and poor quality products (as this signals that the workforce may be unskilled).

A low score on the CPI is a good thing (high scores are more likely to signify slavery concerns) and just because someone speaks English as a second language doesn't mean you automatically need to be suspicious. That would be prejudice.

Explanation

This is accommodating: the supplier puts the buyer's interest above his own.

This is from the Thomas Killman model of conflict resolution. There are 5 strategies; competitive, collaborative, avoiding, accommodating and compromising. In the study guide it doesn't mention the name of the model but you do need to know the 5 strategies. The model comes up a lot in other modules so is a good one to learn. Particularly L5M1 which is about management theory.