Master Vendor File Best Practices to Protect Against Fraud and Ensure Regulatory Compliance (Currently Unavailable)

As criminals realized if they could trick the accounts payable staff into changing data in the master vendor file, they attacked in droves. Best practices around the master vendor file are now critical when it comes to fraud protection, in addition to other reasons. The master vendor file is a trove of information and controls for any organization that handles it correctly. The emergence of new frauds, the increased realization that internal controls really do matter and increased regulatory compliance requirements have all shined a light on less-than-stellar master vendor file practices. Now, with all the different types of vendor portals, this old workhorse is getting a lot of attention.

The passage of new 1099 reporting legislation several years ago revealed a weak link in some of our accounts payable functions. Many had poor master vendor file practices and even worse procedures for soliciting taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) for information reporting purposes. Within the last year or two, the need for additional data related to regulatory reporting has become apparent. This course was created to address the growing need for strong internal controls surrounding the master vendor file as well as the increased data requirements.

Who Should Attend
Accountants, controllers, accounting managers, auditors (internal and external), Treasurers, CFOs, CEOs, accounts payable professionals, payroll professionals and procure-to-pay professionals and travel managers.

Topics Covered

• Delineate best practices for onboarding new vendors
• Incorporate new up-front verifications into your existing practices
• Enable proper TIN solicitation
• Problems within their existing master vendor file practices
• Implement master vendor file best practices that will enable proper TIN solicitation
• Make their master vendor file fraud-resistant
• Collect all data needed to run an efficient and regulatory compliant AP function
• Address the segregation of duties issue correctly
• Incorporate new and appropriate verification processes into their existing workflow to help stop the flood of new fraud

Learning Objectives

• Identify best practices for onboarding new vendors
• Recognize how to incorporate new up-front verifications into your existing practices
• Identify problems within their existing master vendor file practices

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Group: Internet-based

NASBA Field of Study
Accounting (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None