Mary discovered that Maria's Bistro has tripled its purchases from Sysco without clear reasons. When questioned, the purchasing agent was evasive. Mary found that Sysco marks up prices 30% on most items it drop-ships from manufacturers. Sysco is owned by Marco's brother-in-law. Mary wonders if this is a conflict of interest and how she should proceed.

1. Principles of Food, Beverage, and Labor Cost Controls, Ninth Edition